Long time island Resident ( +25 years ) best place in Canada by far and one of the better places on the planet, if you can ignore the politics. Best time to come to get the great weather and no tourists is September. Remember that V.I. is the same size as Britain so give yourself plenty of time. Victoria is cool, but don't waste too much time there. Skip is bang on, the west coast is must see! Unless you plan on coating yourself in gravy and stumbling around the bush naked, I wouldn't worry too much about bear or cougar. I have a farm in Cobble Hill about 30 miles north of Victoria, stop on in.
www.silversidefarm.com