The

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

of British Columbia is divided into regional districts as a means to better enable municipalities and rural areas to work together at a regional level.

History

Regional districts came into being via an order of government in 1965 with the enactment of amendments to the ''Municipal Act''. Until the creation of regional districts, the only local form of government in British Columbia were incorporated municipalities, and services in areas outside municipal boundaries had to be sought from the province or through improvement districts.

Governance

Similar to counties in other parts of Canada, regional districts serve only to provide municipal services as the local government in areas not incorporated into a municipality, and in certain regional affairs of shared concern between residents of unincorporated areas and those in the municipalities such as a stakeholder role in regional planning. In those predominantly rural areas, regional districts provide services such as land use planning, building inspection, solid- waste management, and some responsibility for community fire protection. Most land nominally within a regional district is under the control of the provincial government, or in the case of national parks and offshore waters, the federal government. Indian reserves located within the boundaries of regional districts are likewise excluded from their jurisdiction and infrastructure, and there are varying levels of collaboration between

First Nations governments In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...

and regional district boards. Regional districts are governed by boards of directly and indirectly elected directors. Municipalities appoint directors to represent their populations (usually the mayors), while residents of unincorporated areas (which are grouped into electoral areas) elect directors directly. The votes of directors from municipalities generally count more than the votes of directors from electoral areas, and larger municipalities have more votes than smaller ones. For example, both

North Saanich The District of North Saanich is located on the Saanich Peninsula of British Columbia, approximately north of Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria on southern Vancouver Island. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. The District ...

and Metchosin appoint one director to the

Capital Regional District The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The CRD is one of several regional d ...

board of directors, but the vote of North Saanich's director counts three times as much as the vote of Metchosin's appointee.

List

Historical regional districts

The first regional district was established in 1965, and the then-final regional district was established in 1968. The following regional districts were dissolved in December 1995 and amalgamated largely into the newly formed Fraser Valley Regional District: * Dewdney–Alouette Regional District: consisting of Mission, Pitt Meadows, and Maple Ridge, and unincorporated areas north of the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...

and west of the

District of Kent The District of Kent is a district municipality located east of Vancouver, British Columbia. Part of the Fraser Valley Regional District, Kent consists of several communities, the largest and most well-known being Agassiz—the only town in the ...

Central Fraser Valley Regional District The Central Fraser Valley Regional District was a regional district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region, south of the Fraser River and west of Chilliwack. It comprised the Township and City of Langley, ...

: consisting of the modern City of Abbotsford (itself newly formed at the time) and adjacent unincorporated areasSumas Mountain (now FVRD Electoral H), west of Chilliwack and south of the

. * Regional District of Fraser–Cheam: consisting of the eastern two-thirds of the modern Fraser Valley Regional District, including Chilliwack, Kent,

Harrison Hot Springs The Village of Harrison Hot Springs is a small community at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. It is a member of the Fraser Valley Regional District; its immediate neighbour is the District of Kent and i ...

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

and the Fraser Canyon unincorporated areas. The western half of Dewdney–Alouette, consisting of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, was incorporated into the Greater Vancouver Regional District (now Metro Vancouver). Mission and the unincorporated areas east to the Chehalis River were incorporated into the Fraser Valley Regional District. This amalgamation took place due to the western part of Dewdney–Alouette having become essentially a suburb of Vancouver and the thought it would be better served by being within Metro Vancouver. The Central Fraser Valley RD would be nearly completely dominated by the newly amalgamated City of Abbotsford, bringing the regional district's role into question; similarly, the remnant of Dewdney-Alouette would be dominated by Mission. Given the rapid growth being experienced in the Fraser Valley at the time, which was expected to continue for the foreseeable future, the creation of the Fraser Valley Regional District was seen as the best option. The Comox–Strathcona Regional District was abolished in February 2008 and replaced by two successor regional districts:

Comox Valley The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, that includes the city of Courtenay, British Columbia, Courtenay, the town of Comox, British Columbia, Comox, the village of Cumberland, British Columb ...

and Strathcona. The Peace River–Liard Regional District was created October 31, 1967, when the regional district system was first being established. On October 31, 1987, it was split into the Peace River Regional District and the Fort Nelson–Liard Regional District, which since has become the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.BC Names/GeoBC "Peace River-Liard Regional District"
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References

External links

Regional district maps

Ministry of Community and Rural Development, British Columbia
Civic Info BC

''A Primer on Regional Districts in British Columbia'', BC Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regional districts Of British Columbia, List of Lists of populated places in British Columbia