Hope is a

district municipality A district municipality is a designation for a class of municipalities found in several locations, including Canada, Lithuania, and South Africa. Canada British Columbia Under provincial law, municipalities in British Columbia are to be desig ...

at the confluence of the

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...

and Coquihalla rivers in the province of

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, ...

, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end of the

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser ...

. To the east, over the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, is the Interior region, beginning with the

Similkameen Country The Similkameen Country, also referred to as the Similkameen Valley or Similkameen District, but generally referred to simply as The Similkameen or more archaically, Similkameen, is a region roughly coinciding with the basin of the river of the sam ...

on the farther side of the

Allison Pass Allison Pass (el. ) is a highway summit along the Crowsnest Highway in British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point on the highway between the cities of Hope and Princeton. It is located in the middle of Manning Park, at the divide between ...

Manning Park E.C. Manning Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is usually referred to as Manning Park, although that nomenclature is also used to refer to the resort and ski area at the park's core. The park covers 83,671 hecta ...

. Located east 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 ...

, Hope is at the southern terminus of the

Coquihalla Highway Coquihalla may refer to: *British Columbia Highway 5, also known as Coquihalla highway * Coquihalla River * Coquihalla Pass * Okanagan—Coquihalla, a federal electoral district in British Columbia * Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park *Coquihalla Ri ...

and the western terminus of the

Crowsnest Highway The Crowsnest Highway is an east-west highway in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. It stretches across the southern portions of both provinces, from Hope, British Columbia to Medicine Hat, Alberta, providing the shortest highway connection b ...

, locally known as the Hope-Princeton (Highways 5 and 3, respectively), where they merge with the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

( Highway 1). Hope is at the eastern terminus of Highway 7. As it lies at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley in the windward Cascade foothills, the town gets very high amounts of rain and cloud cover – particularly throughout the autumn and winter. Hope is a member municipality of the

Fraser Valley Regional District The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. Its headquarters are in the city of Chilliwack. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km² (5,159 sq mi). It was created in 1995 by ...

which provides certain municipal services to unincorporated settlements and rural areas. The District of Hope includes Hope (the previous Town of Hope) and surrounding areas, including the communities of

Kawkawa Lake Kawkawa Lake is a lake located east of Hope, British Columbia. Kawkawa is also the name for the neighbourhood in Hope surrounding Kawkawa Lake. The lake is home to many species of fish, but it is best known for its large kokanee (land-locked sa ...

, Silver Creek,

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

, and Lake of the Woods.

History

The Stó:lō have lived in the

since 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. In late 1782, a smallpox epidemic among the Stó:lō killed thousands – an estimated two-thirds of the population. Explorer Simon Fraser arrived in what is now Hope in 1808, and the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

created the Fort Hope trading post in 1848. The area was transformed by the

Fraser Canyon Gold Rush The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, (also Fraser Gold Rush and Fraser River Gold Rush) began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River a few miles upstream from the Thompson's c ...

, beginning in 1858. The following year Governor James Douglas laid out the Fort Hope town site. Hope became part of the new British

colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: *Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) *Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also *History of Br ...

when it was created on 2 August 1858. Along with the rest of

, Hope became part of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1871. Late in 1859, Reverend Alexander St. David Francis Pringle arrived in Hope, and on 1 December of that year, founded the first library on the British Columbia mainland. Within two years, he also founded the Christ Church

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church, the oldest church on the British Columbia mainland that still holds services on its original site. It is a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

. Hope incorporated as a village on 6 April 1929, became a town on 1 January 1965, and was reincorporated as a

District Municipality A district municipality is a designation for a class of municipalities found in several locations, including Canada, Lithuania, and South Africa. Canada British Columbia Under provincial law, municipalities in British Columbia are to be desig ...

named the District of Hope on 7 December 1992.

Naming

Fort Hope was established in 1848–49 by Henry Newsham Peers. He discovered a route through the mountains that did not dip below the 49th parallel, which had become the American border. Thus, the hope that his route would be workable was fulfilled.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

for

Japanese Canadians are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them living ...

was set up near Hope at

Tashme The Tashme Incarceration Camp ( nglicized pronunciationor apanese pronunciation was a purpose-built incarceration camp constructed to forcibly detain people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast of Canada during World War II after th ...

