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Vancouver ( ) is a major city in
western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada†...
, located in the
Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 Canadia ...
region 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, ...
. As the
most populous city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the city proper, cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or th ...
in the province, 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 ...
recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Greater Vancouver area had a population of 2.6million in 2021, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Greater Vancouver, along with 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 ...
, comprises the
Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 Canadia ...
with a regional population of over 3 million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,700 people per square kilometre, and fourth highest in North America (after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City). Vancouver is one of the most
ethnically An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
and
linguistically Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
diverse cities in Canada: 49.3 percent of its residents are not native English speakers, 47.8 percent are native speakers of neither English nor French, and 54.5 percent of residents belong to
visible minority A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connect ...
groups. It has been consistently ranked one of the
most livable cities The world's most livable cities is an informal name given to any list of cities as they rank on an annual survey of living conditions. In addition to providing clean water, clean air, adequate food and shelter, a ‘livable’ city must also ge ...
in Canada and in the world. In terms of
housing affordability Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on aff ...
, Vancouver is also one of the most expensive cities in Canada and
in the world ''In the World'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in 1969 and released on the Strata-East label in 1972. The album was rereleased on CD as part of ''The Complete Clifford Jordan Strata-East Sessions'' by Mosaic ...
. Vancouver plans to become the greenest city in the world.
Vancouverism Vancouverism is an urban planning and architectural phenomenon in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is characterized by a large residential population living in the city centre with mixed-use developments, typically with a medium-height, c ...
is the city's
urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
design philosophy. Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 10,000 years ago, and included the Squamish,
Musqueam The Musqueam Indian Band ( ; hur, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm ) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the only First Nations band whose reserve community lies within the boundari ...
, and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples. The beginnings of the modern city, which was originally named
Gastown Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver. Its hi ...
, grew around the site of a makeshift tavern on the western edges of
Hastings Mill Hastings Mill was a sawmill on the south shore of Burrard Inlet and was the first commercial operation around which the settlement that would become Vancouver developed in British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1865 by Edward Stamp, the sawmill oper ...
that was built on July 1, 1867, and owned by proprietor
Gassy Jack John Deighton (November 1830 – May 23, 1875), better known as "Gassy Jack", was a bar-owner in British Columbia. The Gastown neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia takes its name from him. History Deighton was born in Hull, England ...
. The original site is marked by the Gastown steam clock. Gastown then formally registered as a
townsite A townsite is a legal subdivision of land for the development of a town or community. In the historical development of the United States, Canada, and other former British colonial nations, the filing of a townsite plat (United States) or plan (Ca ...
dubbed Granville,
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 ...
. The city was renamed "Vancouver" in 1886, through a deal with the
Canadian Pacific Railway 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 ...
(CPR). The Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway was extended to the city by 1887. The city's large natural seaport on the
Pacific Ocean 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 ...
became a vital link in the trade between
Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
,
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
,
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and
Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...
. Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 Commonwealth Games, UN Habitat I,
Expo 86 The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...
,
APEC Canada 1997 APEC Canada 1997 was a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings focused on economic cooperation, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 24–25 November 1997. It was the fifth APEC meeting in history, and the second held in the ...
, the
World Police and Fire Games The World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) is a biennial athletic event, open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel throughout the world. The WPFG Federation is an arm of the California Police Athletic Federation (CPAF), ...
in 1989 and 2009; several matches of
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
including the finals at
BC Place BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...
in
Downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...
, and the
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
and Paralympics which were held in Vancouver and Whistler, a resort community north of the city. In 1969,
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
was founded in Vancouver. The city became the permanent home to TED conferences in 2014. , the
Port of Vancouver The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America by tonnes of cargo, facilitating trade between Canada and more than 170 world economies. The port is managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, whic ...
is the fourth-largest port by tonnage in the Americas, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and nearby
Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest
film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...
centres in North America, earning it the nickname "
Hollywood North Hollywood North is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and/or film locations north of its namesake, Hollywood, California. The term has been applied principally to the film industry in Canada, specifically to the city of T ...
".


Etymology

The city takes its name from
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 ...
, who explored the inner harbour of Burrard Inlet in 1792 and gave various places British names. The family name "Vancouver" itself originates from the Dutch "van Coevorden", denoting somebody from the city of
Coevorden Coevorden (; nds-nl, Koevern) is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In ...
, Netherlands. The explorer's ancestors came to England "from Coevorden", which is the origin of the name that eventually became "Vancouver". The indigenous
Squamish people The Squamish people (Squamish language, Squamish: ''Skwxwú7mesh'' , historically transliterated as Sko-ko-mish) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Archaeological evidence sh ...
who reside in a region that encompasses southwestern British Columbia including this city gave the name ''K'emk'emeláy̓'' which means "place of many
maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
trees"; this was originally the name of a village inhabited by said people where a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
was established by one Captain
Edward Stamp Captain Edward Stamp (5 November 1814 – 20 January 1876) was an English mariner and entrepreneur who contributed to the early economic development of British Columbia and Vancouver Island.Lamb, W. K. (2000). Stamp, Edward. ''Dictionary of Cana ...
as part of the foundations to the British settlement later becoming part of Vancouver.


