The programs offered by Vancouver Island University at the Cowichan Trades Centre will be relocated to the Nanaimo campus beginning in the fall semester in 2026.
Emily Huner, VIU’s acting president and vice-chancellor, said the CTC, which is the old Koksilah Elementary School on Boal Road in Duncan that is being leased from the Cowichan Valley School District by the university, is nearing the end of its operational life.
She said significant and costly upgrades, totalling in the millions of dollars, are required for the CTC to continue to offer programs from the old school, which closed in 2013.
“In our current financial context, we are unable to make these investments,” Huner said.
However, Huner said VIU has no plans to cancel the three trades programs that operate out of the CTC, which are Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic, Carpentry, and Hairdressing.
“These programs will be relocated to the Nanaimo campus for the fall of 2026, where existing infrastructure allows us to absorb the additional seats with minimal disruption,” she said.
“We will maintain the same number of dual credit seats for students from the Cowichan Valley School District, and public transit remains available between Cowichan and Nanaimo.”
The CTC hosts most of VIU's trades programs in Cowichan, while the Culinary program and Office Administration program are located at VIU's main Cowichan campus.
Huner said she understands relocation of the trades courses to the Nanaimo campus is a loss for the Cowichan campus and community, and VIU is committed to supporting a smooth transition.
“VIU Cowichan remains a vital part of our university,” she said.
“During the 2025-26 academic year, Cowichan campus will become the home of a new centralized Continuing Education unit that will coordinate and expand VIU’s non-credit and lifelong learning offerings across the region. This new unit will enable a more strategic, unified approach to community and workforce programming and allow us to better respond to local needs.”
Huner said that, moving forward, she knows Cowichan’s university community will continue to show the same resilience and commitment that defines VIU.
“Change is never easy, but I believe in our ability to navigate this challenging time with honesty, compassion, and a clear sense of purpose,” she said.
Jeff Rowan, the Cowichan Valley School District's assistant superintendent of communications and community relations, said the district was just recently informed of VIU’s plans not to extend its lease for the CTC past June, 2026, so no new plans have been made for the building at this stage.
He said that, as part of the lease agreement, VIU is responsible for all maintenance and renovations at the CTC partly due to the large number of extensive renovations that were required for it to operate as a trades centre.
“The old Koksilah Elementary School has seen some massive transformations, including the gym being made into an H-Vac shop and the construction of a huge welding shed,” Rowan said.
Rowan said students from the district who are taking, or were planning on taking, the trades courses at the CTC when it closes will still have access to the programs it offers, even though they will have to travel back and forth between Cowichan and VIU’s Nanaimo campus to take them.
“There will be lots of logistics that we will have to consider,” he said. “We need to take a look at it to make sure our students will be able to access the courses in Nanaimo.”
