queen charlotte strait is a strait between vancouver island and the mainland of british columbia, canada. it connects queen charlotte sound with johnstone strait and discovery passage and via them to the strait of georgia and puget sound. it forms part of the inside passage from washington to alaska. the term queen charlotte strait is also used to refer to the general region and its many communities, notably of the kwakwaka'wakw peoples. despite its name, queen charlotte strait does not lie between haida gwaii (queen charlotte islands) and the mainland; that body of water is named hecate strait.