History


Before 1850

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
records indicate that
Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
were already living in the Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The city is located in the traditional and presently unceded territories of the Squamish,
Musqueam The Musqueam Indian Band ( ; hur, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm ) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the only First Nations band whose reserve community lies within the boundari ...
, and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples 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 Coas ...
group. They had villages in various parts of present-day Vancouver, such as
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...
,
False Creek False Creek (french: Faux ruisseau) is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown and West End neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four main bodies of water bordering Vancouver, along with ...
,
Kitsilano Kitsilano () is a neighbourhood located in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kitsilano is named after Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, and the neighbourhood is located in Vancouver's West Side along the south shore of Engli ...
,
Point Grey Point Grey ( Squamish: Elḵsn) is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Point Grey Camp ...
and near the mouth 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 ...
. The region where Vancouver is currently located was referred to in contemporary
Halkomelem Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...
as ''Lhq’á:lets,'' meaning "wide at the bottom/end". Europeans became acquainted with the area of the future Vancouver when
José María Narváez José María Narváez (1768 – August 4, 1840) was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator notable for his work in the Gulf Islands and Lower Mainland of present-day British Columbia. In 1791, as commander of the schooner ''Santa S ...
of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
explored the coast of present-day
Point Grey Point Grey ( Squamish: Elḵsn) is a headland marking the southern entrance to English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The headland is the site of Wreck Beach, Tower Beach, Point Grey Beach and most notably, since 1925, on its top is the Point Grey Camp ...
and parts of
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 ...
in 1791—although one author contends that
Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( â€“ 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
may have visited the area in 1579. The explorer and
North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...
trader Simon Fraser and his crew became the first-known Europeans to set foot on the site of the present-day city. In 1808, they travelled from the east down 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 ...
, perhaps as far as Point Grey.


Early growth

The
Fraser 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 ...
of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly from California, to nearby
New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
(founded February 14, 1859) on 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 ...
, on their way to 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 Ca ...
, bypassing what would become Vancouver. Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities; the first European settlement in what is now Vancouver was not until 1862 at McCleery's Farm on the Fraser River, just east of the ancient village of
Musqueam The Musqueam Indian Band ( ; hur, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm ) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the only First Nations band whose reserve community lies within the boundari ...
in what is now
Marpole Marpole, originally a Musqueam village named , is a mostly residential neighbourhood of 23,832 in 2011, located on the southern edge of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, immediately northeast of Vancouver International Airport, and is appro ...
. A sawmill established at Moodyville (now the City of North Vancouver) in 1863, began the city's long relationship with logging. It was quickly followed by mills owned by Captain Edward Stamp on the south shore of the inlet. Stamp, who had begun logging in the
Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices o ...
area, first attempted to run a mill at
Brockton Point Brockton Point is a headland off the Downtown Peninsula of Vancouver, on the north side of Coal Harbour. Named after Francis Brockton, it is the most easterly part of Stanley Park and is home to a 100-year-old lighthouse and several hand-carved ...
, but difficult currents and reefs forced the relocation of the operation in 1867 to a point near the foot of Dunlevy Street. This mill, known as the
Hastings Mill Hastings Mill was a sawmill on the south shore of Burrard Inlet and was the first commercial operation around which the settlement that would become Vancouver developed in British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1865 by Edward Stamp, the sawmill oper ...
, became the nucleus around which Vancouver formed. The mill's central role in the city waned after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s. It nevertheless remained important to the local economy until it closed in the 1920s. The settlement, which came to be called
Gastown Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver. Its hi ...
, grew quickly around the original makeshift tavern established by
Gassy Jack John Deighton (November 1830 – May 23, 1875), better known as "Gassy Jack", was a bar-owner in British Columbia. The Gastown neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia takes its name from him. History Deighton was born in Hull, England ...
in 1867 on the edge of the Hastings Mill property. In 1870, the colonial government surveyed the settlement and laid out a
townsite A townsite is a legal subdivision of land for the development of a town or community. In the historical development of the United States, Canada, and other former British colonial nations, the filing of a townsite plat (United States) or plan (Ca ...
, renamed " Granville" in honour of the then–British
Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...
,
Lord Granville Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family. First creation The first creation came in the Pee ...
. This site, with its natural harbour, was selected in 1884 as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the disappointment of
Port Moody Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south a ...
,
New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
and
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 ...
, all of which had vied to be the railhead. A railway was among the inducements for British Columbia to join the
Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
in 1871 but the
Pacific Scandal The Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving bribes being accepted by 150 members of the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract. As part of British Colu ...
and arguments over the use of Chinese labour delayed construction until the 1880s.


