Campbell River, Vancouver Island, BC

What Campbell River is made of: the communities whose institutions are here, the sectors its 1,660 businesses sit in, the franchises already on the ground, and the services a newcomer could start.

1,660 businesses on file · 108 trades · 32 sectors · census population 35,515 · registry population 38,000 · built from geonet.nanaimo on 2026-10-07

The two disagree: the registry says 38,000 and the 2021 census counted 35,515 for the municipality. The registry figure is often a metropolitan population. Both are shown; neither is corrected into the other.

Businesses1,660
82% carry coordinates
Specialised in12
trades above the national pattern
Best suited toSeniors
on the census signals below
Franchise brands62
already operating here

Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Campbell River → — the free guidebook for this region: why go, what to see, what is open when it rains.

1

The local economy

What the business base is made of, what it is specialised in against the national pattern, and what that mix implies. This is the part a development office would read first.

Composition, not health. geonet records what trades exist and where; it does not record formation, closure, employment or revenue, so none of those appear here. What makes this economics rather than a directory is the NAICS coding: it lets the local mix be read against the BLS survival curves and against the 323 industry groups this research has screened.

The two biggest markets here

Every industry group on this page links through to its NAICS page, and to the screened market report where this research has one — that is what the trait-to-NAICS coding buys.

Business density46.7
businesses per 1,000 residents, against the 2021 census count of 35,515
Breadth of the base268
broad — 80 industry groups, top three 17.1%
Survival the mix implies57%
at five years, against 51.4% for all private establishments
Coded to NAICS59.3%
of which 64.3% unambiguous

What this city is specialised in

Location quotient is this city's share of a trade divided by the same share across 10 CA metro tables. Above 1.25 is the conventional threshold for a local specialisation.

The base against the entry screen

Businesses by the entry signal of the industry group they sit in, from the /markets screen. A large "structure decides" share means most local trades are ones where being better than the incumbent does not by itself win. A trade is matched to the screened record at whatever level the research wrote it — the same code, a broader one, or a narrower one. Where a group holds several screened sub-markets the count is shown, because no single one of them speaks for the whole group.

Enter
27.1%
267 businesses
Caution
48.9%
481 businesses
Structure decides
24%
236 businesses
Not screened
0%
0 businesses

How to read the survival figure

Each sector's five-year establishment survival rate, weighted by how many of this city's businesses sit in that sector. It is a property of the MIX, not of these businesses — it says what survival this composition would imply at US private-sector rates, because no Canadian equivalent series exists.

Weighted over 95% of the coded base — public administration carries no curve. Source: Business Employment Dynamics — Table 7, Survival of private sector establishments by opening year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And what it does not measure

A "mixed" trait is one that genuinely spans codes — "computers" covers systems design, repair and supply. The clear share is how much of this reading rests on unambiguous coding. Business density also reflects how completely the directory covers a place, not only how many businesses are in it — so it compares poorly between a city the register knows well and one it does not.

2

Who lives here, and who the city is for

The census: the only figures on this page that count people rather than businesses, and the three cohort readings they make possible.

The register says what trades exist. The census says who lives here — and it is the only thing on this page that counts people. Figures are Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population for Campbell River, City (CY), the municipality proper, and every comparison is against the population-weighted average of all 5,161 census subdivisions in Canada.

Population35,515
census 2021
Median age48
against 42.1 nationally
Immigrants10.5%
against 23.2% nationally
Median rent$1,170
against $1,175 nationally

Who the city is for

Three readings, each built from real numbers against real benchmarks. This is not an index. Every signal is shown with its own value, its benchmark and which way it points, and the band simply counts how many point the same way — so a reader who disagrees with one signal can drop it and still use the rest.

Seniors

strong

Is this a place to grow old, and is the care here?

Residents 65 and over 26.1% ▲19%
Residents 85 and overthe group that needs care rather than the group that is merely retired 2.7% ▲2.3%
Median age 48 years ▲42.1 years
Low income among 65+against a 15% reference, not a national figure 12.8% ▲15%
Medical clinics per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.39 –
Pharmacies per 1,000 residentsfrom the business register 0.42 –
Nursing and elderly care operatorscounted in the register, which lists few of them 0 –
Median rent 1170 $/mo –1175 $/mo

A high share of over-65s says other people made this choice; it does not by itself say the care exists. The register lists clinics and pharmacies but has no category for a hospital at all, so the one thing a family would most want — distance to an emergency department — is still missing.

