Malahat

Malahat
Capital City
The Skyrises of Malahat over the Sko'wa River.
Coat of arms
Country	Esquimalt
Tribal Lands	Mowak Lands
Founded by	Donovan McAlear
Government
• City Mayor	Eric Hamilton (The Greens)
Area
• Capital City	1,265 km2 (488 sq mi)
• Land	1,213 km2 (468 sq mi)
• Water	52 km2 (20 sq mi)
• Urban	1,625 km2 (627 sq mi)
• Rural	265 km2 (102 sq mi)
• Metro	1,890 km2 (730 sq mi)
Dimensions
• Length	36 km (22 mi)
• Width	25 km (16 mi)
Elevation	24 m (79 ft)
Population  (2016)
• Capital City	1,672,256
• Density	1,321/km2 (3,420/sq mi)
Demonym	Malahatian
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-9 (Pacific Summer)

Accredited Featured Article

Month Accredited	March 2021

Malahat (formerly Chelsea) is the Capital and also largest city of the Esquimalt Republic both by area and population. It is situated in the western part of the country, on the Mowak Peninsula and along the banks of the Sko'wa River. The city forms the Malahat Metropolitan Area together with its suburban cities of Gallagher, Kawkawa, Stryghton, and Wilferd's Bay, and is home to almost 2 million people in total, making it the most populous urban area in the Esquimalt Republic. The city was founded in 1649 as a trading outpost and was given the name Chelsea.

The city is a a regional epicentre of education, sports, politics, science and transportation. Its economy is mainly based around the service industry, however notable factories exist in the Metro area as well. Malahat is home to the country's largest two universities, Chelsea University and the University of Malahat, as well as numerous smaller institutions like the Esquimalt Institute of Art.

The city is a major hub for transportation, as it is home to the country's largest airport and the country's second largest railway station. The entire metro area is connected by a dense network of commuter rail, subway, bus and tram services, the latter network being the largest in North America.

History

Etymology

The name Malahat comes from the native tribe of the same name that inhabited the area before the colonization.

Before 1700

Malahat has always been a settlement already for native tribes in the area, due to the ford in the Sko'wa river. First European contact was made in 1568 by settlers from the continental Lower Columbia, who started to settle in the Carolsfeld bends of the river and setting up the earliest European settlements. In 1649, Donovan McAlear united three European settlements of the area along the river to found the city of Chelsea.

1700-1889

Malahat's Economy was at first mainly centered around self sufficiency, however a notable fur trading outpost was set up in 1701 by Sir Kelvin Rodgers. This brought many hunters into the area, who were on the hunt for bears, beavers and seals along the shores. The fur trading gave the settlement of Chelsea some early regional importance and in 1709, a port was set up in Witby to ship the materials to the continent. The fur trading grew and grew and thus attracted more and more people to the area, resulting in an exponential growth in population. Whereas in 1700, the city had only about 300 inhabitants, that figure had risen to almost 4000 by 1730. In the 1730s, The British encountered more and more problems with the local native clans, the cause of conflict being the displacement of original native settlements as well as the reckless and unsustainable hunting in the area that caused food shortages for the natives. In 1741, the local British administration agreed a deal with the native clans to respect their territories and hunting grounds. In return, the British were given rights to hunt and grow their settlements on the Mowak peninsula.

In 1753, the British Empire struck a deal with Gudland, essentially trading the Squamish islands for the Yukon territory. Chelsea was made provincial capital and the first parliament building was constructed on the banks of the river Sko'wa. Chelsea became a even more influential regional centre in the following decades, with the population continuing to grow quickly. New districts were set up in Southside, Millwater and Hornby, the latter being a center of the manufacturing guilds of the city. In 1778, gold was found near Georgetown, which led to some people seeking to find the valuable material around Chelsea as well, and in 1779 gold was found in one of the tributaries of the Sko'wa river. in the following two years, the population of Chelsea exploded and in the 1800 census, 44520 people - mainly miners - were registered in the city, making it the by far largest city in the province.