Incorporation

The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR president
William Van Horne Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, (February 3, 1843September 11, 1915) is most famous for overseeing the construction of the first Canadian transcontinental railway, a project that was completed in 1885, in under half the projected time. He succe ...
arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended by
Henry John Cambie Henry John Cambie (October 25, 1836 in County Tipperary, Ireland – April 23, 1928 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) was a Canadian surveyor and civil engineer and a notable figure in the completion of Canada's transcontinental railway. H ...
, and gave the city its name in honour of
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 ...
. The
Great Vancouver Fire The Great Vancouver Fire destroyed most of the newly incorporated city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on June 13, 1886. It started as two land clearing fires to the west of the city. The first fire was further away from the city and wa ...
on June 13, 1886, razed the entire city. The Vancouver Fire Department was established that year and the city quickly rebuilt. Vancouver's population grew from a settlement of 1,000 people in 1881 to over 20,000 by the turn of the century and 100,000 by 1911. Vancouver merchants outfitted prospectors bound for the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. One of those merchants, Charles Woodward, had opened the first
Woodward's Woodward's Stores Ltd. was a department store chain that operated in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, for 101 years, before its sale to the Hudson's Bay Company. History Charles Woodward established the first Woodward store at the corner o ...
store at Abbott and Cordova Streets in 1892 and, along with Spencer's and the Hudson's Bay department stores, formed the core of the city's retail sector for decades. The economy of early Vancouver was dominated by large companies such as the CPR, which fuelled economic activity and led to the rapid development of the new city; in fact, the CPR was the main real estate owner and housing developer in the city. While some manufacturing did develop, including the establishment of the British Columbia Sugar Refinery by
Benjamin Tingley Rogers Benjamin Tingley Rogers (October 21, 1865June 17, 1918) was an American businessman who was the founder of British Columbia Sugar in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Early years Benjamin Tingley Rogers was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ...
in 1890, natural resources became the basis for Vancouver's economy. The resource sector was initially based on logging and later on exports moving through the seaport, where commercial traffic constituted the largest economic sector in Vancouver by the 1930s.


The 20th century

The dominance of the economy by big business was accompanied by an often militant
labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...
. The first major sympathy strike was in 1903 when railway employees struck against the CPR for union recognition. Labour leader Frank Rogers was killed by CPR police while picketing at the docks, becoming the movement's first martyr in British Columbia. The rise of industrial tensions throughout the province led to Canada's first general strike in 1918, at the
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
coal mines on
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
. Following a lull in the 1920s, the strike wave peaked in 1935 when unemployed men flooded the city to protest conditions in the relief camps run by the military in remote areas throughout the province. After two tense months of daily and disruptive protesting, the relief camp strikers decided to take their grievances to the federal government and embarked on the
On-to-Ottawa Trek The On-to-Ottawa Trek was a mass protest movement in Canada in 1935 sparked by unrest among unemployed single men in federal relief camps principally in Western Canada. Federal relief camps were brought in under Prime Minister R. B. Bennett’s ...
, but their protest was put down by force. The workers were arrested near
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 ...
and interned in work camps for the duration of the Depression. Other social movements, such as the
first-wave feminist First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on De jure, legal issues, primarily on securing Women's suffrage, women's right to vot ...
, moral reform, and
temperance movements The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders em ...
were also instrumental in Vancouver's development.
Mary Ellen Smith Mary Ellen Spear Smith (October 11, 1863 – May 3, 1933) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. She was the first female Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia,suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
and
prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...
, became the first woman elected to a provincial legislature in Canada in 1918. Alcohol prohibition began in the First World War and lasted until 1921, when the provincial government established control over alcohol sales, a practice still in place today. Canada's first
drug law The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...
came about following an inquiry conducted by the federal
minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
and future prime minister,
William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
. King was sent to investigate damages claims resulting from a riot when the
Asiatic Exclusion League The Asiatic Exclusion League (often abbreviated AEL) was an organization formed in the early 20th century in the United States and Canada that aimed to prevent immigration of people of Asian origin. United States In May 1905, a mass meeting was h ...
led a rampage through
Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
and
Japantown is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little ...
. Two of the claimants were
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
manufacturers, and after further investigation, King found that white women were reportedly frequenting
opium den An opium den was an establishment in which opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America, and France. Throughout the West, opium dens were fr ...
s as well as
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
men. A federal law banning the manufacture, sale, and importation of opium for non-medicinal purposes was soon passed based on these revelations. These riots, and the formation of the Asiatic Exclusion League, also act as signs of a growing fear and mistrust towards the Japanese living in Vancouver and throughout BC. These fears were exacerbated by the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
leading to the eventual internment or deportation of all Japanese-Canadians living in the city and the province. After the war, these Japanese-Canadian men and women were not allowed to return to cities like Vancouver causing areas, like the aforementioned
Japantown is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little ...
, to cease to be ethnically Japanese areas as the communities never revived.
Amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan am ...
with Point Grey and South Vancouver gave the city its final boundaries not long before it became the third-largest metropolis in the country. As of January 1, 1929, the population of the enlarged Vancouver was 228,193.