Students and young adults

thin

Is there a reason to be here between 19 and 25, and can they afford it?

Residents 20 to 24 4.4% ▼6%
Residents 15 to 19the cohort arriving next 4.9% ▼6%
Renter householdsa rental market is what makes a place possible to move to 28.2% ▼33.2%
Median rent 1170 $/mo –1175 $/mo
Unemployment rateMay 2021, mid-pandemic — high everywhere in this census 8.7% ▲10.4%
Degree holders in the adult populationagainst a 32% reference 15.1% ▼32%
Drinking places and recreationfrom the register 18 –

Post-secondary institutions in the city are listed further down this page; where there are none, a high 20-to-24 share usually means work rather than study.

Newcomers and other-language speakers

thin

Is there already a community here, and has anyone built anything for it?

Immigrants in the population 10.5% ▼23.2%
Arrived 2016 to 2021a recent arrival means the route here is current, not historical 1.1% ▼3.7%
Speak a non-official language at home 2.2% ▼12.7%
Languages spoken at home above the reporting floor 1 –
Community institutions in the register 2 –
Non-permanent residentsstudents and work-permit holders 0.6% ▼3.7%

The census counts speakers; the business register shows whether a community has built anything — a church, a society, a credit union, a grocer. Both columns appear in the language table below, and the interesting rows are the ones where they disagree.

What is spoken at home, and whether anyone built for it

Where the census and the business register disagree. A language spoken by hundreds with no institution behind it is a gap in local provision — or a gap in the register. An institution with no matching language usually means an older community that has shifted to English at home.

Spoken most often at homeSpeakers ShareCommunity in the register Institutions
Vietnamese 105 0.3% Vietnamese 0

The rest of the profile

CharacteristicHereCanada
Residents 65 and over 26.1% 19%
Residents 85 and over 2.7% 2.3%
Residents 20 to 24 4.4% 6%
Arrived 2016 to 2021 1.1% 3.7%
Non-permanent residents 0.6% —
Speak a non-official language at home 2.2% 12.7%
Renter households 28.2% 33.2%
Spending 30% or more on shelter 21.4% 20.6%
Participation rate 56.5% 63.7%
Unemployment rate 8.7% 10.4%
Median household income, 2020 78000 $ —
Median after-tax household income, 2020 70000 $ —
Prevalence of low income (LIM-AT) 10% —
Bachelor degree or higher 15.1% —

The one thing to keep in mind

Census day was 11 May 2021, so income is for 2020 and the labour figures were taken during the pandemic — Toronto's 13.9% unemployment rate is a May 2021 reading, not a current one. Census 2021 count for the census subdivision, which is the municipality proper. It will differ from the figure in wander.regions, which is sometimes a metropolitan population.

Source: Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population — 98-401-X2021005 — Canada, provinces, territories, census divisions and census subdivisions, Statistics Canada, under the Open Government Licence – Canada. National comparison: Population-weighted across all 5,161 census subdivisions in the 2021 Census Profile. Median rent and median age are weighted means of local medians, which is an approximation, not a national median.

3

The communities the register shows

A community appears in the business register before it appears in prose — a national church, a society, a credit union, a newspaper. Those are counted as institutions, and they are what suggests residents. A restaurant serving a cuisine is counted separately as trade, because every city has those and they say nothing about who lives nearby. The ranking is by institutions.

CommunityInstitutions WorshipTrade Where it shows
South Asian 1 1 —
SIKH TEMPLE
French 1 — —
Campbell River Francophone
Japanese — — 2
Indigenous — — 2
Thai — — 1
Swedish — — 1
Austrian — — 1
4

Where the communities are

Streets, not neighbourhood names. The data knows that Greek institutions sit on one street and Greek restaurants on another; it does not know the word "Greektown", so it does not use it.

5

What the city is made of

Every business on file, grouped by the sector it trades in. This is the economic-development view: where the 1,660 businesses actually are, and the specific trades inside each sector.