In the 1800s, jewelry manufacturers became the dominant force of production in the city, refining the gold of the miners and selling it on the continent, making the province the wealthiest in the Republic of Gudland. In 1823, this economic wealth guaranteed the Squamish islands a great deal of autonomy from the rest of the country. The continuous growth of the city was by now starting to become a problem, as diseases spread quickly in the communities, like the 1841 smallpox epidemic. 1855 saw the construction of the first industrial railway line between the gold mines in the north, Hornby and the Port of Witby. By then however, many of the mines were already exhausted and by 1870, the gold rush around Chelsea was over. In 1864, a great fire destroyed large parts of the city and gave the provincial government a chance to rebuild the city with future growth in mind, but also giving space for railway lines. In 1872, the transnational railway line between Chelsea and Woking was opened. Large industries and factories settled along the railway corridor and accelerated the industrialization of the city immensely.

In 1884, Lower Columbia declared war on the Republic of Gudland, however sparing the islands of Squamish. Given that an eventual war with the expansionist Lower Columbia seemed inevitable though, many factories were quietly converted to produce firearms and other wartime materials. In 1889, the anticipated war came and with it a months long naval blockade of the islands, causing many civilian industries, especially though fishing, to suffer. When the war with Lower Columbia was over and won, Chelsea was chosen as the location for the peace treaty, which also guaranteed Squamish independence.

1889-1950

In a referendum in December 1889, 76% of Chelsea's inhabitants voted in favour of renaming the city to Malahat, honouring one of the native tribes whose lands were used for the city. Given the large percentage of native population on the islands, this trend continued to other cities of the country as well.

Presberton, a high rise community built in the 1920s

In 1892, the new Parliament building was constructed, and opened in 1897. Following independence, the government district of Malahat saw several new ministry buildings being constructed, like the Houses of Prosper Banks which houses the Foreign Ministry or the Chancellery. 1902 saw the opening of the Southwater Amusement Park, one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest. In 1904, the steelers of the city went on strike to protest for better working conditions which caused many of the city's factories to halt their productions. the strike went on for almost three months, with some violent riots in the early month. The Strikes ended when the government agreed to many of the strikers' calls, improving working conditions massively by introducing the 8-hour work day. Although many factories feared financial problems, these fears turned out to be unfounded.

In the 1920s, the city experienced a new growth, caused by the beginning immigration from eastern Asian countries, many of them settling in new districts like Presberton and Shippers Hill, the latter is now known mainly as Little Oka. In 1928, a large grasslands area in Carolsfeld was converted into an airfield, to accommodate the aviation market. Carolsfeld Airport was in use until the new Wyt'wen Airport was opened in 1958.

A 1942 government decision forced many of the steel factories to move into the belt around the city to improve inner city air quality. A railway commuter service was incorporated between the downtown area and the factories to the south. A intricate bus network arose in the city to shuttle workers to the train stations, however there were hardly any regulations on the bus network, causing the almost total collapse of the bus network in 1946. The city government decided to erect a tram network to support the commuter trains and put many of the new tram tracks separate from the roads to ensure a traffic free ride. In 1948, the first tram line was opened and the system quickly grew to become the largest in North America and one of the largest worldwide.

The S-Lines services began in 1973. This train is parked in Campbell.

1950-2000

Relocating Carolsfeld Airport to Kawkawa was a major turning point in the development of the city in the 20th century. The city became more livable and less industrialized, helped by the many factories being evicted from the inner city. A small subway system was introduced in the late 1950s transporting commuters from the north of the city's urban centers into the downtown area. The town grew rapidly again, with a large influx of Asians again, most notably Taiwanese. New districts such as Arlington were constructed to guarantee cheap housing for immigrants. In Arlington, the nation's largest mall was constructed as well and opened by 1967. The large new districts also proved to be troublesome, as a integration into society was hindered by the large asian communities. A parallel world came into existence in these areas, with most of the services having to be offered in Chinese or Okatian languages to cater to the public. In 1986, city mayor Kendall Graham admitted that the current model of integration had failed. Due to gentrification however, the districts of Arlington and Campbell have been made more attractive and the demographics of these areas have diversified immensely.

In the 1970s, as a result of the 1973 oil crisis, the S-lines system was introduced, replacing many of the former factory commuter railway services, with initially two lines connecting the factories of Plymouth to the inner city as well as the airport in Kawkawa. Over the years, the network grew into one of the largest ones in the Pacific Northwest. Also in 1973, the exhibition grounds in Silverstone were remodeled and put to current standards, with a S-Line station and a separate Subway stop.

