Sightings of a submarine around Nanoose Bay and the Winchelsea Islands have triggered curiosity and speculation about where it is from and what it is up to.
A few residents in Nanaimo and Lantzville who spotted the craft in recent weeks even posted photos and speculation about it on social media.
Navy Public Affairs with Maritime Forces Pacific Headquarters in Victoria confirmed the sub is the HMCS Victoria, one of the Victoria class diesel-electric powered hunter-killer type submarines purchased from the British Royal Navy in the 1990s.
The vessel is conducting trials at the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Ranges' Area Whiskey Gulf to determine its technical capability to fire the Mark 48 torpedo, which is the sub's main offensive weapon.