, now known as Sunshine Valley, just beyond the 100-mile exclusion zone from the coast.

Recent history

In 2011, the metal Kawkawa Bridge was demolished; previously, it was featured in the 1982

Rambo Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...

film, '' First Blood''. In 2020, a wood carved statue of Sylvester Stallone character John Rambo was erected in Hope.

Geography

Hope is at the easternmost point of British Columbia's lower mainland area and is usually considered to be part of the Fraser Canyon area or "eastern Fraser Valley" as "Lower Mainland" is commonly understood as synonymous with "greater Vancouver". There are relatively significant peaks to the north, east, and south of the townsite. Only to the west can flat land be seen, and that view is dominated by the broad lower reaches of the Fraser River. The segment from Lytton to Hope separates the

and Coast Mountains, thereby forming the lower part of the

, which begins far upriver near Williams Lake. At Hope, the river enters a broad flood plain extending to the coast and

. The Coquihalla and

Sumallo River The Sumallo River is located in southern British Columbia, in the Cascade Mountains to the east of Hope. It begins on the east slopes of Mount Payne, south of the village of Sunshine Valley. It flows north until it reaches Sunshine Valley wher ...

s and Silverhope Creek rise in the Cascade Mountains northeast and southeast and south of Hope, respectively, and empty into the Fraser River. The

Skagit River The Skagit River ( ) is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000& ...

begins south of Hope, across a low pass from the head of the Silverhope valley, which is the access to the Canadian shoreline of Ross Lake.

Climate

Hope has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfb'') with warm summers and moderately cold winters. Hope has a very cloudy climate for most of the year, with the cloudiest month December averaging only 4.4 monthly sunshine hours or 1.7% of possible sunshine. Late summer is the sunniest time of the year.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Hope had a population of 6,686 living in 2,939 of its 3,243 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 6,181. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Hope included: *

Irreligion Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and a ...

(3,375 persons or 53.3%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(2,645 persons or 41.8%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

(65 persons or 1.0%) *

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

(45 persons or 0.7%) *

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

(20 persons or 0.3%) *

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

(20 persons or 0.3%) *

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

(15 persons or 0.2%) * Indigenous Spirituality (15 persons or 0.2%)

Economy

Hope's labour force works in a variety of industries. Almost 50 percent of the labour force is involved in four main industries: accommodation and food services (17.1 percent), health care and social assistance (12.8 percent), retail trade (10.3 percent), and transportation and warehousing (8 percent) (2006 data). One of the town's largest employers is

Nestlé Waters Nestlé Waters is a Swiss multinational bottled water division of Nestlé it was founded in 1992. Key Facts and figures (2015) Sales: 7.625 billion CHF Nestlé Waters has roughly 31,740 employees and includes several brands such as Acqua Pa ...

. Nestlé, the world's biggest bottler of water, packages more than 300 million litres of water from Hope

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials ( gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characteris ...

s annually. Nestlé pays C$675 to the provincial government for this quantity of water (C$2.25 per million litres). The Nestlé bottling plant employs approximately 75 people.

Economic planning

Hope's economic development planning is rooted in the community's strategic location, telecommunications infrastructure (high-speed internet), and strong support for new development and redevelopment. The 2014 Economic Profile identifies several sectors as significant areas of opportunity within the local economy: * Tourism: including development of tourism products attractive to the primary market coming from the west. * Virtual commuters: professionals able to serve their clientele from off-site locations, such as consultants, photographers, graphic designers, and software developers. * Natural resources: sustainable and responsible development of natural resource industries. * Lifestyle manufacturing or services: such as coffee roasters, sustainable agriculture, micro-brewery, and other clean water-based industries. * "Gap" retailers: independent, entrepreneurial retailers who can deliver niche services for local customers and travellers. In addition, the Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw, adopted by the Hope District Council in 2013, encourages property owners who develop or redevelop their properties to apply for financial incentives in the form of tax relief.

