Vancouver Island is an island that is part of the province of British Columbia in Canada. It is 31,285 square kilometres (12,079 sq mi) big and is in the south-western part of the province. The island is named after George Vancouver.
The first people to live on the island, before Europeans came, were the Nuu-chah-nulth, Salish, and Kwakiutl. As of 2009, over 700,000 people live here.