Search for B.C.'s best small town: Vancouver Island & southwest B.C. semifinals

We've reached the point in the Search for British Columbia's Best Small Town where there are just 16 communities left, with four votes happening today and four votes happening on Thursday to determine the final eight.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, of the eight southwest B.C. finalists, three are islands in the Salish Sea. 

"If you're landlocked, you like to come to the water," said Port McNeill Mayor Gaby Wickstrom.

"The tourism based towns are pulling ahead. I don't know if that's due to the dollars they have to promote themselves, the international recognition or it's just the town itself."

Gabriola, Salt Spring and Hornby Island all get their fair share of tourists, but island communities also develop deep neighbourly bonds out of necessity. 

"It's a rural community, so it's comfortable. People are helpful to one another," said Salt Spring Island local Trustee Laura Patrick.

"There was a massive windstorm here in December 2018 … a lot of people didn't have power for a long time, and we looked after each other."

Keeping a rural feel while having enough access to Vancouver Island has long been a source of tension in these communities. 

Hornby Island residents are calling for changes to new Transport Canada regulations that have increased B.C. Ferries wait-times, and there are debates over whether housing policies are sustainable in light of more people from larger communities moving in.

"It's people who are already very affluent and basically getting a second home, or they're moving to Salt Spring because they're moving out of the workforce," said Daniel Wood, the general manager of the Salt Spring Island Cheese Company. 

He said it's become harder to find seasonal workers that can afford the types of properties available on the island. 

"We need to move our density away from these sorts of massive houses and towards more the full gamut of how actual people really live," argued Wood.  

It's not the first passionate debate over what the future of islands in the Salish Sea should be. And it won't be the last. 

"What is the right level? What is the right amount of tourists?" said Patrick. 

"So it's a balance. And I think that's the key … people just need to be aware when they're coming that this is a community where people live. It's their home, and you're a visitor." 

The three island communities will try and advance in the Search for B.C.'s Best Small Town, with Salt Spring and Gabriola matching up against each other, while Hornby Island takes on the historic coal town of Cumberland. 

Voting will take place until 10 p.m. PT, with today's votes determining the regional finalists in the southwest B.C. and Vancouver Island quadrants of the competition.

UPDATE: In the final hours of voting, 176 ballots were cast for Sun Peaks from IP addresses that were not identified with any country, compared to 0 ballots cast in a similar manner for Lillooet. Eliminating those ballots has produced a victory for Lillooet.