Geography

Located on the
Burrard Peninsula The Burrard Peninsula ( squ, Ulksen) is a peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, bounded by the Burrard Inlet to the north, the Georgia Strait to the west, the North Arm of Fraser River to the south, and the Pitt Riv ...
, Vancouver lies between
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 ...
to the north and 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 ...
to the south. The
Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) 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 ...
, to the west, is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
. The city has an area of , including both flat and hilly ground and is in the
Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00) ...
(UTC−8) and the
Pacific Maritime Ecozone The Pacific Maritime Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial ecozone, spanning a strip approximately 200 kilometres wide along the British Columbia Coast, then narrowing along th ...
. Until the city's naming in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island and it remains a common misconception that the city is located on the island. The island and the city are both named after Royal Navy 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 ...
(as is the city of
Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
, in the United States). Vancouver has one of the largest urban parks in North America,
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...
, which covers . The
North Shore Mountains The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city. The steep southern slopes of the No ...
dominate the cityscape, and on a clear day, scenic vistas include the snow-capped volcano
Mount Baker Mount Baker (Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. Mount ...
in the state of Washington to the southeast, Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia to the west and southwest, and
Bowen Island Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱m in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver. Bowen Island is within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximate ...
to the northwest.


Ecology

The vegetation in the Vancouver area was originally
temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Paci ...
, consisting of
conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s with scattered pockets of maple and alder and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage). The conifers were a typical coastal British Columbia mix of
Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
,
western red cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae ...
and
western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...
. The area is thought to have had the largest trees of these species on the
British Columbia Coast , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...
. Only in
Elliott Bay Elliott Bay is a part of the Central Basin region of Puget Sound. It is in the U.S. state of Washington, extending southeastward between West Point in the north and Alki Point in the south. Seattle was founded on this body of water in the 1850s ...
,
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, did the size of trees rival those of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in the
Gastown Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver. Its hi ...
area, where the first logging occurred and on the southern slopes of
False Creek False Creek (french: Faux ruisseau) is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown and West End neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four main bodies of water bordering Vancouver, along with ...
and English Bay, especially around
Jericho Beach Jericho Beach, known originally as ''iy'a'l'mexw'' in Squamish, a Vancouver beach, is located west of the seaside neighbourhood of Kitsilano. It is surrounded by Jericho Beach Park, a grassy area with a pond, which is a picnic destination. Je ...
. The forest in Stanley Park was logged between the 1860s and 1880s and evidence of old-fashioned logging techniques such as springboard notches can still be seen there. Many plants and trees growing throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland were imported from other parts of the continent and from points across the Pacific. Examples include the
monkey puzzle tree ''Araucaria araucana'' (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, piñonero, pewen or Chilean pine) is an evergreen tree growing to a trunk diameter of 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) and a height of 30–40 m (100–130 ft). ...
, the
Japanese maple ''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (æ ´), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. ...
and various flowering exotics, such as
magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
s,
azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...
s and rhododendrons. Some species imported from harsher climates in Eastern Canada or Europe have grown to immense sizes. The native Acer glabrum, Douglas maple can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties of Cherry blossom, Japanese cherry trees donated from the 1930s onward by the government of Japan. These flower for several weeks in early spring each year, an occasion celebrated by the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. Other streets are lined with flowering chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum, horse chestnut and other decorative shade trees.


Climate

Vancouver is one of Canada's warmest cities in the winter. Vancouver's climate is temperate by Canadian standards and is classified as Oceanic climate, oceanic or Oceanic climate, marine west coast, (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb'') that borders on a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (''Csb''). While during summer months the inland temperatures are significantly higher, Vancouver has the coolest summer average high of all major Canadian metropolitan areas. The summer months are typically dry, with an average of only one in five days during July and August receiving precipitation. In contrast, the majority of days from November through March record some type of precipitation. Vancouver is also one of the wettest Canadian cities. However, precipitation varies throughout the metropolitan area. Annual precipitation as measured at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond averages , compared with in the downtown area and in North Vancouver. The daily maximum averages in July and August, with highs rarely reaching . The highest temperature ever recorded at the airport was set on July 30, 2009, and the highest temperature ever recorded within the city of Vancouver was occurring first on July 31, 1965, again on August 8, 1981, and also on May 29, 1983. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was on January 14, 1950 and again on December 29, 1968. On average, snow falls on nine days per year, with three days receiving or more. Average yearly snowfall is but typically does not remain on the ground for long. Winters in Greater Vancouver are the fourth-mildest of Canadian cities after nearby
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 ...
, Nanaimo and Duncan, British Columbia, Duncan, all on Vancouver Island. Vancouver's growing season averages 237 days, from March 18 until November 10. Vancouver's 1981–2010 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone ranges from 8A to 9A depending on elevation and proximity to water.


Cityscape


Urban planning

Vancouver is the most densely populated city in Canada. Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an alternative to urban sprawl, sprawl. As part of the larger Metro Vancouver region, it is influenced by the policy direction of livability as illustrated in Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy. Vancouver has been ranked one of the most livable cities in the world for more than a decade. , Vancouver has been ranked as having the third-highest quality of living of any city on Earth. In contrast, according to ''Forbes'', Vancouver had the fourth-most expensive real estate market in the world in 2019. Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities to live in. Sales in February 2016 were 56.3 percent higher than the 10-year average for the month. ''Forbes'' also ranked Vancouver as the tenth-cleanest city in the world in 2007. Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage the building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's West End, Vancouver, West End, subject to strict requirements for setbacks and open space to protect sight lines and preserve green space. The success of these dense but livable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s. The result is a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its "high amenity and 'livable' development". In 2006, the city launched a planning initiative entitled EcoDensity, with the stated goal of exploring ways in which "density, design, and land use can contribute to environmental sustainability, affordability, and livability".


