Should Gabriola Island have more accountable local government?
Private project. The petition is open. This domain preserves public information and invites anyone who thinks Gabriola Island should govern itself to add their name. It does not claim to speak for Gabriola Island.
Sign the petition on this page. Residents decide whether and when to sign.
Options local people may examine
Municipal incorporation or regional-district transfer.
A stronger elected local body or service-area reform.
A modified Islands Trust structure.
Maintaining the status quo.
The island, on the record
4,047 parcels across 6,255 hectares, mapped and inspectable. 448 Islands Trust meetings archived since 2012.
Parcel counts and hectares cover the whole Gabriola Island Local Trust Area as ParcelMap BC maps it, which includes foreshore and marine parcels as well as land. Treat the hectare figure as mapped parcel area, not the island's land area.
The most populous of the Northern Gulf Islands, a short ferry from Nanaimo, with one of the largest Trust caseloads.
Latest research and writing
Newest first; every claim footnoted to its source.
Too Slow to Help, Too Permissive to Protect: The Case on Gabriola Published August 16, 2026 Gabriola Island has spent nearly three decades governed by a community plan the Islands Trust itself says has not been updated since 1997, while the Trust's own research documented a deepening housing crisis and its bylaw staff estimated hundreds of unlawful dwellings it lacks the capacity to address. Housing advocates and conservationists disagree about almost everything except this: the process is not delivering.
Water: the groundwater under Gabriola Island
Island homes drink groundwater. The Province of British Columbia maps 4 aquifers under Gabriola Island; the main one sits beneath 2,659 of the island's lots, and 2,621 wells are registered on these aquifers. Classifications below are the Province's own, shown verbatim. Full water report for Gabriola Island →
Aquifer 709 — Gabriola; excluding northern portion: Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock, 46.8 km², mapped 2004. Vulnerability High; productivity Low; demand Moderate; 1042 wells on record; 1 water licence. Provincial factsheet
Aquifer 706 — Gabriola; Northern area: Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock, 5.9 km², mapped 2004. Vulnerability High; productivity Low; demand High; 257 wells on record; 1 water licence. Provincial factsheet
Aquifer 968 — De Courcy Island: Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock, 2.0 km², mapped 2012. Vulnerability High; productivity Low; demand High; 84 wells on record; 0 water licences. Provincial factsheet
Aquifer 162 — Cedar, Yellow Point, N. Oyster (Ladysmith): Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock, 84.2 km², mapped 2012. Vulnerability High; productivity Low; demand Moderate; 1238 wells on record; 3 water licences. Provincial factsheet
A High vulnerability rating means relatively little natural protection between the surface and the water people draw from; it describes susceptibility, not current contamination. Source: Ground Water Aquifers — BC Data Catalogue (Open Government Licence — BC) and the Province's GWELLS registry.
Ferry tracker
Nanaimo Harbour–Descanso Bay (Route 19) — live sailings and vessel positions sit at the top of this page. Official schedules: www.bcferries.com/routes-fares/schedules.
Ownership and relationship
Private, personal project. Gabriola Town was built privately and is maintained privately by Tony Aly, a vibe coder on Denman Island. It is not an official government, Islands Trust, regional-district, community-association, or locally endorsed website.
The related Abolish Islands Trust project advocates long-term provincial statutory change. A future locally led island project may choose a different position.