North Vancouver (district Municipality)
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The District of North Vancouver 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 ...
in
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, and is part of
Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...
. It surrounds the City of North Vancouver on three sides. As of 2016, the District stands as the second wealthiest city in Canada, with neighbouring
West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...
the richest. The municipality is largely characterized as being a relatively quiet, affluent suburban hub home to many middle and upper-middle-class families. Homes in the District generally range from mid-sized family bungalows to very large luxury houses. A number of dense multi-family and mixed-use developments have popped up across the district in recent years; however, the District remains a primarily suburban municipality. The District is served by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
,
British Columbia Ambulance Service The British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS) is an ambulance service that provides emergency medical response for the province of British Columbia, Canada. BCAS is one of the largest provider of emergency medical services in North America. The f ...
, and the District of North Vancouver Fire Department.


History

For thousands of years, the
Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
Squamish and their kin
Tsleil-Waututh The Tsleil-Waututh Nation ( hur, səlilwətaɬ ), formerly known as the Burrard Indian Band or Burrard Inlet Indian Band, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation ("TWN") are Co ...
, of the
Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...
, resided in the land known as North Vancouver. Slightly over 200 years ago, the people of the Squamish and
Tsleil-Waututh The Tsleil-Waututh Nation ( hur, səlilwətaɬ ), formerly known as the Burrard Indian Band or Burrard Inlet Indian Band, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation ("TWN") are Co ...
living on the North Shore had their first glimpse of Europeans. First the Spanish arrived, giving their name to Vancouver's Spanish Banks and, in 1792, Captain
George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
explored the local shores. But it was not until 1862 that the first attempt was made to harvest the North Shore's rich stands of timber, leading to fuller settlement of the area that would later become North Vancouver. The first industry on the North Shore was Pioneer Mills, founded in 1862 to log the huge trees of the coastal rainforest. After twice changing hands, the operation was bought by Sewell ("Sue") Prescott Moody in 1865. Near where the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool grain elevators now stand, the town of Moodyville grew up and stood as the main centre of activity on the North Shore until the mill closed in 1901. The first school was established in Moodyville. The second, Central School, opened in 1902 in a building that still stands as part of what is now Presentation House at 3rd Street and Chesterfield Avenue, the current home of the North Vancouver Museum and Archives. In 1891, the first municipality on the North Shore was formed as the District of North Vancouver. It stretched across the North Shore from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove but omitted Moodyville. In the early years of the 20th century, a real estate boom took place, with speculators – including the British poet
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...
– eager to turn a quick dollar. A new community began to take shape. In 1902, the Hotel North Vancouver was built; in 1905, the first bank, a branch of the Bank of North America, opened. A newspaper, the Express, commenced publication in 1905 and in 1906 the British Columbia Electric Railway began streetcar service. Industry, particularly shipbuilding, became central, with the nearby stands of trees a rich resource for a society in which ships, houses and most other manmade things were constructed mainly of wood. The Wallace Shipyards moved in 1906 to the area just east of Lonsdale Avenue, drawn by the arrival of electricity. Over the years, this company, later known as
Burrard Dry Dock Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Together with the neighbouring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd. yard in Esquimalt, which were eventually absorbed, Bu ...
and then Versatile Pacific Shipyards, became a major force in the local economy. Many of the shipyard's buildings still stand although the company has now ceased operations. Economic prosperity and rapid growth in the Lower Lonsdale area of North Vancouver led to the establishment in 1907 of the separate City of North Vancouver, with a population of approximately 1,500.
West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...
separated from the District in 1912. Apart from the addition of Moodyville in 1915, the boundaries of the City have not changed, even though far more people now call the District home. Communications with Vancouver have always been an important factor in the development of the North Shore. The first ferry service was supplied by "Navvy Jack’s" rowboat in 1866. In 1867, the Sea Foam established regular ferry service that continued until 1958. The
SeaBus The SeaBus is a passenger-only ferry service in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It crosses Burrard Inlet to connect the cities of Vancouver ( Waterfront station) and North Vancouver (Lonsdale Quay). Owned by TransLink and operated by ...
re-established water transportation in 1977. Rail service was slower in developing. While the
Pacific Great Eastern Railway The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
inaugurated a 12.7-mile run from North Vancouver to
Whytecliff Park Whytecliff Park is located near West Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay Neighbourhood, the original name of which was White Cliff City, which opened in 1909. In 1914, Colonel Albert Whyte pressed for the spelling change from White Cliff City to Whytecliff ...
in 1914, it was not until the completion of the first Second Narrows Bridge in 1925 that rail and road links with the Lower Mainland supplemented the local ferry service. Early plans for North Vancouver were ambitious. However, early grandiose plans met with a number of setbacks. The real estate boom was overtaken by a worldwide depression in 1913 and then
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
delayed many projects. The depression that began in 1929, coupled with disruptions to communications over the Second Narrows caused by ships colliding with the bridge, led to economic difficulties and severe tax shortfalls. Both the City and the District were placed in receivership in 1933. But the opening of the second road crossing, the Lions' Gate Bridge in 1938 was a significant factor in making the North Shore more accessible. And the war years led to an economic revival of North Vancouver, especially because of the many ships built in the Burrard Dry Dock at the foot of Lonsdale for the Canadian war effort. In the postwar years, the City and the District of North Vancouver boomed, with most of the growth taking place in the District because of its greater land resources.