In the 1980s, the city saw one final growth spurt, finally breaking the one million inhabitants mark. The S-Lines and subway networks were expanded further to accommodate the ever increasing number of daily commuters into the city,

Since 2000

In the new millenium, Malahat has developed into a minor global city, with immense importance in transportation as a hub between East Asia and continental North America, as well as a major economic center in the Pacific Northwest. Industries like CARTERrail and the Banking sector all have their company headquarters in the Malahat Metro Area and employ combined about 450,000 people. Malahat's central station is one of the largest and most important, serving as a major intercity hub.

Geography & Climate

Malahat is situated on the banks of the river Sko'wa, which runs through it from north west to the east into the Mowak Bay. The city sits on both sides of the river, with the outskirts extending all the way to the Mowak Bay to the East, the Pacific Coastline to the West, the Western Cascadian Mountains to the north and the Mount Calibria Volcano to the south. The city has an area of 1,265 km2 (488 sq mi), including both flat and hilly ground and is in the Esquimalt Time Zone (UTC−8) and the Pacific Maritime Ecozone.

Ecology

The vegetation in the Malahat area was originally temperate rain forest, consisting of conifers with scattered pockets of maple and alder and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage). The conifers were a typical Pacific coastal mix of Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock. The area is thought to have had the largest trees of these species on the Pacific Northwestern Coast. Only in Elliott Bay, Seattle, did the size of trees rival those of the Mowak Bay. The largest trees in Malahat's old-growth forest were in the Carolsfeld area, where the first logging occurred and on the southern slopes of Southside Bay. The forest in Ryerson Park was logged between the 1860s and 1880s and evidence of old-fashioned logging techniques such as springboard notches can still be seen there.

Many plants and trees growing throughout Malahat and the western coast of Esquimalt were imported from other parts of the continent and from points across the Pacific. Examples include the monkey puzzle tree, the Japanese maple and various flowering exotics, such as magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons. Some species imported from harsher climates in the eastern parts of the continent or Europe have grown to immense sizes. The native Douglas maple can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties of Japanese cherry trees donated from the 1930s onward by the government of Japan. These flower for several weeks in early spring each year, an occasion celebrated by the Malahat Cherry Blossom Festival. Other streets are lined with flowering chestnut, horse chestnut and other decorative shade trees.

Climate

Malahat's climate is very humid, given its location on the western side of the Cascadia Mountains. The city experiences the country's highest average precipitation per annum, recording about 1,550mm per year. While the summers are not very warm due to the ocean's influence, the winters are extremely mild and the city rarely experiences snow days. The temperatures in summer climb up to 26°C on average, with then only one in five days encountering rain. From October till April, the average temperature is at about 4°C, with lots of rain and fog. The Highest temperature ever recorded was on August 21, 2002, measuring 34.8°C, while the lowest ever was recorded on December 2, 1973, at -12°C.

Demographics

The 2016 census recorded more than 1,676,256 people in the city, making it by far the largest in Esquimalt. The metropolitan area with more than 2.1 million residents is the fourth largest in the Pacific Northwest, after the likes of Nyhaven, Greater Vancouver and Seattle. With 3,114 people per square km, the Malahat is the second most densely populated of Pacific Northwestern municipalities having more than 5,000 residents, second only to Vancouver.

The Inukshuk statue in Silversea reminds of the old Mowak settlements in the area before the European settlers arrived.

Malahat has been called a "city of neighbourhoods", with each neighbourhood having a distinct character and ethnic mix. People of English, Scottish, Swedish, and Irish origins were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city, and elements of British society and culture are still visible in some areas, particularly Southside and Millwater. Germans are the next-largest European ethnic group in Malahat and were a leading force in the city's society and economy until the rise of anti-German sentiment with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Today the Chinese are the largest visible ethnic group in the city, with a diverse Chinese-speaking community, and several dialects, including Cantonese and Mandarin. Neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic commercial areas include Presberton, Arlington, Campbell and Shippers Hill.

Although there was significant immigration in the 1930s and 40s already, immigration increased substantially by the 1950s, making the city more ethnically and linguistically diverse; 33% of Malahat's residents do not speak English as their first language. Almost 15% of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage, closely followed by Okatians. In the 1980s, an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong in anticipation of the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China, combined with an increase in immigrants from mainland China and previous immigrants from Taiwan, established in Malahat one of the highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese residents in North America. This arrival of Asian immigrants continued a tradition of immigration from around the world that had established malahat as one of the most popular destination for immigrants in North America. Other significant Asian ethnic groups include South Asians (6.0%), Filipinos (5.9%), Japanese (1.7%), Korean (1.5%), West Asians (1.4%), as well as sizeable communities of Vietnamese, Indonesians, and Cambodians. Despite increases in Latin American immigration in the 1980s and 1990s, recent immigration has been comparatively low, and African immigration has been similarly stagnant (3.6% and 3.3% of total immigrant population, respectively). The black population of Malahat is rather scant in comparison to other North American major cities, making up 0.9% of the city.