Arts and culture

Chainsaw wood carving

Hope holds chainsaw wood carving competitions and exhibitions. From 4 to 7 September 2008 the Second Annual Hope Chainsaw Carving Competition took place. Chainsaw wood carvings are displayed and exhibited throughout the downtown core of Hope. Memorial Park in downtown Hope has a display of chainsaw wood carvings. Hope is home to carver Pete Ryan, who made a number of the chainsaw wood carvings exhibited in downtown Hope.

Hope Arts Gallery

The Hope Arts Gallery exhibits and sells a variety of art by local artists. It is located in downtown Hope and has several rooms displaying sculpture, pottery, paintings and drawings, jewellery, fabric arts, basketry, cards and gifts, and photography. The gallery is run by volunteers from the Hope Arts Guild. The gallery presents ART WALK, a self-guided tour to art and chainsaw wood carvings in Hope.

Hope Brigade Days

One of Hope's largest events of the year is Hope Brigade Days, which occurs the weekend after Labour Day every September. Events include a parade, fireworks display, midway, chainsaw carving competition, demolition derby, kids' carnival, and 4x4 racing.

Attractions

Hope Museum

The Hope Museum shows the history, culture and heritage of Hope. In downtown Hope, together with the Hope Visitor Centre, the Hope Museum is open year-round. Exhibits include First Nations culture, early Fort Hope, the

, the

Kettle Valley Railway The Kettle Valley Railway was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that operated across southern British Columbia, west of Midway running to Rock Creek, then north to Myra Canyon, down to Penticton over to Princeton, Coalmont, Br ...

, pioneer life, logging, and mining.

Hope Recreation Complex

The Hope Recreation Complex includes a library, pool, arena, and fitness centre. The Hope and District Recreation Complex is run by the Fraser Valley Regional District.

Hope Slide

The

Hope Slide The Hope Slide was a landslide that occurred in the morning hours of January 9, 1965 in the Nicolum Valley () in the Cascade Mountains near Hope, British Columbia and killed four people. The volume of rock involved in the landslide has been est ...

was one of the largest landslides ever recorded in Canada. It occurred in the morning hours of 9 January 1965, near Hope, killing four people. A viewing site showing the Hope Slide is approximately a 15-minute drive east of Hope on Highway 3.

Memorial Park and Friendship Garden

Immediately adjacent to the District Hall in Hope is a

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desi ...

called the Friendship Garden, dedicated to the Japanese-Canadians who were interned nearby at

during

. It was built by local Japanese-Canadians and presented to Hope on 27 July 1991. Men from that camp were employed during the war building the Hope-Princeton Highway. Hope Memorial Park, adjacent to the District Hall and Friendship Garden, is the site of a concert series on Sunday afternoons in July and August. Memorial Park was granted to the then-village of Hope in 1932 by the province of British Columbia. It occupies roughly in the heart of the town.

Othello Tunnels

Othello Tunnels ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Cyprus, Island ...

is the popular name for the main human-made features of

Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park, popularly called the Othello Tunnels is a provincial park located near Hope, British Columbia focused on the canyon of the Coquihalla River and a decommissioned railway grade, now a walking trail, leading eventu ...

, east of Hope along the canyon of the

Coquihalla River The Coquihalla River (originally or more recently and popularly ) is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Cascade Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates in the Coquihalla Lakes and empties into the Fraser River ...

and a decommissioned railway grade, now a walking trail, leading eventually to

Coquihalla Pass Coquihalla Summit (el. ) is a highway summit along the Coquihalla Highway in British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point on the highway between the cities of Hope and Merritt. It is located just south of the former toll booth plaza on the ...

. Originally part of the

, five tunnels and a series of bridges give views of the

as it passes through the river's narrow gorge. There are two main options for hikers to explore Othello Tunnels. The Othello Tunnels portion of Kettle Valley Trail, 4 km to-and-back, is stroller-friendly and wheelchair-accessible. The Hope-Nicola Valley Trail Loop, a 5.5 km loop hiking trail, is relatively well-maintained but not accessible, nor recommended for people with mobility issues.

Sports

Curling

The Hope Curling Club is near the Hope Recreation Complex. The club sponsors bonspiels such as the Men's Bonspiel every January, and the Mixed Curling Bonspiel.

Golf

Hope has a golf course and club on the banks of the Coquihalla River.