Architecture

The Vancouver Art Gallery is housed downtown in the Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical former courthouse built in 1906. The courthouse building was designed by Francis Rattenbury, who also designed the British Columbia Parliament Buildings and the The Empress (hotel), Empress Hotel in Victoria, and the lavishly decorated second Hotel Vancouver. The 556-room Hotel Vancouver, opened in 1939 and the third by that name, is across the street with its copper roof. The Gothic-style Christ Church Cathedral (Vancouver), Christ Church Cathedral, across from the hotel, opened in 1894 and was declared a heritage building in 1976. There are several modern architecture, modern buildings in the downtown area, including the Harbour Centre, the Law Courts (Vancouver), Vancouver Law Courts and surrounding plaza known as Robson Square (designed by Arthur Erickson) and the Vancouver Public Library, Vancouver Library Square (designed by Moshe Safdie and DA Architects + Planners, DA Architects), reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome, and the recently completed Woodward's Building, Woodward's building Redevelopment (designed by Gregory Henriquez, Henriquez Partners Architects). The original BC Hydro headquarters building (designed by Ronald Thom, Ron Thom and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets is a modernism, modernist high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominia. Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the MacMillan Bloedel building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection. A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame Canada Place (designed by Zeidler Partnership Architects, Zeidler Roberts Partnership Partnership, MCMP & DA Architects + Planners, DA Architects), the former Canada Pavilion from the Expo 86, 1986 World Exposition, which includes part of the Vancouver Convention Centre, Convention Centre, the Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel, Pan-Pacific Hotel, and a cruise ship terminal. Two modern buildings that define the southern skyline away from the downtown area are Vancouver City Hall, City Hall and the Centennial Pavilion of Vancouver General Hospital, both designed by Fred Townley, Townley and Matheson in 1936 and 1958, respectively. A collection of Edwardian architecture, Edwardian buildings in the city's old downtown core were, in their day, the tallest commercial buildings in the British Empire. These were, in succession, the Carter-Cotton Building (former home of The Province, ''The Vancouver Province'' newspaper), the Dominion Building (1907) and the Sun Tower (1911), the former two at Cambie and Hastings Street (Vancouver), Hastings Streets and the latter at Beatty and Pender Streets. The Sun Tower's cupola was finally exceeded as the Empire's tallest commercial building by the elaborate Art Deco Marine Building in the 1920s. The Marine Building is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which make it a favourite location for movie shoots. Topping the list of tallest buildings in Vancouver is Living Shangri-La at and 62 storeys. The second-tallest building in Vancouver is the Trump International Hotel and Tower (Vancouver), Trump International Hotel and Tower at , followed by the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, at . The fourth-tallest is One Wall Centre at and 48 storeys, followed closely by the Shaw Tower (Vancouver), Shaw Tower at .


Demographics

In 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, Vancouver had a population of 662,248 living in 305,336 of its 328,347 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 631,486, making it the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, eighth-largest among Canadian cities. More specifically, Vancouver is the fourth-largest in Western Canada after Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021, the most densely populated Canadian municipality with more than 5,000 residents. At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the metropolitan area referred to as Greater Vancouver had a population of 2,642,825 living in 1,043,319 of its 1,104,532 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,463,431, the List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada, third-most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous in Western Canada. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Approximately 75 percent of the people living in Metro Vancouver live outside Vancouver itself. The larger Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region (which includes also the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, Squamish-Lillooet,
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 Sunshine Coast Regional District) has a population of over 3.04million. The 2021 census reported that Immigration to Canada, immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 274,365 persons or 42.2% of the total population of Vancouver. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were China (63,275 persons or 23.1%), Philippines (29,930 persons or 10.9%), Hong Kong (25,480 persons or 9.3%), India (14,640 persons or 5.3%), United Kingdom (12,895 persons or 4.7%), Vietnam (12,120 persons or 4.4%), Taiwan (9,870 persons or 3.6%), United States of America (9,790 persons or 3.6%), Iran (8,775 persons or 3.2%), and South Korea (6,495 persons or 2.4%).