SectorBusinesses ShareWhat is in it
Business 142 8.6% government (49) · association (44) · accounting (24) · consulting (21) · auction (1)
Construction 97 5.8% general contractor (14) · electrician (14) · excavating (10) · plumbing (10) · heating and cooling (9) · painting (9) · carpet (8) · machinery (6)
Living 88 5.3% place of worship (22) · furniture (14) · cleaning (10) · daycare (10) · apartment (10) · veterinary (6) · janitor (5) · laundry (3)
Retail 81 4.9% gifts (19) · convenience (17) · department store (12) · restaurant supplier (6) · photography (6) · flowers (6) · jeweler (5) · pet supply (3)
Health 74 4.5% physician (14) · medical clinic (14) · pharmacy (9) · optical (6) · chiro (6) · fitness club (5) · health foods (3)
Dining 73 4.4% restaurant (59) · pizza (8) · pubs (3) · diner (2) · steakhouse (1)
Automotive 66 4% autos (31) · auto repair (13) · auto parts (7) · tires (2) · scooter (1) · motorcycle (1)
Beauty 57 3.4% hair stylist (36) · dentist (11) · barber (8)
Education 51 3.1% school (46) · writing (1) · library (1) · garden (1)
Finance 49 3% insurance (14) · bank (10) · loans (2) · real estate (1) · mortgage (1)
Travel 44 2.7% motel (16) · hotel (12) · travel agent (5) · bnb (4) · pubs (1) · parking (1) · airline (1)
Athletic Sports 44 2.7%
Manufacturing 36 2.2% fabrication (13) · industrial supplier (13) · machinery (8) · salvage (1) · greenhouse (1)
Logistics 36 2.2% truck transportation (14) · towing (7) · storage (6) · packaging (3)
Living & Home 35 2.1%
Construction & Realty 31 1.9%
Retail Goods 30 1.8%
Sports 27 1.6% boating marine (22) · martial arts (2) · golf course (2) · pubs (1)
Entertainment 20 1.2% games (7) · museum (4) · amusement (2) · nightclub (1) · music instruments (1)
Tech 18 1.1% computers (16) · wireless (2)
6

The franchises already here

Brands from a register of 2,024 franchise systems, matched into this city by name. A high count is a signal in both directions: the territory works, and it may be taken.

20 of these brands are a single common word — Metro, Avenue, Budget — so their counts include businesses that merely share the word. They are marked rather than dropped.

BrandCategory HereWorldwide
7-Eleven convenience 3 30,000
Salvation Army retail 3 —
Petro Canada fuel 2 1,512
Royal Canadian Legion club 2 160
U-Haul car 2 13,700
Best Western businesshotel 1 4,200
Big O Tires auto 1 540
Blockbuster Video video 1 5,900
Boston Pizza pizza 1 250
Buns Master Bakery coffee 1 29
Canada Post locations post 1 23,000
Canadian Tire retail 1 455
Color Your World retail 1 98
Curves For Women fitness 1 10,000
Dairy Queen fastfood 1 5,900
Fountain Tire auto 1 —
Great Canadian Bagel deli 1 48
Home Hardware home 1 1,000
Island Hearing specialty 1 80
Kal Tire auto 1 200
Little Caesars Pizza pizza 1 1,800
Merle Norman Cosmetics retail 1 2,000
Movie Gallery video 1 4,700
NAPA Auto Parts auto 1 18,000
Northern Reflections retail 1 150
Panago Pizza pizza 1 155
Peoples Jewellers retail 1 —
Rent-A-Wreck car 1 —
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory dessert 1 320
Rotary Club club 1 —
Royal Bank bank 1 —
Save On Foods supermarket 1 69
Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy 1 927
Showcase Cinemas entertainment 1 19
Source For Sports retail 1 150
St. John retail 1 —
Super 8 economyhotel 1 —
Superior Propane fuel 1 —
TD Canada Trust bank 1 —
Telus Mobility wireless 1 —
Tim Hortons coffee 1 2,890
Town Shoes retail 1 26
Limited name only retail 3 —
Manor name only retail 3 —
Cartier name only retail 2 —
Honda name only car 2 —
Aldi name only supermarket 1 5,000
Beltone name only specialty 1 1,500
Bootlegger name only retail 1 —
CIBC name only bank 1 —
Fabricland name only retail 1 170
Greyhound name only travel 1 —
Husky name only fuel 1 —
Intersport name only retail 1 60
Jeep name only suv 1 —
Midas name only auto 1 1,800
Progressive name only supermarket 1 150
Reitmans name only retail 1 343
SAAN name only retail 1 140
Sears name only inc 1 2,300
Toyota name only car 1 —
Zellers name only retail 1 —
7

Real estate as a local trade

Four unrelated jobs share the name: selling existing homes, owning and letting them, managing them for someone else, and building new ones. For anyone weighing a move or a licence these are the counts — and the ownership question goes to /property, which answers it building by building.

