The Sunshine Coast Regional District is a regional district in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. It is located on the southern mainland coast, across

Georgia Strait The Strait of Georgia () or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada, and the extreme northwestern mainland coast of Washington (state), Wash ...

(part of the

Salish Sea The Salish Sea ( ) is a List of seas on Earth #Terminology, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean located in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia and the States of the United States , U.S. state of Washingto ...

) from

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

. It borders on the

qathet Regional District The qathet Regional District (, qRD) is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its only incorporated municipality is the City of Powell River, although it includes a number of unincorporated areas. The district encom ...

to the north, the

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) is a local government federation, consisting of four municipalities in British Columbia, Canada: Lillooet, Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish. It stretches from Britannia Beach in the south to Pa ...

to the east, and, across

Howe Sound Howe Sound (, ) is a roughly triangular sound (geography), sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2021. Geography Howe Sound ...

, the

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and Corporation, corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as o ...

District to the south. The regional district offices are located in the

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 desi ...

Sechelt Sechelt (, Sechelt language, shíshálh Language: ch'atlich) is a district municipality located on the lower Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Approximately northwest of Vancouver, it is accessible from ma ...

Geography

The majority of the Sunshine Coast is sparsely populated. The

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () 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 British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

make up the inland area. Population is concentrated along the coast. Midway up the coast, beginning at the town of Sechelt, the coastal area forms a peninsula separated from the inland area by

Sechelt Inlet Sechelt Inlet formerly ''Seechelt Inlet'' is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. The inlet is significant in that it almost makes an island of what is instead the Sechelt Peninsula, whose isthmus is at the town of Sechelt ...

. The 2016 census reported a total population of 29,970 persons living on a land area of 3,778.17 km² (1,458.76 sq mi). The Sunshine Coast is typically accessed via boat or plane; no roads connect the district with the rest of the province. From Vancouver, ferries run from Horseshoe Bay to

Gibsons Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,758 in southwestern British Columbia, Canada on the Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), Sunshine Coast, where the southwest bank of Howe Sound meets the Strait of Georgia. During its early history as a Europe ...

across Howe Sound. At the northern end of the peninsula, ferries run from Earl's Cove to Saltery Bay.

Communities

District municipality

- Pop 10,201

Town

- Pop 4,605

First Nations Government District

* shíshálh Nation Government District (sNGD) (Partial) - Pop 767 (2021)

First Nations Reserve Lands

* Chekwelp 26 *Chekwelp 26A * Schaltuuch 27

Unincorporated

* Roberts Creek - Pop 3,421 * Halfmoon Bay *

Madeira Park Madeira Park is an unincorporated community in the area of Pender Harbour on the Sunshine Coast of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is named after the pioneer Jose Gonzalos, a native of the Madeira Islands Madeira ( ; ), offic ...

* Garden Bay * Egmont * Hopkins Landing *

Langdale Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet "Great" distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere ...

* Sources Statistic Canada Census. Area A revised from 2,678 (2016)

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

in the

2021 Census of Population 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 sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the Sunshine Coast Regional District had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. *Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

Provincial Parks

* Mount Richardson Provincial Park *

Tetrahedron Provincial Park Tetrahedron Provincial Park is a BC Parks, provincial park located within the territory of the Sechelt Indian Band, shíshálh Nation on the southern Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Sunshine Coast, in British Columbia, Canada. The park was crea ...

* Spipiyus Provincial Park

Notes

References

;Sources
Community Profile: Sunshine Coast Regional District, British Columbia; Statistics Canada
;Notes

External links

* {{Subdivisions of British Columbia, region=yes Regional districts of British Columbia