Follow the totem poles around downtown Duncan, the City of Totems and the commercial center of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. The city itself is tiny, only about 2 square km with about 5,000 residents, but the wider area holds over 44,000 people, and the town serves them all. About 80 totem poles stand around downtown, and a self-guided walk is the classic first stop.
The valley around it is where the appeal lies: wineries and cideries, Cowichan Bay's waterfront village, tubing and fishing on the Cowichan River, and hikes up Mount Tzouhalem. The Saturday market runs all year. The Cowichan Tribes, the region's Indigenous community, are a large part of local culture. Housing is expensive but cheaper than Victoria, which is about 60 km south. Downtown has some street disorder and drug use, and the crime rate is above the BC average, mostly property crime. Winter brings wind and rain, and summers can be dry.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- City of Duncan; the City of Totems; Cowichan Valley's commercial hub; Canada's smallest city by area (approximately 2 sq km); Cowichan Tribes homeland
- Founded
- 1886 E&N Railway station and settlement grew around William Chalmers Duncan's farm; 1912 incorporated as a city (March 4, 1912); Duncan CA also includes North…
- Languages
- English (predominant); Hul'q'umi'num' (Cowichan Tribes language) is used culturally and on some signs; small Punjabi, German and Filipino communities; English is sufficient everywhere
- Airports
- Victoria International (YYJ), about 60 km south (about 55-70 minutes by car); Nanaimo Airport (YCD), about 40 km north; Vancouver International (YVR) via ferry from Nanaimo (Duke Point or Departure Bay) or Victoria (Swartz Bay); Cowichan Lake and Cowichan Bay have small seaplane services
- Tipping
- Restaurants 15-20% of the pre-tax bill (GST 5% added; BC has no provincial sales tax on restaurant meals but 7% PST applies to liquor); bars $1-2 per drink or 15-20% of tab; taxis and rideshare 10-15%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 CAD per night; bellhops $2-5 CAD per bag; tour guides 10-15%; counter service optional (all amounts CAD)
About this data
Population 5,047 (City of Duncan) and Duncan CA 44,451 (2021 Census), area 2.07 sq km, elevation 20 m, incorporation March 4, 1912 taken from the Wikipedia article (fetched). Duncan is the CA name; the census area covers North Cowichan and Cowichan Tribes too. The city site is duncan.ca; visitor_website and event_calendar point to the City of Duncan site and its events page and were NOT confirmed (a regional site, Cowichan Valley Tourism, cowichanvalleytourism.com, may be the better visitor source). Crime index, event names and months, hotel ranges, cost of living, rent, home prices and distances are approximate or from general knowledge and not verified. All money in CAD.