Hope Icebreakers Junior Hockey Club

The Hope Icebreakers were a Canadian junior ice hockey team. They played in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League and the town of Hope from the 2003–2008 seasons, after which they were approved by BC Hockey to move to

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, British Columbia. They subsequently changed their name to the Mission Icebreakers. The Icebreakers have a Sasquatch logo.

Government

The District of Hope is a

that is part of the

regional district In the province of British Columbia in Canada, a regional district is an administrative subdivision of the province that consists of a geographic region with specific boundaries and governmental authority. there were 28 regional districts in t ...

called the

District municipality

The Mayor of Hope is Peter Robb.

Fraser Valley Regional District

The mayor of Hope also serves as a director on the board of the Fraser Valley Regional District. In addition to regional planning, the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) works in collaboration with the District of Hope to provide recreational and cultural programs, ice arena and swimming pool, regional parks, mapping, air quality, mosquito control, weed control, E911 dispatch fire service, and search and rescue.

Province of British Columbia

Hope is in the

Fraser-Nicola Fraser-Nicola is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, established by the '' Electoral Districts Act, 2008''. It was first contested in the 2009 general election. Geography As of the 2020 provincial election, Fraser-Nicol ...

riding (electoral district) provincially. The current MLA for Fraser-Nicola is

Jackie Tegart Jackie L. Tegart (born 1956) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election. She represents the electoral district of Fraser-Nicola as a member of the British Columbia ...

. Prior to the 2017 election, Hope was in the

Chilliwack-Hope Chilliwack-Hope was a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, established by the ''Electoral Districts Act, 2008''. It was first contested in the 2009 British Columbia General Election. The riding was formed from an amalgama ...

riding provincially, and represented by MLA

Laurie Throness Laurie Throness (born 1958) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election. He represented the electoral district of Chilliwack-Kent as a member of the British Columbia ...

, who was elected in 2013.

Parliament of Canada

Hope is in the electoral district of Chilliwack—Hope, which is represented in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

by Mark Strahl.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

The

( Highway 1) passes through Hope. Hope is the southern terminus of the

(Highway 5), the western terminus of the

, locally known as the Hope-Princeton highway (Highway 3), and the eastern terminus of Highway 7.

Hope Aerodrome

Hope Aerodrome Hope Aerodrome is located west of Hope Townsite (the previous Town of Hope) within the municipal District of Hope, British Columbia, Canada. This airfield is home to the Vancouver Soaring Association, a gliding club owning and operating seven ...

(IATA: YHE, ICAO: CYHE) is west of the Hope Townsite(the previous Town of Hope) within the municipal District of Hope, British Columbia. The aerodrome is operated by the Fraser Valley Regional District. There is one turf runway long. The airfield is home to the Vancouver Soaring Association, a gliding club owning and operating school and recreational sailplanes and tow planes. Hope Aerodrome lies within the community of Flood in the District of Hope.

Railways

Both the

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

and

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

railways pass through Hope. The ''Canadian'', a Canadian transcontinental passenger train currently operated by

Via Rail Canada Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

, passes through Hope, calling at the Hope railway station.

Heliports

Hope Heliport is a private heliport at

Fraser Canyon Hospital Fraser Canyon Hospital (FCH) is a publicly funded community hospital in the town of Hope, British Columbia, Canada. The hospital is both owned and operated by the Fraser Health Authority (FHA). Overview FCH is a 10-bed hospital and provides serv ...

. It has charter helicopter service available that provides service for the natural resource industry, including forestry and mining exploration, as well as other industries including film, tourism, and public service.

Health care

Fraser Canyon Hospital

is a 10-bed hospital and provides services including 24/7 emergency care stabilization and triage and hospice beds and services. Emergency care stabilization and triage 24/7 is unique to the hospital due to its geographic isolation and emergency service requirements in an area where major highways converge. Fraser Canyon Hospital officially opened on 10 January 1959, and began as a 20-bed hospital, complete with delivery and operating rooms.

