B.C.'s most valuable private islands revealed

The B.C. Assessment Authority has released its list of the province’s most valuable properties for 2026.

Among the list are four privately owned islands.

Here is some information on those pricey islands:

James Island: $57,096,000

James Island, in Haro Strait between Saanich and Sidney Island, is owned by a company controlled by Seattle-based telecom billionaire Craig McCaw.

McCaw bought the Stanley Park-sized island in 1994 for $26 million and has since added houses, an airstrip, yacht moorage and a golf course.

Ranked as the third most valuable property in B.C. at $57,096,000, it has an estimated $10 million worth of buildings on the site.

The island was placed on the market in 2012 for $75 million but never sold.

Between 1910 and the 1970s, James Island was the site of a large explosives plant that supplied vast amounts of TNT during the First World War and the Second World War. At one point 800 people lived in a large village on the top of the island, with the plant in the south.

In 2018, the 900-member Tsawout First Nation sued the federal and provincial governments for the island, arguing it should have been assigned to them under the terms of the Douglas Treaties of 1852.

Samuel Island: $19,209,000

This American-owned island is ranked the 94th most valuable property in B.C.

The heavily forested site is 190 hectares in size and sits east of Mayne Island, with a narrow but fast-flowing channel between it and Saturna Island.

The island was purchased by the Washington state-based company Saturna Island Associates Inc. in 2003 for $9.21 million.

It’s now valued at $19,209,000.

According to Realtor Li Read, in the 1960s there was a short-lived plan to join Mayne Island and Saturna Island with a bridge via Samuel Island.

Read says Samuel Island has had several owners including developer A.J.T. Taylor and grocery-store magnate George Weston.

Forrest Island: $13,700,000

Ranked the 306th most valuable property in B.C., Forrest Island is located off the coast of Sidney and north of Sidney Island.

The property was purchased in 2002 for $7.1 million and is now valued at $13.7 million. The island is owned by Forrest Island Ranch Ltd., which has as its sole director James W. Sievers.

A review on Google earth shows the 21-hectare property has one large home and a large man-made harbour.

Subtle Islands: $12,439,000

Subtle Islands is owned by a company controlled by AbCellera CFO Andrew Booth. AbCellera is a medical technology company founded at the University of B.C. that rose to prominence during COVID-19 and became publicly listed in December 2020, after which stocks soared.

The 30-hectare islands were bought for $18.3 million in 2021 and boasts a 13,000-square-foot home that is valued at almost $9 million.

The Subtle Islands are located in the northern part of the Georgia Strait, west of Cortez Island.

It’s valued at $12,439,000, making it the 419th most valuable property in the province.

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dcarrigg@postmedia.com