Ethnicity

Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods". Each neighbourhood in Vancouver has a distinct character and ethnic mix. People of English, Scottish, and Irish origins were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city, and elements of British society and culture are still visible in some areas, particularly South Granville Rise, South Granville and Kerrisdale. German Canadians, Germans are the next-largest European ethnic group in Vancouver and were a leading force in the city's society and economy until the rise of anti-German sentiment with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Today the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
are the largest visible ethnic group in Vancouver; the city has a diverse Chinese language, Chinese-speaking community with speakers of several dialects, notably Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin. Neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic commercial areas include
Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
, Punjabi Market, Vancouver, Punjabi Market, Little Italy, Vancouver, Little Italy, Greektown, Vancouver, Greektown, and (formerly)
Japantown is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little ...
. Since the 1980s, Immigration to Canada, immigration increased substantially, making the city more
ethnically An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
and linguistically diverse; 49 percent of Vancouver's residents do not speak English language, English as their first language. Over 25 percent of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage. In the 1980s, an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong in anticipation of Handover of Hong Kong, the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China, combined with an increase in immigrants from mainland China and previous immigrants from Taiwan, established in Vancouver one of the highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese residents in North America. Another significant Asian Canadians, Asian ethnic group in Vancouver includes South Asian Canadians, South Asians, forming approximately 7 percent of the city's inhabitants; while a small community had existed in the city since 1897, larger waves of migration began in the 1960s, prompting new Punjabis, Punjabi immigrants to establish a ''Little India'' (known as Punjabi Market, Vancouver, Punjabi Market) and preside over much of the mass construction of the ''Vancouver Special'' across the southeastern quadrant of the city, notably within the Sunset, Vancouver, Sunset neighbourhood prior to the suburbanization of the community to outer suburbs such as Surrey or Delta. Other Asian-origin groups that reside in Vancouver include Filipino Canadians, Filipinos (5.9%), Japanese Canadians, Japanese (1.7%), Korean Canadians, Korean (1.7%), West Asian Canadians, West Asians (1.9%), as well as sizable communities of Vietnamese Canadians, Vietnamese, Indonesian Canadians, Indonesians, and Cambodian Canadians, Cambodians. Despite increases in Latin American Canadians, Latin American immigration to Vancouver in the 1980s and 1990s, recent immigration has been comparatively low. Although, growth in the Latino population arose in the late 2010s and early 2020s, and which largely consists of Mexican Canadian, Mexicans, Salvadoran Canadian, Salvadorans, and other groups. African immigration has been similarly stagnant (3.6% and 3.3% of total immigrant population, respectively). The Black Canadians, black population of Vancouver is small in comparison to other Canadian major cities, making up 1.3 percent of the city. Hogan's Alley, Vancouver, Hogan's Alley, a small area adjacent to Chinatown, just off Main Street at Prior, was once home to a significant black community. The Black population consists of Somali Canadian, Somalis, Jamaicans/Caribbeans, and other groups including those who descended from African Americans. The neighbourhood of Strathcona, Vancouver, Strathcona was the core of the city's History of the Jews in Canada, Jewish community. In 1981, less than 7 percent of the population belonged to a
visible minority A visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connect ...
group. By 2016, this proportion had grown to 52 percent. Prior to the Hong Kong diaspora of the 1990s, the largest non-British ethnic groups in the city were Irish Canadians, Irish and German Canadians, German, followed by Scandinavian, Italian Canadians, Italian, Ukrainian Canadians, Ukrainian, Chinese, and Punjabi Canadians, Punjabi. From the mid-1950s until the 1980s, many Portuguese Canadians, Portuguese immigrants came to Vancouver and the city had the third-largest Portuguese population in Canada in 2001. Eastern Europeans, including Russians, Czechs, Poles, Romanians and Hungarians began immigrating after the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe after World War II. Greeks, Greek immigration increased in the late 1960s and early '70s, with most settling in the
Kitsilano Kitsilano () is a neighbourhood located in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kitsilano is named after Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, and the neighbourhood is located in Vancouver's West Side along the south shore of Engli ...
area. Vancouver also has a significant Indigenous peoples in Canada, aboriginal community of about 15,000 people. Vancouver has a large LGBT community, with a recognized Gay village, gay male enclave focused in the West End neighbourhood of the downtown core, particularly along Davie Street, officially designated as Davie Village, though the gay community is omnipresent throughout West End and Yaletown areas. Vancouver is host to one of the country's largest annual pride parades.


Language

According to the 2021 Canadian census, 612,215 persons or 94.1% of Vancouver's population have knowledge of the English language; 96,965 persons or 14.9% of the population have knowledge of the Cantonese Language, Cantonese language, followed by Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin (74,695 or 11.5%), French language, French (60,990 or 9.4%), Tagalog language, Tagalog (30,430 or 4.7%), Punjabi language, Punjabi (19,130 or 2.9%), Hindi (15,025 or 2.3%), Vietnamese language, Vietnamese (14,905 or 2.3%), Japanese language, Japanese (12,075 or 1.9%), Iranian Persian, Farsi (11,855 or 1.9%), German language, German (11,050 or 1.7%), Korean language, Korean (10,480 or 1.6%), Portuguese language, Portuguese (8,715 or 1.3%), Italian language, Italian (7,740 or 1.2%), and Russian language, Russian (7,620 or 1.2%). Furthermore, the 2021 census stated 332,135 persons or 50.7% of Vancouver's population have English language, English as a mother tongue; Cantonese is the mother tongue of 77,435 persons or 11.8% of the population, followed by Mandarin (41,695 or 6.4%), Tagalog (18,675 or 2.9%), Spanish (16,735 or 2.6%), Punjabi (13,305 or 2.0%), Vietnamese (11,870 or 1.8%), Farsi (9,900 or 1.6%), Korean (8,605 or 1.3%), Japanese (7,150 or 1.1%), Portuguese (6,740 or 1.0%), Russian (5,155 or 0.8%), German (4,725 or 0.7%), Hindi (4,355 or 0.7%), and Italian (4,000 or 0.6%).