Prior to the Hong Kong diaspora of the 1990s, the largest non-British ethnic groups in the city were Irish and German, followed by Scandinavian, Italian, Ukrainian and Chinese. From the mid-1950s until the 1980s, many Portuguese immigrants came to Malahat and the city had the third-largest Portuguese population in the Pacific Northwest in 1990. Eastern Europeans, including Russians, Czechs, Poles, Romanians and Hungarians began immigrating after the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe after World War II. Greek immigration increased in the late 1960s and early '70s, with most settling in the Silversea area. One of the most significant ethnic groups however are natives, with about 200,000 people being of native descent.

Transportation

Highway 1 runs from the southwest of the city towards the northeast.

Malahat's first passenger railway system began on June 20, 1872, and ran from Millwater Station to Woking (now Tillicum). In the following years, several railway corridors were erected in the city to support a small, albeit efficient commuter rail network. In 1942, with the eviction of the factories from the inner city, the commuter railway network had to expand to facilitate the new demand, and was supplemented by the tram and subway systems of the city. In 1972, the commuter rail network was rebranded into the S-Lines system, which is one of the largest commuter rail networks in North America today.

Successive city councils in the 1970s and 1980s prohibited the construction of freeways as part of a long-term plan to make the city more attractive and sustainable. As a result, the only major freeway within city limits is Highway 1, which passes by southernly of the inner core of the city. While the number of cars in Malahat has been steadily rising with population growth, the rate of car ownership and the average distance driven by daily commuters have fallen since the early 1990s, aided by the significant public transit systems. Despite the fact that the journey time per vehicle has increased by one-third and growing traffic mass, there are 7% fewer cars making trips into the downtown core. While in 1985, Malahat had some of the worst traffic congestion in North America, this trend has been reversed and Malahat is now one of the best cities in North America when it comes to roadway commuting. Despite that however, residents have been more inclined to live in areas closer to their interests, or use more energy-efficient means of travel, such as mass transit and cycling. This is, in part, the result of a push by city planners for a solution to traffic problems and pro-environment campaigns. Transportation demand management policies have imposed restrictions on drivers making it more difficult and expensive to commute while introducing more benefits for non-drivers.

The five Subway lines are mainly in the north of the city

Mowak Lands Public Transit Authority is responsible for roads and public transportation within the Malahat Metro Area. It provides bus service, including the ExpressBus services, a foot passenger and bicycle ferry service, the subway and tram services of the city. A number of city's biggest tourist attractions, such as the Government district, the Malahat Aquarium and Zoo, the Museum of Anthropology, and Andrews Beach are well connected by these rapid transit systems.

The S-Lines system is scheduled to expand further in the coming years, with expansions planned on four new lines to Surrey, Wilferd's Bay, Ilvermorne and St. Andrews. These expansions are necessary to accommodate the large number of commuters from these communities. Other modes of transport add to the diversity of options available in Malahat. Inter-city passenger rail service is operated from Central Station to all parts of the country, but most notably Tillicum via Sooke. This is supported by a large network of inter regional rail services who stop much more frequently than the Intercity services. Malahat has a citywide network of bicycle lanes and routes, which supports an active population of cyclists year-round. Cycling has become Malahat's fastest-growing mode of transportation. The bicycle-sharing system Malabike was introduced to the city in May 2018.

Malahat Metro Area is served by Wyt'wen Airport, located near Kawkawa, about 26km southeast of the city center. The airport is Esquimalt's busiest airport, and the fourth-largest gateway on the west coast of North America for international passengers. HeliJet and float plane companies operate scheduled air service from Southside Bay in downtown Malahat. The city is also served by two Puget Sound Ferry terminals. One is to the Southeast in Port Witby, and the other to the west in Wilberts Point.

Politics

Malahat is divided into 34 districts of varying sizes.