Geography

The District of North Vancouver is separated from
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 ...
by the
Burrard Inlet french: Baie Burrard , image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet , image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg , alt_bathymetry ...
. It can be accessed by the
Lions' Gate Bridge The Lions Gate Bridge, opened in 1938 and officially known as the First Narrows Bridge, is a suspension bridge that crosses the first narrows of Burrard Inlet and connects the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, to the North Shore municipal ...
, the
Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, also called the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and Second Narrows Bridge, is the second bridge constructed at the Second (east) Narrows of Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Origi ...
, and the
SeaBus The SeaBus is a passenger-only ferry service in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It crosses Burrard Inlet to connect the cities of Vancouver ( Waterfront station) and North Vancouver (Lonsdale Quay). Owned by TransLink and operated by ...
passenger ferry. The District is bounded by the
Capilano River The Capilano River flows from north to south through the Coast Mountains on Vancouver's North Shore between West Vancouver and North Vancouver (district municipality) and empties into Burrard Inlet, opposite Stanley Park. The river is one of three ...
to the west,
Indian Arm Indian Arm ( hur, səl̓ilw̓ət) is a steep-sided glacial fjord adjacent to the city of Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia. Formed during the last Ice Age, it extends due north from Burrard Inlet, between the communities of Belcarra (t ...
to the east, Burrard Inlet to the south, and the
Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia ...
to the north. It sprawls in an east-west direction across the mountain slopes, and is characterized by rugged terrain and steep and winding roadways. While there is no true urban core within the District, there are a number of separate commercial neighbourhood centres. These include (from west to east):
Edgemont Village Edgemont Village is a neighbourhood within the District of North Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is situated between several converging suburbs, centering on the intersection of Edgemont Blv and Highland Blv, where it is a minor reside ...
,
Upper Lonsdale Upper Lonsdale is a suburban area in both the City and District of North Vancouver. This area runs north of Highway 1 (around 24th Street) to the corner of Lonsdale and Rockland (where Lonsdale Avenue comes to an end). The first 5 blocks up Lonsd ...
,
Lynn Valley Lynn Valley is a neighbourhood in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. Located at the northern edge of Metro Vancouver, it sits between Mount Fromme and Mount Seymour. The area's natural parks include Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, ...
, Main Street, Parkgate, and Deep Cove. The District has a lot in common with
West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...
and the City of North Vancouver. Together these three municipalities are commonly referred to as the North Shore. Most of the residents of the District live in single-family dwellings. Except for a few more historical areas, much of the development of the District has occurred since the 1950s. The City of North Vancouver has considerably higher commercial and residential density.


Climate

North Vancouver 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 type ''Cfb'').


Government and politics


Industry

While industry was the engine that propelled North Vancouver for much of the twentieth century, this has now largely been replaced by enterprises more in tune with present economic realities. Many North Shore companies are in the business of creating and marketing high technology. The television and film industry has made the area the centre of Hollywood North. Filming of the series
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
took place in North Vancouver for five seasons, with many of its "wilderness" sequences shot in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve (LSCR).


