Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in southwestern British Columbia.

Nanaimo is a seaport, distribution center, and industrial center located in an agricultural, forestry, and tourist region. Major manufactures include forest products, processed fish, and building materials. Tourism was a growing industry at the end of the 20th century.

The city is served by Nanaimo Regional Airport and is also serviced by ferry at three terminals.

The settlement grew around a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post in the mid-19th century.

Nanaimo incorporated in 1874.

Through the first half of the 20th century, it was a coal-mining center.

In 1997, the HMCS Saskatchewan naval destroyer was sunk in the waters off Nanaimo and is now an artificial reef.

Nanaimo’s name is derived from a Coast Salish term possibly meaning "big, strong tribe".