Education

The Fraser-Cascade School District #78 operates several schools in the District of Hope. There are two schools in Hope Townsite (the previous Town of Hope): Coquihalla Elementary School, which offers Kindergarten to Grade 6; and Hope Secondary School, which offers Grades 7–12. In addition, Silver Creek Elementary School, in the community of Silver Creek, offers grades Kindergarten to 7, with these students then attending Hope Secondary School for grades 8–12. The Fraser-Cascade School District also operates other educational programs such as the District Alternative Secondary Program. District enrollment declined from 1,993 students in the 2009–2010 school year to 1,615 in 2014–2015.

In popular culture

Hope has been a popular

location In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

to shoot films. '' First Blood'' (1982), the first Rambo film, starring Sylvester Stallone,

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles in ...

, and

Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as ''The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', ''Body Heat'', the first three ' ...

, was filmed almost entirely in and around Hope, as was '' Shoot to Kill'' (1988), starring Sidney Poitier,

Tom Berenger Tom Berenger (born Thomas Michael Moore; May 31, 1949) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in ''Platoon'' (1986). He is also known for playing Jake ...

and

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

. '' K2'' (1992) was also filmed nearby, with the area's mountains standing in for the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. '' Hope Springs'' (2003), starring

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...

and

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy '' License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaime ...

, was filmed in and around Hope, but set in a fictional Hope,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Other films made in whole or in part in and around Hope have included '' Fire with Fire'' (1986), '' Yellow Dog'' (1994), '' White Fang II'' (1994), '' The Pledge'' (2001), '' The Stickup'' (2003, starring

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He has portrayed eccentric characters in films such as the drama ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, the action scie ...

), ''

Suspicious River ''Suspicious River'' is a 2000 Canadian drama film directed by Lynne Stopkewich, based on a novel by Laura Kasischke, and starring Molly Parker and Callum Keith Rennie. Its plot follows a young woman in 1981 who begins prostituting herself and c ...

'' (2004), ''Afghan Knights'' (2007), and '' Wind Chill'' (2007). Hope was the setting for a story by

Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

#8-12. Reality show contestant Ryan Jenkins from VH1's series ''

Megan Wants a Millionaire ''Megan Wants a Millionaire'' is an American reality television show on VH1 in which former ''Rock of Love'' contestant Megan Hauserman has seventeen wealthy single men compete for her love. The show originated from a comment made by Hauserman d ...

'' was found dead in the Thunderbird Motel in Hope on 23 August 2009, of an apparent suicide after being charged with the murder of his wife in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In ''Spider-Man'' issues #8–12 (the "Perceptions" story arc), a Wendigo creature is blamed in the deaths of several children near Hope, British Columbia, and terrorizing the town. Spider-Man's alter ego, Peter Parker, is sent to take pictures during the media frenzy that follows. The reality show ''

Highway Thru Hell ''Highway Thru Hell'' is a Canadian documentary TV series that follows the operations of Jamie Davis Motor Truck & Auto Ltd., a heavy vehicle rescue and recovery towing company based in Hope, British Columbia. Quiring Towing, Aggressive Towing, ...

'', shown on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

, is based in Hope and surrounding areas. In the 2012 video game '' Deadlight'', the protagonist, Randall Wayne, is from the town of Hope. A fictionalized version of the town and its denizens is presented via flashbacks. ''

A Dog's Way Home ''A Dog's Way Home'' is a 2019 American family adventure film directed by Charles Martin Smith from a screenplay by W. Bruce Cameron and Cathryn Michon, based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Cameron. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard, A ...

'' was partially filmed within the town. Scenes of the 2021 wendigo horror film ‘’

Antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...

’’ were also filmed in hope. Hope features as the final location in ''Rebuild: Gangs of Deadsville''.

Notable natives and residents

Darren Huston Darren R. Huston (born 3 January 1966) is a Canadian businessman and the former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Priceline and Booking.com. Early life Darren R. Huston was born on 3 January 1966 in Hope, British Columbia, Canada. ...

, CEO of

Priceline Priceline may refer to: *Priceline.com, a commercial website which helps users obtain discount rates for travel-related items such as airline tickets and hotel stays *The Priceline Group, a provider of online travel & related services, and a parent ...

* John Weaver, sculptor

References

External links

* * {{authority control District municipalities in British Columbia Populated places in the Fraser Valley Regional District Lower Mainland Populated places on the Fraser River Hudson's Bay Company trading posts