Duncan, B.C.

Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city by area in the nation.LocationThe city is about 50 kilometres from both Victoria to the south and Nanaimo to the north.Although the City of Duncan has a population of just under 5000, it serves the Cowichan Valley which has a population of approximately 80,000, many of whom live in North Cowichan contiguous with Duncan. This gives Duncan a much larger "greater" population than that contained within the city limits. People in areas of North Cowichan bordering on Duncan usually use "Duncan" as their mailing city.Duncan is the seat of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. The name Cowichan is an anglicization of Halkomelem, which means "the warm land".TransportationThe railway continues to cross Duncan, as does the Trans-Canada Highway, though passenger and freight rail service on the south island corridor were both discontinued indefinitely in 2011 for safety reasons relating to long-deferred track maintenance.Public transit is provided in conjunction between BC Transit and the Cowichan Valley Regional Transit System.HistoryThe community is named after William Chalmers Duncan. He arrived in Victoria in May 1862, then in August of that year he was one of the party of a hundred settlers which Governor Douglas took to Cowichan Bay. After going off on several gold rushes, Duncan settled close to the present city of Duncan. He married in 1876, and his son Kenneth became the first mayor of Duncan. There is a Kenneth Street, as well as a Duncan Street, in the city.