Lund, British Columbia


Lund is a small craft harbour and unincorporated village in qathet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is along the northern part of the Strait of Georgia on the mainland BC coast. The main landmark in the village is the Lund Hotel, established in 1905. By boat from Lund, the Copeland Islands and Desolation Sound, are nearby. Lund is home to many shops and services including a general store, a restaurant overlooking the water, kayak and adventure tourism stores, and Nancy's Bakery, a favourite of locals and tourists.

History

Lund was named by brothers Frederick and Charles Thulin, who came from Tryserum near Valdemarsvik, Sweden. When they settled at the harbour in December 1889, they named it after Lund, Sweden, because it was Swedish and fairly easy for non-Scandinavians to pronounce. When they arrived, there were native homes around the harbour. The Thulins built a store and in 1892 a post office was added followed by the first licensed hotel north of Vancouver two years later. Logging and fishing were the source of income in the early years. Transportation was by water. A second hotel, called the Malaspina, was built by the Thulins. When the original hotel was destroyed by a forest fire in 1918, the newer hotel, which continues to operate in the village, was renamed the Lund Hotel. A paved road leading south to Vancouver was completed in 1954 and coastal steamer service ended two years later. The original wharf built by the Thulins was damaged by a storm in 1954 and replaced by a government wharf.

Transportation

Lund is the northern terminus of Highway 101. The highway is locally known as the Sunshine Coast Highway. Powell River is south by road, from where BC Ferries offers service to Comox on Vancouver Island to the west across the Strait of Georgia. Transportation is also available from Powell River by private aircraft or scheduled service with Pacific Coastal Airlines, which offers half-hour flights to Vancouver. Road access to Vancouver to the south involves two ferry crossings of fjords along the Sunshine Coast.
Lund harbour provides marine vessel access including regular water taxi service to Savary Island and is accessible by chartered float plane.

Government and politics

As an unincorporated community, municipal government is provided by the Powell River Regional District.
Lund is a part of the North Island-Powell River federal riding. Rachel Blaney, of the New Democratic Party of Canada, is the Member of Parliament. She was elected to represent the riding in the 2015 federal election.
Nicholas Simons of the NDP was elected to represent Lund as part of the Powell River-Sunshine Coast constituency in the 2005 BC general election and re-elected in 2009 and in 2013.