Real estate is a local job market in its own right, and four unrelated trades get the same name. Counts are businesses filed under each trade in the register, which lists a brokerage once however many agents work there — so this measures firms, not licensees.

Selling homes

5312
9 firms · LQ 0.4

Offices of agents and brokers — the resale market, and the biggest single trade in most Canadian cities.

Named in the register
  • CHICALO BURRIDGE LAND SURVEYING GEOMAT — Dogwood Street
  • COAST REALTY GROUP CAMPBELL RIVERLTD — 300 St. Ann's Road 101
  • Cunningham and Rivard Appraisals — 990 Cedar St
  • Holly Hill Development — 2285 Steelhead Rd
  • Household Financial Hfc — 1007 Shoppers Row
  • NEW WAY REALTY INC — 916 B Island Highway
  • RE MAX Check Realty — 950 Island Highway
  • Royal Le Page Advance — 1302 Shoppers Row
  • Willow Point Realty — 2247 Island Hwy

Owning and letting

5311
10 firms · LQ 1.29

Lessors of real estate: the buildings themselves, filed under the building rather than the owner.

Named in the register
  • British Columbia Housing Management Commission — 300 Robron Road
  • Creekside Terrace — 535 Rockland Road
  • DISCOVERY RIDGE APARTMENTS — 795 9 Avenue 303
  • Discovery Village — 283 1st Avenue
  • DISCOVERY VILLAGE — 283 1 Avenue
  • HIGHLAND COURT — 644 C 4 Avenue 206
  • Regal Manor — 600 South Island Highway
  • Seaview Manor — 860 Alder Street
  • Terrace View Apartments — 961 Cedar St
  • Westerly Manor — 710 Dogwood Street

Building new homes

2361
22 firms · LQ 1.17

Residential builders and the general contractors who work for them.

Named in the register
  • Ashdown Construction — 342 Mccarthy St
  • Berry and Vale Contracting — 3815 Discovery Dr
  • BRUFATTO L CONTRACTING — 505 Birch Street
  • Campbell River Rock and Tile — 2914 Quinsam Rd
  • Custom Cut Firewood — 780 Nursery Rd
  • Elkhorn Developments — 1310 Spruce St
  • Forbes Landing Log Homes — PO Box 807
  • K K Contracting — 329 Mccarthy St
  • Ltj Construction — 1360 Homewood
  • Northland Developments — 2007 Fairway Dr
  • Seymour Pacific Developments — 300 St. Ann's Rd
  • TAYCO PAVING CO — Gold Riv Highway
  • Top Island Enterprises — 560 Quadra Ave
  • Woodburn Manufactured Homes — 2700 Woodburn Rd

Financing it

5222
3 firms · LQ 1.9

Mortgage brokers and non-bank lenders.

Named in the register
  • INSTALOANS FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS CENTRES — 909 Island Highway 104
  • Northland Mortgage and Invstmnt — 300 St. Ann's Rd
  • SORENSENS LOANS TIL PAYDAY INC — 644 11 Avenue

Who actually owns it

The full property record →

From the /property research for this city, which asks a different question: not who trades in property here, but who owns it. An owner is named there only where a document says so. Title $11.06 a search; LOTR names the people behind companies.

