At the mouth of Jervis Inlet a passenger and vehicle ferry operated by BC Ferries connects Earls Cove (on the upper end of the Sechelt Peninsula and lower Sunshine Coast) with Saltery Bay (on the bottom end of the Malaspina Peninsula and upper Sunshine Coast).

Industry includes small operations in aquaculture, commercial fishing and logging, but a substantial number of independent power projects are expected to develop in coming years[when?].

Prior to colonization, two of the four primary sub-groups of shíshálh People had principal settlements in lekw’emin.

[9] The name x̱enichen roughly means “go to the end until you can’t go any further” referring to the northern extent of the shíshálh "swiya", or territory.

[13] The three specific reaches of the inlet and mountains were named in the 1860 survey by HMS Plumper, which charted the known area in honour of members of Queen Victoria's family.