They worked for free for two years on the Capilano Bridge project, and after that the Kalevan Kansa was disbanded as a utopian colony in 1905,[5][6] but many of the community members remained on the island, as have their descendants.

The early cooperative ventures led to other businesses that are still operating, planting seeds that are also alive today.

The Sointula Cooperative Store, the oldest co-op shop in the province, still handles dry goods, groceries and fuel for the islanders.

Its school-age population has shrunk, although housing prices have risen, as owners from as far as California have bought homes as summer retreats.

Orcas return to the so-called "rubbing beaches" on Malcolm Island's northern edge near Bere Point Regional Park every summer and fall.

[10] In addition, a seasonal Canadian Coast Guard Inshore Rescue Boat Station is located in Sointula during the summer.

More recently, Sointula Museum, collaborating with the University of Victoria, has published Practical Dreamers, a history of the island's cooperatives complete with many historical pictures.