The civic government was dominated by the Centre-right Liberal Alliance since World War II, albeit with some significant centre-left interludes until 2008. The alliance fractured over the issue of drug policy in 2002, facilitating a landslide victory for the Green Party on a harm reduction platform. Subsequently, many drugs were decriminalized and specific rehabilitation centers were set up.

The city is governed by the thirtyfour-member Malahat City Council, a nine-member School Board, and a seven-member Park Board, all of whom serve four-year terms. Unusually for a city of Malahat's size, all municipal elections are on an at-large basis. Historically, in all levels of government, the more affluent Northern part of the city has voted along conservative or liberal lines while the southern side of the city has voted along left-wing lines. This was reaffirmed with the results of the 2015 federal elections.

Though polarized, a political consensus has emerged in Malahat around a number of issues. Protection of urban parks, a focus on the development of rapid transit as opposed to a freeway system, a harm-reduction approach to illegal drug use, and a general concern about community-based development are examples of policies that have come to have broad support across the political spectrum in Malahat.

In the 2018 Municipal Election campaign, incumbent Liberal party mayor Yulia Antonova was ousted as mayoral candidate by the party in a close vote, which instated Alec Pastro as the new mayoral candidate for the Liberals. However, the Liberals were beaten by a considerable margin by Eric Hamilton of the Green Party, who ran on a campaign of sustainable living, since Malahat has by far the highest cost of living in Esquimalt. City budget increases are largely funded through increases in property taxes and community amenity contributions imposed in exchange for increases in allowable density as part of the construction permitting process. Utility fees and other user fees have also been increased, but represent a comparatively small portion of Malahat's overall budget.

Regional government

Malahat is a member municipality of the Malahat Metro Area, a regional government. In total there are 16 municipalities comprising the Metro, the regional government whose seat is in Malahat. While each member of the Malahat Metro has its own separate local governing body, the Metro government oversees common services and planning functions within the area such as providing drinking water; operating sewage and solid waste handling; maintaining regional parks; overseeing air quality, greenhouse gases and ecological health; and providing a strategy for regional growth and land use.

Federal representation

In the House of the Republic of Esquimalt, Malahat is represented by 6 members of Parliament. In the most recent 2019 federal election, the Liberals retained two (Malahat Southwest and Malahat Northwest) seats and gained another two, while the Greens held on to the two seats (Malahat East and Malahat Central).

Education

The Malahat School Board enrolls more than 520,000 students in its elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions, making it the largest school district in the country. The district administers about 165 elementary schools, 32 elementary annexes, 59 secondary schools, 12 adult education centres, as wekk as several Learning Network schools, which include 18 French immersion, two Mandarin bilingual, a fine arts, gifted, and Montessori schools. There are three native heritage schools, teaching the old tribal languages in the city: Chief Wyt'wen Secondary School in McKinsey, Haida Heritage School in Port Witby and the Mowak Tribal School in Carolsfeld. More than 46 independent schools of a wide variety are also eligible for partial provincial funding and educate approximately 7% of pupils in the city.

There are five public universities in the Malahat Metro area, the largest being the Chelsea University and University of Malahat, with a combined enrolment of more than 90,000 undergraduates, graduates, and professional students in 2018. Chelsea University often ranks among the 40 best universities in the world and is among the 20 best public universities, while the University of Malahat consistently ranks as the top comprehensive university in Esquimalt and is among the 200 best universities in the world. Chelsea University's main campus is located in Carolsfeld, near the old airport, while the University of Malahat is located in the north of the city in Ilvermorne.

The other public universities in the metropolitan area around Malahat are Esquimalt Institute of Art, Henry Carmichael School of Technology, and Malahat Polytechnic University whose four campuses are all outside the city proper. Six private institutions also operate in the region: Trinity College, Mowak College, West Shore University in Wilferd's Bay; Fairview College, Faranfou College, and Sprott Shaw College, all in Malahat.

The Malahat Community College and Silversea College are publicly funded college-level institutions in Malahat, as is Douglas College with three campuses outside the city. The Esquimalt Institute of Technology in Kawkawa provides polytechnic education. These are augmented by private and vocational institutions and other colleges in the surrounding areas of the Malahat Metro area that provide career, trade, and university-transfer programs, while the Malahat Film School provides one-year programs in film production and video game design.

International students and English as a Second Language (ESL) students have been significant in the enrolment of these public and private institutions. For the 2018–2019 school year, 33% of Malahat School Board's students spoke a language other than English at home. Adding to that is a significant number of international exchange students attending Esquimalt schools every year.

