really?? They are all over the place! Literally every third house / property had one of these palm trees. But this is just one of those things, people don't associate palm trees with Canada, so even in areas they are numerous, you can miss them simply because you are not expecting them, it is some sort of physiological thing. I had a friend who lived in Victoria for over a year who said she never saw a palm tree there, despite the fact that in Oak Bay alone there are over 2000 according to a recent count (and good sized ones as well, some over 3 stories tall now). Also, there are many monkey puzzle trees in Vancouver as well, there is a huge one in New Westminster and many in parks such as Queen Elizabeth Park.
Next time you are in Tofino, be sure to check out the palm trees!
They match the setting there beautifully!