Sites of interest

*The
Capilano Suspension Bridge The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The current bridge is long and above the river. It is part of a private facility with an a ...
in a private park carries hikers across the Capilano River to nature trails and a unique rain forest canopy walk (there is an admission fee). *The
Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge The Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge is a pedestrian bridge located within Lynn Canyon Park, in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia. It is high from the bottom of the canyon. The bridge was built as a private venture in 1912. The brid ...
is in a District of North Vancouver public park (free admission). Also at the park is the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre. *
Grouse Mountain Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in the District Municipality of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With a maximum elevation of over 1,200m (4,100ft) at its peak, the mountain is the site of a ...
is a ski hill and a tourist destination reached by either a
gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supp ...
or the famous Grouse Grind hike. *
Mount Seymour Provincial Park Mount Seymour Provincial Park is a park in Vancouver, British Columbia's North Shore Mountains. With an area of 35 square kilometres, it is located approximately 15 kilometres north of Downtown Vancouver. The park, named after Frederick Sey ...
is a ski and hiking destination in the District. *The
Cleveland Dam The Cleveland Dam is a concrete dam at the head of the Capilano River in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that holds back Capilano Lake, also known as Capilano reservoir. Part of the Capilano River Regional Park, it stores a portion of ...
in the
Capilano River Regional Park Capilano River Regional Park is located in the District of North Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of twenty-one regional parks operated by the Metro Vancouver. The park encompasses most of the upstream areas of the Capilano River ...
offers nature trails as well as a fish
hatchery A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish, poultry or even turtles. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled cond ...
, the Capilano River Hatchery. * Mount Fromme is a mountain bicycling destination. *Northlands Golf Course is a public golf course owned and operated by the District of North Vancouver. * Maplewood Flats Conservation Area is a conservation area known for its bird watching and easy to access trails *Maplewood Farm is an educational children's farm operated by the District of North Vancouver


Transportation

The main (and only) highway through the District of North Vancouver is 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). This crosses over the
Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, also called the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and Second Narrows Bridge, is the second bridge constructed at the Second (east) Narrows of Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Origi ...
from Vancouver and goes through the District to the western border with West Vancouver. Public transit is operated by
Coast Mountain Bus Company Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is the contract operator for bus transit services in Metro Vancouver and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, known locally as TransLink, the entity respons ...
and funded by
TransLink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to: * TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada * Translink (Northern Ireland) Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...
. There is an integrated network of buses between the District, The City of North Vancouver, and West Vancouver, as well as buses connecting these municipalities with the rest of the Lower Mainland. The
SeaBus The SeaBus is a passenger-only ferry service in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It crosses Burrard Inlet to connect the cities of Vancouver ( Waterfront station) and North Vancouver (Lonsdale Quay). Owned by TransLink and operated by ...
ferry is also an integral part of transit for the District; it stops at
Lonsdale Quay Lonsdale Quay is a SeaBus ferry terminal and major transit exchange that serves Metro Vancouver's North Shore municipalities. The quay is located in the City of North Vancouver. The BCIT Marine Campus and Lonsdale Quay Market are located wit ...
, which connects the North Shore with Vancouver, and Waterfront station, which connects to the SkyTrain network.
West Vancouver Blue Bus West Vancouver Blue Bus, formally West Vancouver Municipal Transit, was founded in 1912 and is one of the oldest continuously operated municipal systems in North America. The company operates as a sub-contractor to TransLink, Metro Vancouver's r ...
also runs several routes between the two North Vancouvers and West Vancouver. there is no
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
service on the North Shore, but TransLink is planning a
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
line from Metrotown in Burnaby to Park Royal in West Vancouver as a measure to bring rapid transit to the traffic-congested North Shore.


Demographics

At the
2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...
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 ...
, North Vancouver had a population of 88,168 living in 32,700 of its 34,179 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 85,649. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


Ethnicity

*Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.


Languages

Mother languages as reported by each person:


Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in North Vancouver 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 ...
(48,275 persons or 55.2%) *
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 ...
(29,845 persons or 34.2%) *
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 ...
(5,570 persons or 6.4%) *
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 ...
(845 persons or 1.0%) *
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 ...
(775 persons or 0.9%) *
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 ...
(550 persons or 0.6%) *
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 ...
(295 persons or 0.3%) * Indigenous spirituality (15 persons or <0.1%)


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 1891 establishments in British Columbia District municipalities in British Columbia Populated places on the British Columbia Coast Populated places in Greater Vancouver Populated places established in 1891