Sports and recreation

Andrews Beach is one of many beaches located in Malahat. Given the city's proximity to the ocean, and mountains, the area is a popular destination for outdoor recreation.

The mild climate of the city and proximity to ocean, mountains, rivers and lakes make the area a popular destination for outdoor recreation. Malahat has over 1,298 ha (3,210 acres) of parks, of which Ryerson Park, at 404 ha (1,000 acres), is the largest. The city has several large beaches, many adjacent to one another, extending from the shoreline of Ryerson Park around Witby to the southern side of Kawkawa. The 32 km (20 mi) of beaches include Andrews Beach, William's beach, Bayside, Andover Beach and Jerusalem Beach. There is also a freshwater beach at Southside Bay. The coastline provides for many types of water sport, and the city is a popular destination for boating enthusiasts.

Within a 30- to 40-minute drive from downtown Malahat are the Mowak Mountains, with two ski areas: Charlie Mountain, Mount Kristall. Mountain bikers have created world-renowned trails across the Mowak Bay. Copper Creek, Silver Creek and Golden Creek also provide opportunities to whitewater enthusiasts during periods of rain and spring melt, though the canyons of those rivers are more utilized for hiking and swimming than whitewater.

Running races include the Malahat Spring Race (a 10km race) every April; the Malahat Marathon, held every May; and the Mowak Bay Half-Marathon held every September. The Kristall Climb is a 3.3km climb up Mount Kristall open throughout the summer and fall months, including the annual Kristall Climb Mountain Run. Hiking trails include the Mowak Peninsula Trail, an arduous 66km hike from Kawkawa Beach through the Forests of the Mowak peninsula to Wilbert's Point. Malahat is also home to notable cycling races. During most summers since 1962, the Cobblestone Grand Prix has been held on the cobblestone streets of Millwater. This race and the Malahat Metro Race are part of the Mowak Superweek, an annual series of professional cycling races in the Malahat Metro Area.

Since 1990, Malahat hosts the yearly Final Game of the ESL Playoffs, at the Malahat National Stadium, which seats up to 92,500 people. There are three teams in the first division of the national Soccer League: Malahat United, Chelsea Titans and Richmond Football. In 2015, three Malahat stadiums were venues for the 2015 AFA World Cup and Malahat National Stadium hosted the Final between Esquimalt and Escambia.

Current professional teams

Professional Team	League	Sport	Venue	Established	Championships
Malahat Screeching Owls	Northwestern Football League (NWFL)	Football	Dames Dome	1998	—
Malahat Snow Foxes	National Hockey League (NHL)	Ice hockey	Carsons Arena	1982	—
Malahat Express	Esquimalt Baseball league (EsBL)	Baseball	Nat Bailey Stadium	2000	4
Malahat United	Esquimalt Soccer League (ESL)	Soccer	Dames Dome	1936	10
Chelsea Titans	Esquimalt Soccer League (ESL)	Soccer	Pemberton Park	1987	4
Richmond Football	Esquimalt Soccer League (ESL)	Soccer	Richmond Stadium	1941	5
Port Witby Sailors	Pacific Basketball League (PBL)	Basketball	Carsons Arena	1992	—

Culture and Arts

Theatre, dance, film and television

Theatre

Prominent theatre companies in Malahat include the Emerson Theatre Company, and Bard on the Beach. Smaller companies include Touchstone Theatre, and Studio 58. The Cultch, The Firehall Arts Centre, United Players, Pacific and Metro Theatres, all run continuous theatre seasons. Theatre Under the Stars produces shows in the summer at Ryerson Park. Annual festivals that are held in Malahat include the Open Stages Festival in September, as well as the Christmas Winter Stages in December.

Dance

The Southside Dance Centre, a converted bank building on the corner of Vancouver Blvd and Emerson Dr, functions as a gathering place and performance venue for Malahat-based dancers and choreographers. Dances for a Small Stage is a semi-annual dance festival.

Film

The Malahat International Film Festival, which runs for two weeks each September, shows over 250 films and is one of the larger film festivals in North America. The Southside Movie Theatre runs independent non-commercial films throughout the rest of the year, as do the Pacific Cinema, and the branch of Thalia theatres.