Religion

According to 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 ...
, religious groups in Vancouver included: *Irreligion in Canada, Irreligion (362,925 persons or 55.8%) *Christianity in Canada, Christianity (194,365 persons or 29.9%) *Buddhism in Canada, Buddhism (26,245 persons or 4.0%) *Islam in Canada, Islam (17,910 persons or 2.8%) *Sikhism in Canada, Sikhism (16,535 persons or 2.5%) *Hinduism in Canada, Hinduism (12,585 persons or 1.9%) *Judaism in Canada, Judaism (11,675 persons or 1.8%) *Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous spirituality (480 persons or 0.1%) *Other (7,665 persons or 1.2%)


Homelessness

Homelessness is a significant and persistent issue in Vancouver. A 2019 count found that at least 2,223 people in the city were experiencing homelessness, the highest number recorded since counts began in 2005. Of those surveyed, 28 percent reported having no physical shelter. Indigenous people accounted for 39 percent of all respondents. Three-fifths of respondents reported at least two health concerns, and 67 percent reported an addiction to at least one substance.


Economy

With its location on the Pacific Rim and at the western terminus of Canada's Trans-Canada Highway, transcontinental highway and rail routes, Vancouver is one of the nation's largest industrial centres. Port of Vancouver, Port Metro Vancouver, Canada's largest and most diversified port, does more than $172billion in trade with over 160 different trading economies annually. Port activities generate $9.7billion in gross domestic product and $20.3billion in economic output. Vancouver is also the headquarters of forestry, forest product and mining companies. In recent years, Vancouver has become a centre for software development, biotechnology, aerospace, video game development, List of animation studios, animation studios and television production and Cinema of Canada, film industry. Vancouver hosts approximately 65 movies and 55 TV series annually and is the 3rd largest film & TV production centre in North America, supporting 20,000 jobs. The city's strong focus on lifestyle and health culture also makes it a hub for many lifestyle brands with Lululemon Athletica, Lululemon, Arc'teryx, Kit and Ace, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Herschel Supply Co., Aritzia, Reigning Champ, and Nature's Path, Nature's Path Foods all founded and headquartered in Vancouver. Vancouver was also the birthplace of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and Western Canada's largest online-only publication, ''Daily Hive''. Vancouver's scenic location makes it a major tourist destination. Over 10.3million people visited Vancouver in 2017. Annually, tourism contributes approximately $4.8billion to the Metro Vancouver economy and supports over 70,000 jobs. Many visit to see the city's gardens,
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...
, Queen Elizabeth Park, British Columbia, Queen Elizabeth Park, VanDusen Botanical Garden and the mountains, ocean, forest and parklands which surround the city. Each year over a million people pass through Vancouver on cruise ship vacations, often bound for Alaska. Vancouver is the most stressed city in the spectrum of Affordable housing in Canada, affordability of housing in Canada. In 2012, Vancouver was ranked by Demographia as the second-most unaffordable city in the world, rated as even more severely unaffordable in 2012 than in 2011. The city has adopted various strategies to reduce housing costs, including housing cooperative, cooperative housing, legalized secondary suites, increased density and smart growth. As of April 2010, the average two-level home in Vancouver sold for a record high of $987,500, compared with the Canadian average of $365,141. A factor explaining the high property prices may be policies by the Canadian government which permit snow washing, which allows foreigners to buy property in Canada while shielding their identities from tax authorities, making real estate transactions an effective way to conduct money laundering. Since the 1990s, development of high-rise Condominiums in Canada, condominia in the downtown peninsula has been financed, in part, by an inflow of capital from Hong Kong immigrants due to the former colony's 1997 handover to China. Such development has clustered in the Yaletown and Coal Harbour districts and around many of the SkyTrain (Vancouver), SkyTrain stations to the east of the downtown. The city's selection to co-host the
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
was also a major influence on economic development. Concern was expressed that Vancouver's increasing homelessness problem would be exacerbated by the Olympics because owners of single room occupancy hotels, which house many of the city's lowest income residents, converted their properties to attract higher income residents and tourists. Another significant international event held in Vancouver, the Expo 86, 1986 World Exposition, received over 20million visitors and added $3.7billion to the Canadian economy. Some still-standing Vancouver landmarks, including the SkyTrain public transit system and Canada Place, were built as part of the exposition.


