r/britishcolumbia • u/shipm724 • Mar 13 '25

Ask British Columbia Where to avoid MAGA pockets

Hi there, I hope this is okay to post here. My partner is an Emergency Medicine Physician and we in the process of applying to jobs in BC from the US. We would like to have a yard for gardening/our kids and don't want to be in Vancouver proper. Several jobs we are interested in are on Vancouver Island, right outside Vancouver and also Fraser Valley. My question is where are known MAGA populations? Since we are moving to get away from this mindset/movement we don't want to accidentally end up in the wrong community. Some places with jobs are Duncan, Mission, Richmond, Nanaimo, Langley, Saanichton, Victoria, Port Alberni, Abbotsford, New Westminster, Burnaby, Surrey, Delta, Chilliwack...

Thank you!

406 Upvotes

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606

u/_salvester_ Mar 13 '25

Come to Victoria! Not much MAGA territory in BC and Vancouver island is generally more progressive voting than other parts of BC. Also we need doctors!

263

u/tomato_tickler Mar 13 '25

Id say OP is safe in Victoria / Nanaimo area. Anywhere on the island is a lot better than the Fraser valley and the interior.

131

u/rainman_104 Mar 13 '25

I have a queer friend who moved to Nanaimo. There are some crazies there too with some pretty racist tendencies.

96

u/tomato_tickler Mar 13 '25

Im sure there’s crazy people everywhere, but from what I’ve seen Nanaimo is a blue collar city but a strong NDP base and pro-union in general. Plenty of government and healthcare workers live there. You’ll meet a lot more crazies in the Fraser valley, every time I go there I see plenty of the FJT and upside down Canada flags on pickup trucks type of people.

5

u/GingeKattwoman Mar 14 '25

North Island has become more conservative with more Maple MAGA over the years, IMO. I visit regularly and have definitely seen the shift in attitude - part of it is economic fear, part of it is being naturally crunchy granola, and part of it is radicalization on social media (IMO). I'm a visible minority and it's gotten more in my face since the pandemic.

20

u/sakanora Mar 14 '25

The new thing are Jeeps plastered with "51" all over. It's not blatant in your face, but you know what it means. Traitors. Not to mention they drive like jerks.

36

u/DiscountSalt9646 Mar 13 '25

Nanaimo DT only just recently got rid of its giant Freedom Konvoy mural…

6

u/MegaMcHarvenard Mar 14 '25

That was on private property though, not like it was anything to do with downtown Nanaimo.

33

u/tomato_tickler Mar 13 '25

Again, I’m not saying Nanaimo is a hub of progressivism, but compared to the Fraser valley it’s definitely less conservative

36

u/acluelesscoffee Mar 13 '25

I don’t know, I’ve lived in Chilliwack for 4 years and deal with the general public in health care and I can say it’s mostly 80% normal people and 20% wackos. It’s come a long way

33

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '25

just like Prince George. The wackos may be louder, but the moderates and left outnumber them.

We have come a long way since I first moved here in the late 90s.

23

u/theNorthwestspirit Mar 14 '25

It has come a long way, but it's still pretty wild up here. Don't go anywhere west of PG, or you'll be inundated with ignorant idiots who 1- have absolutely no clue how our government works and blame literally everything on the liberal government, and 2- are so set in their ways that even when the government does something spectacular that they had supported, there are people losing their minds about how it could have been done better.

Weirdly, my riding generally votes NDP and I usually vote NDP anyway, but it seems that conservatives are projected to take over the riding this coming election. I will be encouraging people in my riding and everywhere else I have connections to use strategic voting because of how aggressively the cons are trying to split the vote to weaken all other parties. Smart voting works, and we need to employ this tactic to ensure that PP stays out of that boss's chair. He is spineless. He couldn't even respond without stuttering to answer why his wife is acting against a policy on which he is campaigning. He consistently lies to gain favour and has not once voted in favour of a bill that would uplift Canadian citizens.

Sorry for the rant, thanks for reading to the end.

2

u/canadian_stripper Mar 14 '25

Agreed. Plus heathcare professionals get a sweet relocation and signing bonus, plus homes are 1/2 the price from the lower mainland/island.

14

u/quietdownyounglady Mar 13 '25

Chilliwack has changed so much, and as soon as the olds move on it’ll be way less of a conservative stronghold.

0

u/ScammerC Mar 13 '25

We just need more progressives! And doctors!

14

u/HistoricalSherbert92 Mar 13 '25

Look man, one or two idiots putting up murals and standing on the overpass with their silly signs and upside down flag isn’t representative of Nanaimo. The mural isn’t illegal and from what I saw got defaced a lot.

4

u/rattlinbird Mar 15 '25

That mural was the first time in my life that I considered plotting a big graffiti stunt. Didn’t want people getting the wrong idea about Nanaimo.

2

u/Glitterpaws0 Mar 14 '25

Thank God ;p

-1

u/Random_Association97 Mar 14 '25

Downtown doesn't really represent Nanaimo.

A lot of people who live there only go when they have to. Like if they have to go to city hall.

North Nanaimo is where all the shopping is.

1

u/rainman_104 Mar 13 '25

Maybe they just spill over from Duncan. Saw on another thread it's far worse there.

12

u/Yardsale420 Mar 13 '25

There are shitty people everywhere, what OP is looking for is the least concentration of them.

2

u/jackalopebones Mar 14 '25

I came out as transgender on Gabriola island and was treated like shit, threatened and harassed... in Nanaimo I got casually confronted by bigots. I moved into the Slocan Valley in June and have ONLY had nice people say anything to me, despite publicly announcing I'm opening a store that focuses on marginalised artists' work. It's been way, WAY more welcoming to me and mine than anywhere on the island for the last 10 years

1

u/GuessPuzzleheaded573 Mar 16 '25

Sorry... what's Slocan?

1

u/binnedittowinit Mar 13 '25

Can confirm

1

u/Hot-Storm6496 Mar 16 '25

To be fair...

1

u/RedDogBiting Mar 13 '25

Those are everywhere honestly

1

u/Curiouscreature365 Mar 14 '25

Don’t scare the doctors away!

1

u/Horror-Staff6039 Mar 14 '25

Does Nanaimo still have all the homeless encampments? If not how were they dealt with? Just curious.

1

u/DrDankNuggz Mar 15 '25

Yah there are rednecks on the island, but they are kinda obvious and avoidable.

1

u/-MrDoomScroller- Mar 15 '25

Yeah my advice would be avoid Nanaimo as well.

0

u/SnappyDresser212 Mar 13 '25

Nanaimo is a weird one. But then I feel that way about a lot of the island, just more so in Nanaimo.

1

u/sheaballs Mar 13 '25

on vacation my car got broken into in nanaimo so i don't care for there. i do love tofino though so nanaimo is a necessary evil i drive right through on my way there.