British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, eight counties are created in the "County Boundary Act". The counties are created for the administration of justice, and are not used in the administration of government. Local government is organized by

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and by regional districts. The counties are: * County of

Cariboo The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia, Canada, centered on a plateau stretching from Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the caribou that were once abundant in the region. The Cariboo was the ...

* County of

Kootenay Kootenay, Kootenai, and Kutenai may refer to: Ethnic groups *The Kutenai, also known as the Ktunaxa, Kootenai, or Kootenay, an indigenous people of the United States and Canada **Kutenai language, the traditional language of the Kutenai **Ktunaxa ...

* County of

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

* County of

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...

* County of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

* County of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

* County of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

* County of

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Prior to 1895, the districts of the Province of British Columbia and its predecessors, the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, were separated into districts for county courts, supreme courts and shrievalties. The Counties Definition Act of 1895 defined the divisions as the five original counties of Victoria, Vancouver, Westminster, Yale, Cariboo, and Kootenay. The act created procedure for the administration of justice including the appointment of registrars and sheriffs.

Sheriffs

Beginning in the colonial era, each county appointed its own high sheriff. Over the next century, duties of the county sheriff and his deputies ranged from tax collector to executioner. In 1974, the county sheriffs were amalgamated and became the

British Columbia Sheriff Service The British Columbia Sheriff Service (BCSS) is a provincial law enforcement agency overseen by the Ministry of the Attorney General in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1857, it is the oldest law enforcement agency in the pro ...

County Court

Established in 1884, there existed in British Columbia a

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

, an intermediate court between the Provincial Court and the

British Columbia Supreme Court British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. In 1990, the County Court of B.C. merged with the B.C. Supreme Court and its judges became justices of same. The B.C. Supreme Court now sits in eight judicial districts. The judicial districts of the B.C. Supreme Court have the same boundaries of the counties of the former County Court. This is the only current usage of "county" in British Columbia, which is a reference only to such court districts and has no similarity to the meaning in other provinces of Canada, the United States or United Kingdom.

References

British Columbia law {{BritishColumbia-geo-stub

Sheriffs

County Court

See also

References