[2] It is situated at the foot of Mount Arrowsmith, along the Strait of Georgia on Vancouver Island's northeastern coast.

Qualicum Beach's natural environment and proximity to Victoria and Vancouver have made it a tourist destination, with cottages along the coast.

People from all over would come to the Qualicum area to gather camas flowers in the spring and chum salmon in the fall.

[5] A large portion of the Qualicum First Nation population was lost due to small pox and war, leading to a loss of the Pentlatch language.

[5] In May 1856, Hudson's Bay Company explorer Adam Grant Horne, with a group of aboriginal guides, found a route across Vancouver Island from the Qualicum River to the Alberni Inlet.

Beasley, a railway official, sponsored the creation of The Merchants Trust and Trading Company which organised the original layout of the town and built the golf links and the Qualicum Beach Hotel in 1913.

In the 1930s, Alexander Duncan McRae and his wife Blaunche built an upscale family retreat, known as Eaglecrest, in Qualicum Beach.

A private boys' residential school, the Qualicum College, was established in 1935 by Robert Ivan Knight.

[22] In 2023 Westbroek agreed to pay $130,000 to settle the defamation suit and issued a public apology in the local newspaper.

St. Andrews Lodge was purchased by the Town of Qualicum Beach in 2018 with hopes to transform the land into a waterfront park.

According to the 2021 census, the most common major fields of study of citizens in Qualicum Beach included:[31] The median total income of households in 2020 was $76,500.

It is headed by a mayor (who also represents Qualicum Beach on the governing board of the Regional District of Nanaimo) and a four-member council.

Walker was dismissed from his position as a parliamentary secretary and removed from the BC NDP caucus following an internal investigation.

[40] Federally, Qualicum Beach, in the Courtenay—Alberni riding, is represented in the House of Commons of Canada by NDP Member of Parliament Gord Johns, who was first elected in 2015.

Their fertility is low and they are strongly acidic except in near-shore areas where Native American shell middens provide abundant calcium and organic matter.

Mean daily temperature ranges from 1 to 3 °C (34 to 37 °F) in January, with cloud and rain from north Pacific air masses dominating the winter weather.

North Pacific high pressure cells influence summer weather, making it warm and dry.

With the longest freeze-free period in Canada, at 180 days per year, the Nanaimo lowlands area is favourable for agriculture.

The area is within the small Coastal Douglas Fir bio-geographic zone, which is considered the mildest climate in Canada.

Family Day is an annual event taking place on the last Sunday of May in Qualicum Beach, with each year featuring a unique theme.

[57] Activities include counting Brant geese, estuary and field station tours, and a film festival.

[60] Visitors may swap or purchase seeds and plants, receive gardening advice, and socialise at the Seedy Cafe.

[62] The event features late-night shopping, live music, photos with Santa Claus, and carolers.

Threatened by demolition, a group of citizens formed a non-profit cultural association to save the building.

[12] The museum features both permanent as well as temporary exhibits, documenting the history of the town of Qualicum Beach.

[76] The square features an artisan sculpted marble fountain, benches, and an information kiosk.The park is located in the west part of Qualicum Beach.

The Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers count smolt annually in Grandon Creek and work to improve the habitat.

[79] Anne and Leo Klees and others formed the Brown Property Preservation Society to raise funds to purchase the land and save it from development.

[80] Download coordinates as: The Hallmark TV series Chesapeake Shores was primarily filmed in Qualicum Beach.

[96] The incident, among others, prompted the BC SPCA to request a provincial ban on serval cats as pets.