(), known as Queen Charlotte from 1891–2022, is a village municipality in the

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecat ...

archipelago (also known as the "Queen Charlotte Islands") in the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. It is located on the southern end of

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pri ...

at Skidegate Inlet and is a member municipality of the North Coast Regional District. The name "Queen Charlotte" dates back to 1787 when Captain George Dixon was on a trading cruise along the coast. He named the island for his two hundred-ton vessel, the ''

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

''. The village was founded in 1891 and in 1908 was the first townsite registered in the islands, although it wasn't incorporated as a municipality until 2005. It was previously represented as part of Electoral Area F of that regional district, which was coterminous with the Queen Charlotte Islands (which now comprises Electoral Areas D and E). The town site was established when the first sawmill in the archipelago began operating in 1908. In the wake of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, additional work force was needed to supply allied warplanes with lumber. The town infrastructure quickly developed, offering

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

, a hospital, general stores and other amenities, even a newspaper. Logging and fishing were the main source of jobs when the demand for lumber again increased by the second half of the 20th century. Today, few inhabitants are working in these resource-based jobs and a recent shift towards tourism-oriented employment has been observed, although the main economic driver is government jobs, including: hospital workers, school district, BC Ferries, local Forestry and Parks offices etc. The village was incorporated in 2005 and offers several motels, shops, restaurants, a gas station and auto repair, a credit union, RCMP station and a hospital. It is also the location of the Queen Charlotte

Visitor Centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

, which is open year-round. With its small harbour. Daajing Giids is often the starting-point for chartered tours into

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area, and Haida Heritage Site, usually referred to simply as Gwaii Haanas (), is located in southernmost Haida Gwaii (formerly known as Queen Charlotte Islands), off the mainland of ...

on southern

Moresby Island Moresby Island ( hai, Gwaii Haanas) is a large island () that forms part of the Haida Gwaii archipelago (formerly known as Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada, located at . It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from ...

. On May 16th, 2022, the village had its ancestral name of Daajing Giids restored with a unanimous council vote — the first in B.C. to do so, according to the provincial government. The village was formerly known as the Village of Queen Charlotte. Daajing Giids is just west of

Skidegate Landing Skidegate ( hai, Hlg̱aagilda) is a Haida community in in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southeast coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Columbia across He ...

with its

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry ...

landing and connections to

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Queen Charlotte had a population of 964 living in 488 of its 574 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 884. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Healthcare

A new hospital opened in Queen Charlotte in 2016 and has six in-patient beds. It is officially known as Haida Gwaii Hospital and Health Centre or Xaayda Gwaay Ngaaysdll Naay.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Villages in British Columbia Graham Island