Species name is acutissima, thought your were posting "acutrimmima" as some kind of joke reference to pruning.

Moist climate stuff that goes bananas in the eastern North America summer climate seldom a problem out here, with our falling off of rainfall in July.

And cool summers.

Q. hypoleucoides is probably a good choice for your purposes. It can be found here, do not know Canadian availability. Grows pretty quick, evergreen but not heavy, dumpy and somber. New growth maroon, undersides of leaves silver - flash like herring when moved by wind.

also, is acutissima really evergreen?

As of the last time I was there a fairly big Quercus myrsinaefolia can be seen near the north entrance to the David C. Lam Asian Garden at UBC in Vancouver. This same species grew over 40' tall on the presumably frosty flats on a site near Redmond, WA, now part of Marymoor Park.

Looks like a sort of giant pieris shrub, with similar foliage aspect from some distance. New spring growth is deeply colored, kind of rubbery looking. But may be more slow and dense than you want.

For real speed you could plant a Phyllostachys bamboo such as P. vivax. With these you have to install effective underground curbing if you don't want it to spread sideways, in whichever direction it wants to.

Maybe visit the UBC plantings and also the Van Dusen Botanical Display Garden, for ideas on a tree or screening planting. Both have labeled collections housing multiple kinds of trees. Although a bit old now (with some perhaps having been removed) locations of various trees visible from public streets are given in Gerald Straley's Vancouver tree book, probably available from a public library somewhere in your area.

The book is not a dusty old tome by any means but tree mortality in North American cities is high enough that almost as soon as such a work is produced individual specimens cited may begin to disappear.

"Species name is acutissima, thought your were posting "acutrimmima" as some kind of joke reference to pruning. "
LOL!! I knew that. Guess the pinkies hit the wrong keys. :-)

Thanks for the suggestion. Q. Mys. . . doesn't appear to have a large a leaf as I'd prefer. Neither are easily come across (so far) here on the island.

Bamboo is definitely a no go. Got waaay too much of it as it is.

Looking at Magnolia grandiflora Edith Bogue. Seems like a nice choice - a bit tropical which I like, and evergreen. Drawback is 'slow growth'. That said, the area it will be planted is uphill from the house so perhaps that is not such an issue. Have to see if I can locate one.

Thank you for your help.
Holly

'Edith Bogue' came apart under wet snow on Camano Island, the main stem being left standing there like an armless Venus. When planting southern magnolias here you need to choose cultivars more compact and therefore, apparently, more sturdy than normal to have some assurance of large branches not tearing out under the right conditions. Examples are 'St. Mary' and 'Victoria'.

As with other magnolias, poor foliage color (and increasingly, with this species gauntness due to foliage mildew) is common here. Magnolias need good, deep soil in a moist climate - southern magnolia is native to lowland soils in the hot and very wet southeastern US.

The silverleaf oak is shown (click on name for linked page) along with other trees recommended by a local expert in the article below. The specimen depicted is a street tree just north of the University of Washington. Bigger, broader examples are near the rose garden in the Carl English Garden at the government locks in the Ballard district of Seattle.

Here is a link that might be useful: 25 Trees that thrive in the maritime Northwest's Dry Summers.