Chemainus

The tourist industry stemming from the murals helped rejuvenate the town after its large sawmill closed in the early 1980s and was replaced by a smaller, more efficient, mill.

Chemainus was eventually designated a census populated area by Statistics Canada comprising the more built-up residential and commercial neighbourhoods.

In the 1980s, British Columbia's forest industry experienced a period of deep recession,[2][3][4] largely caused by a substantial decrease in demand and price of B.C.

forest imports to the United States, issues regarding aboriginal land claims and the increased public support for environmental groups.

[2][3][4][5] Scholars view this recession more importantly as a representation of a larger structural shift from a Fordist economic production system underpinning many North American industries, toward one of Post-Fordism.

[2][3][4] Consequently, a new system of economic production, characterized by greater flexibility and the exploitation of economies of scope, known as Post-Fordism, began to emerge.

[2][3][6] Key projects include the revitalization of Chemainus' main street, through painting a series of large outdoor murals, as well as the construction of a shopping mall about a kilometer away.

[2][3] Despite Chemainus being heralded as a rare case of successful economic redevelopment within small resource communities, there are still some uncertainties facing its continued development into the future.

Sign in the town of Chemainus, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Chemainus Theatre
Lumber stacked on the dock at Chemainus, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to be loaded on a freighter for export