Courtenay - Community Overview

In the nearby Forbidden Plateau a legend of large, hairy giants existed, sending fear through early First Nations tribes. However, the large abundance of berries, fish, and game brought a community of First Nations from the Comox area. The first European explorers were Spanish navigators (1791).

In 1846-49 Rear-Adm. George William Courtenay surveyed the area. With the establishment of an HBC store in the 1850’s, settlement began in the 1860’s. Reginald Pidcock, who owned the site and built a mill, and Joseph McPhee, who began the first store and later bought most of Pidcock’s land, helped to develop the community. In 1910 a road from Victoria was completed and 4 years later the arrival of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railroads ignited Courtenay’s growth. Adding to Courtenay’s development, immigration from England, Scotland and the Maritimes followed World War I.

Today, Courtenay is the commercial and service centre for the area. The local economy is based primarily on the forestry, fishing, mining, and agriculture industries. One of the prominent industries for this region is tourism with recreation facilities open year-round.

The City of Courtenay is located on Highway #19, with Comox only 6 km to the southeast. Courtenay is situated in the Comox Valley, in the Regional District of Comox - Strathcona.

The Comox Valley is located midway up the East Coast of Vancouver Island. The area consists of the City of Courtenay, the Town of Comox, the Village of Cumberland, CFB Comox Airbase and the Hamlet of Merville. The west it is bordered by the Vancouver Island Mountain Range with its beautiful Comox Glacier and Strathcona Park, and the east by the Strait of Georgia, Baynes Sound, and Comox Harbour. The waters of three major rivers, the Tsolum, the Puntledge, and the Browns, combine to form the Courtenay River, which flows across the broad alluvial lowland into the head of Comox Harbour.

The population of Courtenay numbers approximately 21,940.

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