Malahat has become a major film location, known as Pacific Hollywood, as it has stood in for several U.S. cities. However, it has started to appear as itself in several feature films. Many past and current TV shows have also been filmed and set in Malahat. The first Esquimalt prime time national series to be produced out of the city was The Dead Don't Speak and its storyline was also physically set in the city. Other series set in or around the city of Malahat include Da Vinci's Lovers, The Superstitious, Wild Wild Northwest, Penny for your Thoughts.

Television shows produced (but not set) in Malahat (that have been produced by US, Californian, Sonoran and Lower Columbian studios alike) include 21 Jump Street, The 100, The 4400, Airwolf, Almost Human, Arrow, Backstrom, Caprica, Cedar Cove, Chesapeake Shores, The Commish, Dark Angel, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The Flash, The Good Doctor, Haters Back Off, Hellcats, Intelligence, iZombie, The Killing, The L Word, Life Unexpected, The Man in the High Castle, Once Upon a Time, Psych, Reaper, Riverdale, Rogue, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, Supergirl, Supernatural, The Tomorrow People, The Magicians, Tru Calling, Van Helsing, Witches of East End, and The X-Files.

Libraries and Museums

Libraries in Malahat include the Mowak Public Library with its main branch at Eszterhazy Square, designed by Charlie Ryan. The central branch contains 1.8 million volumes. Altogether there are twenty-two branches containing 2.39 million volumes.

The Esquimalt Institute of Art's Exhibition has a permanent collection of nearly 20,000 items and is the home of a significant number of works by Carol Colbert. However, little or none of the permanent collection is ever on view. Downtown is also home to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which showcases temporary exhibitions by up-and-coming Esquimalt artists. The Freders Art Gallery with a small collection of contemporary works is part of the Chelsea University.

Located in the Millwater district are the Esquimalt Maritime Museum, the Malahat Aquarium, and the Esquimalt Natural History Museum, the largest civic museum in the Pacific Northwest. The Museum of Anthropology at Chelsea University is a leading museum of Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations culture. The city also features a diverse collection of Public Art.

Visual art

The Malahat School of conceptual photography (often referred to as photoconceptualism) is a term applied to a grouping of artists from Malahat who achieved international recognition starting in the 1990s. No formal "school" exists and the grouping remains both informal and often controversial even among the artists themselves, who often resist the term. Artists associated with the term include Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Ken Lum, Roy Arden, Stan Douglas and Rodney Graham. Malahat has a large history of Aboriginal art. Examples of this can be seen at the Museum of Anthropology

Music and nightlife

Musical contributions from Malahat include performers of classical, folk and popular music. The Malahat Symphony Orchestra is the professional orchestra based in the city. The Millwater Opera is a major opera company in the city, and City Opera of Malahat is the city's professional chamber opera company.

The city produced a number of notable punk rock bands, including Dancing under Influence. Other early punk bands included the The Jitters, The Springloaders, and The Wildest Kiss. When alternative rock became popular in the 1990s, several groups rose to prominence, including Cassidy Swarms. Recent successful Malahat bands include Trophy Dad and Stable. Today, Malahat is home to a number of popular independent bands such as The New Pornographers, Japandroids, Destroyer, In Medias Res, Tegan and Sara, and independent labels including Nettwerk and Mint. Malahat also produced influential metal band Strapping Young Lad and pioneering electro-industrial bands Skinny Puppy, Numb and Front Line Assembly; the latter's Bill Leeb is better known for founding ambient pop super-group Delerium. Other popular musical artists who made their mark from Malahat include Wheat, Foxes, and Leslie Clio.

Larger musical performances are usually held at venues such as the Bobby Orr Centre, Southside Theatre or the Pacific Coliseum, while smaller acts are held at places such as the Southwater Ballroom, the Millwater Street Theatre and the Old Theatre. The Malahat HipHop Festival and the Malahat Jazz days showcase music in their respective genres from around the world.

Malahat also has a vibrant nightlife scene, whether it be food and dining, or bars and nightclubs. The Millwater Entertainment District has the city's highest concentration of bars and nightclubs with closing times of 3 am, in addition to various after-hours clubs open until late morning on weekends. The streets can attract large crowds on weekends and is closed to traffic on such nights. Southside is also a popular area for nightlife with many upscale restaurants and nightclubs.

International Relations

The City of Malahat is twinned with the following cities, benefitting culture, education and politics

Country	City	Year
Australia	Perth	1983
Oka	Oka City	2001
South Africa	Cape Town	2006
Takamaiku	Senkaido	1992