Landowners

  • Privately held land (owner not published) — about 93,016 ha of 173,396 ha of land, 53.6%
  • Province of British Columbia (provincial Crown) — about 77,780 ha of 173,396 ha of land, 44.9%
  • Western Forest Products Inc. — 344,177 ha of Crown tenure; 4,042 ha of freehold in the box
  • TimberWest Forest Corp — 125,635 ha of Crown tenure; 316 ha of freehold in the box
  • Wei Wai Kum First Nation and We Wai Kai Nation — 487.5 ha of federal reserve inside the city, 3.2% of its land
  • City of Campbell River — $47,116,004 of land at cost; about 651 ha of municipal parcels and parks

Homebuilders

  • Seymour Pacific Developments Ltd. — 19,000+ units in 30 years; 1,500+ a year
  • Broadstreet Properties Ltd. — $729,481.86 of 2025 municipal taxes across two listed entities

Commercial landlords

  • Northwest Realty Inc. (dba Northwest Properties) — 442,760 sq ft at Discovery Harbour Centre; 73.9% stake stated
  • Wei Wai Kum First Nation — co-owner of a 442,760 sq ft centre, plus marina, RV park and fuel sales
  • City of Campbell River — the 1300-block of Shoppers Row, retained freehold

7 marquee buildings examined, 6 with an owner established.

On "how many doors"

How many doors a landlord holds is not in any of this. The register files an apartment building under the building, not its owner, and carries no unit count; there is no open dataset of Canadian landlords by portfolio. Where this research has established ownership it is in the /property record for the city, building by building, which is a different and much slower exercise.

8

Work where you go to them

The Ultimate 411 half of local: everything where the customer does not have to come to you.

A shop needs the customer to walk in. These 157 services do the opposite — the mobile mechanic, the mobile groomer, the bookkeeper, the junk haul — and they are the ones a person can start without a lease. 0 of them already match a trait filed in this city's register.

The 157 Service=1 rows in search.local: work where the provider travels to the customer. "present" counts businesses already filed under that exact trait name; a blank is a coverage gap, not proof of absence, because the two vocabularies were built separately.

home services

Short-Term Rental TurnoverAppliance InstallationBabyproofing & Safety InstallsCarpet & Upholstery CleaningDeep CleaningDrywall RepairErrand RunningExterior PaintingFence & Deck StainingFurniture AssemblyGarden Weeding & MaintenanceGrocery Pickup & DeliveryGutter CleaningHandyman (General Repairs)Hedge & Shrub TrimmingHouse CleaningHouse SittingInterior PaintingJunk Removal & Dump RunsLandscape Design & PlantingLawn MowingFall Leaf CleanupMove-In / Move-Out CleaningMoving Help (Labour Only)Moving with TruckOffice CleaningPersonal ShopperPressure WashingMove Things Around the HouseSnow Shovelling & RemovalPacking & UnpackingTV & Picture MountingWardrobe StylingWindow Cleaning

events

BartenderDesignated Driver (Your Car)CateringTents, Tables & ChairsFloristFuneral & Celebration of Life ArrangementsGame-Day Bus or VanBook a Pub for Your GroupKaraoke Machine RentalParty Bus & Group ShuttlePub Crawl HostTaxi to the PubSports & Game PhotographyStag & Doe / Jack & Jill PlanningTailgate Party SetupTrivia Night HostVenue SourcingBig-Game Watch Party SetupWedding OfficiantWedding Planner / Coordinator

pets

Aquarium & Terrarium CleaningCatio (Cat Patio) BuildChicken Coop BuildDog House BuildDog TrainingDog WalkingHome Pet BoardingLost Pet SearchMobile Dog GroomingOvernight Pet SittingBuild & Install a Pet DoorPet Cages & EnclosuresPet Fencing & Dog RunsPet PhotographyPet-Proofing Your HomePet Sitting & Dog WalkingPet TaxiYard Poop Scooping

luxury

Chauffeur & Luxury CarDJ & Sound Gear RentalDJEvent PhotographerEvent PlannerLive MusiciansHair & Makeup ArtistMatchmakerPersonal ConciergePortrait & Headshot PhotographerPrivate ChefVideographerVIP / Social Club MembershipWedding PhotographerYacht & Boat Charter

healthcare

Wheelchair-Accessible TransportGrab Bars, Ramps & Home AccessibilityLight Housekeeping for SeniorsCooking & Meal Prep for SeniorsMedical Appointment EscortMedication & Appointment RemindersMobility Equipment RentalRespite Care for Family CaregiversSenior CompanionshipTech Help for SeniorsWalking Companion

