Sunshine Valley is an unincorporated community consisting of cabins, tiny homes, and RV parks on the Crowsnest Highway between the town of Hope (NW) and the entrance to Manning Park in the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia. The community has its own volunteer fire department (SVVFD), recreation centre, heated outdoor pool, and playground. As of 2021, the population of Sunshine Valley is 208.

History

During World War II, Sunshine Valley was named Tashme. The area was used as a Japanese Canadian internment camp. Opened September 8, 1942, it was designed to house 500 families, making it one of the largest and last camps in B.C., and was located just outside the 100-mile "quarantine" zone from which all Japanese Canadians were removed. Men housed in the camp were employed in the construction of the highway during the war. After the war, the site was sold off and has continued in existence as a proposed Boy's Town, the Allison Lumber Company (a combined lumber and mine venture) and then a small campground and recreational community. It served as the basetown for the small Silvertip Ski Area which was located at the head of Tearse Creek, a tributary of the Upper Sumallo River which flows north into the town from the south and upon entering the town, turns southeast and enters Manning Park. In Hope, there is a Tashme Friendship Garden in memory of the camp and its residents.

In popular culture

The Tashme internment camp is one of the settings in the 2018 novel Floating City by author Kerri Sakamoto.

Climate