A map of Vancouver Island, showing the location of Vancouver and Victoria.
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.