sporting goods

Bike Tune-UpBorrow a Bike or E-BikeBorrow Camping GearBorrow Golf ClubsBorrow Hockey GearBorrow Ice SkatesBorrow a Kayak, Canoe or PaddleboardBorrow Skis, Poles & Ski BootsBorrow a Snowboard & Snow BootsSkate SharpeningSki & Snowboard Tuning

sports

Backyard Rink BuildLocal Fishing GuideGolf CaddieFind Players for a Pickup GamePrivate Sports LessonJoin or Build a Rec League TeamBook Ice, Courts & FieldsWorkout & Sports BuddyRoommates Who Also Like Sports

business

BookkeepingStart a Local BusinessCareer Coaching & RésumésFind a Local ManufacturerFind Local Work / Contract GigsLocal Advertising PlacementPrototype & Small-Batch ProductionTranslation & InterpretationWebsite & Online Presence

outdoors

Brush & Land ClearingChainsaw Rental (from a local owner)Firewood (Cut, Split & Delivered)Log Bucking & Cutting (Chainsaw)Portable SawmillingSmall-Lot Logging & Land ClearingStump GrindingTree FellingWood Splitting

construction

CarpenterElectricianHeating & Cooling (HVAC)Mobile MechanicPlumberRoof RepairSmall Engine RepairWelder / Metal Fabrication

travel

Airport Transfer & Car ServiceCorporate & Business TravelCruise BookingFamily Travel for a WeddingBereavement / Funeral TravelLeisure Travel PlanningLocal Tour Guide

tools

Camera & Lens RentalGenerator RentalLog Splitter RentalParty Equipment RentalPower Tool RentalTrailer & Truck Rental
9

Schools and colleges

wander.schools is a post-secondary table — universities and colleges. K-12 public and private schools are not in it, and only 7 of its 1,686 rows carry coordinates, so these are listed and not mapped.

In the business register

Where schooling shows up as a business rather than an institution — which is where K-12, tutoring and childcare appear.

school 46daycare 10
10

Health and care

What a person moving a parent here would ask first. The register files clinics and pharmacies; it has no category for a hospital at all, so hospitals are matched by name and the limit is stated rather than hidden.

Medical clinics14
Pharmacies9
Dental practices11

Matched on the name "hospital"

  • Greenwood Animal Hospital — 1105 Greenwood St
  • 470 HEALTH CENTRE INC — 470 S Dogwood
  • Quinsam Health Center — 664C Head Start Cres
  • Pharmasave Health Centre — 277 Evergreen Road
  • Dogwood Dental Health Center — 150 Dogwood St
  • Coastland Veterinary Hospital — 2056 South Island Hwy

geonet carries no 'hospital' trait, so these are matched on the business name. A distance-to-hospital figure needs a source that states hospital locations.

11

Mayor & politics

Who holds office here and who is asking to, from the official lists on /politics: the council, the riding’s Member of Parliament and the provincial member. Each name opens its row there.

Mayor
not yet on file
Member of Parliament
Aaron Gunn ✉️ · Conservative
North Island—Powell River
Member of the Legislative Assembly
Anna Kindy · BC Conservative
North Island
On the ballot
16 candidates
votes 2026-10-17

Everyone who represents Campbell River, and everyone running →

Realtors in Campbell River — the brokerages and licensed agents to call →

12

What this record cannot tell you

Named in full, because the gaps are the part most likely to be misread as an answer.

  • Census figures are 2021, taken on 11 May 2021: income is for 2020 and the labour figures were measured mid-pandemic, so the unemployment rate on this page is a 2021 reading rather than a current one.
  • wander.schools is now readable, but it holds universities and colleges only and 1,679 of its 1,686 rows have no coordinates. K-12 public and private schools need a separate source — in Ontario the Ministry of Education school finder, in British Columbia the provincial school list. wander.citytowns, hotels and territories remain denied to the ru user.
  • No 'hospital' trait exists in geonet; distance to a hospital needs an external source such as StatCan's Open Database of Healthcare Facilities.
  • 17.7% of businesses here carry no coordinates, so a map or address lookup would miss them. Postal codes reach 97.4%.

Built from

  • geonet.nanaimo — the local business register
  • wander.regions — city name, population, metro
  • search.local — trait vocabulary and the come-to-you services
  • search.cozfranchises — 2,024 franchise brands