The Snuneymuxw are passionate about canoe racing. Both men and women compete in a variety of age and size categories, where their skills are tested against other Coast Salish pullers or paddlers. This sport demands strong minds and bodies to enable racers to move the long canoes safely and swiftly through ocean waters. Pullers train on land and water, avoid smoking, drugs and alcohol, and often stick to a strict diet before races. Some Snuneymuxw canoe teams, like the Rainbow Canoe Club, have been part of international races in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands.

Races are held during the summer months and teams can be seen practicing in Nanaimo Harbour on summer evenings. The communities hosting the races decide whether the races will take place with traditional dugout canoes, or if they will allow modern strip canoes or fibreglass craft. Some allow laminated paddles or new paddle designs, such as the dog leg paddle, used in the 6-person race. Racing canoes are lighter and more slender than the canoes once built for fishing and transportation, and some people believe they originated from the swift canoes used in raiding along the coast.

On racing days, the beach is lined with spectators and overturned canoes under protective tarps. It is an important time for visiting family and friends, and people travel from distant communities to be part of racing weekends. The sound of skips counting time for the pullers, music, and the smell of barbeques waft through the air. Major races can go on for hours, but shorter races are more common, following a course laid out in the harbour. Cheers go up for all the participants and many racers can be heard greeting each other with their Hul'q'umin'um' names. They sing songs in their language to keep time with the strokes and to set a rhythm to switch their paddles from one side of the canoe to the other.

Many Snuneymuxw still work and live on or near the waters of the straits around Nanaimo. Boats with outboard motors began to replace the Snuneymuxw canoes in the 1920s. Rather than their traditional ocean highway, the community began to rely on the system of roads and highways built on Vancouver Island as their transportation link. The latest issue of the Nanaimo public transit system schedule is printed in a Hul'q'umin'um' version.