Government

Vancouver, unlike other British Columbia municipalities, is Local government in Canada, incorporated under the ''Vancouver Charter''. The legislation, passed in 1953, supersedes the ''Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1921'' and grants the city more and different powers than other communities possess under BC's ''Municipalities Act''. The civic government was dominated by the centre-right Non-Partisan Association (NPA) since World War II, albeit with some significant centre-left interludes until 2008. The NPA fractured over the issue of narcotic, drug policy in 2002, facilitating a landslide victory for the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) on a harm reduction platform. Subsequently, North America's only legal Insite, safe injection site was opened for the significant number of intravenous heroin users in the city. Vancouver is governed by the eleven-member Vancouver City Council, a nine-member School Board, and a seven-member Vancouver Park Board, Park Board, all of whom serve four-year terms. Unusually for a city of Vancouver's size, all municipal elections are on an at-large basis. Historically, in all levels of government, the more affluent west side of Vancouver has voted along Conservatism in Canada, conservative or Liberalism in Canada, liberal lines while the eastern side of the city has voted along left-wing politics, left-wing lines. This was reaffirmed with the results of the 2005 British Columbia general election, 2005 provincial election and the Canadian federal election results in Greater Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast, 2006 federal election. Though polarized, a political Consensus decision-making, consensus has emerged in Vancouver around a number of issues. Protection of urban parks, a focus on the development of rapid transit as opposed to a freeway system, a harm-reduction approach to illegal drug use, and a general concern about community-based development are examples of policies that have come to have broad support across the political spectrum in Vancouver. In the 2008 Vancouver municipal election, 2008 municipal election campaign, NPA incumbent mayor Sam Sullivan was ousted as mayoral candidate by the party in a close vote, which instated Peter Ladner as the new mayoral candidate for the NPA. Gregor Robertson (politician), Gregor Robertson, a former MLA for Vancouver-Fairview and head of Happy Planet, was the mayoral candidate for Vision Vancouver, the other main contender. Vision Vancouver candidate Gregor Robertson defeated Ladner by a considerable margin, nearing 20,000 votes. The balance of power was significantly shifted to Vision Vancouver, which held seven of the 10 spots for councillor. Of the remaining three, COPE received two and the NPA one. For park commissioner, four spots went to Vision Vancouver, one to the Green Party, one to COPE, and one to NPA. For school trustee, there were four Vision Vancouver seats, three COPE seats, and two NPA seats. In the 2018 Vancouver municipal election, independent Kennedy Stewart (Canadian politician), Kennedy Stewart was elected List of mayors of Vancouver, mayor of Vancouver. Stewart was later defeated as mayor in the 2022 Vancouver municipal election by Ken Sim, the runner-up in the 2018 election. Vancouver's budget consists of a capital and an operating component. The 2017 operating budget was $1.323billion, while the 2018 operating budget is $1.407billion (a year over year increase of 6.4%). The capital budget for 2018 is unchanged from 2017 and stands at $426.4million. Budget increases are largely funded through increases in property taxes and community amenity contributions imposed in exchange for increases in allowable density as part of the construction permitting process. Utility fees and other user fees have also been increased, but represent a comparatively small portion of Vancouver's overall budget.


Regional government

Along with 20 other municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation, Vancouver is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver Regional District, Metro Vancouver, the regional government whose seat is in
Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
. While each member of Metro Vancouver has its own separate local governing body, Metro Vancouver oversees common services and planning functions within the area such as providing drinking water; operating sewage and solid waste handling; maintaining regional parks; overseeing air quality, greenhouse gases and ecological health; and providing a strategy for regional growth and land use.


Provincial and federal representation

In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Vancouver is represented by 11 Member of the Legislative Assembly, members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). As of June 2022, there are two seats held by the British Columbia Liberal Party, BC Liberal Party, and nine by the British Columbia New Democratic Party, BC New Democratic Party. In the House of Commons of Canada, Vancouver is represented by six members of Parliament. In the 2021 Canadian federal election, 2021 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberals retained three seats (Vancouver Quadra, Vancouver Centre, and Vancouver South) and gained one (Vancouver Granville), while the New Democratic Party (Canada), NDP held on to the two seats (Vancouver East and Vancouver Kingsway) they held at dissolution. The Conservative Party of Canada, Conservatives were shut out of the city's ridings. Two current Cabinet ministers hail from the city – Vancouver South MP Harjit Sajjan is Minister of International Development, and Vancouver Quadra MP Joyce Murray is Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard.


Policing and crime

Vancouver operates the Vancouver Police Department, with 1,327 sworn members and an operating budget of $316.5million in 2018. Over 19 percent of the city's budget was spent on police protection in 2018. The Vancouver Police Department's operational divisions include a police bicycle, bicycle squad, a water police, marine squad, and a police dog, dog squad. It also has a mounted police, mounted squad, used primarily to patrol Stanley Park, as well as for crowd control. The police work in conjunction with civilian and volunteer-run Community Police Centres. In 2006, the police department established its own Counterterrorism, counterterrorism unit. In 2005, a new transit police force, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service (now the Metro Vancouver Transit Police), was established with full police powers. Before the legalization of marijuana, Vancouver police generally did not arrest people for possessing small amounts of cannabis (drug), marijuana. In 2000 the Vancouver Police Department established a specialized drug squad, "Growbusters", to carry out an aggressive campaign against the city's estimated 4,000 hydroponics, hydroponic marijuana growing operations (or grow-ops) in residential areas. As with other law enforcement campaigns targeting marijuana this initiative has been sharply criticized. , Vancouver had the ninth-highest crime in Canada, crime rate, dropping 5 spots since 2005, among Canada's 35 census metropolitan areas. However, as with other Canadian cities, the overall crime rate has been falling "dramatically". The rate of firearm related violence dropped from 45.3 per 100,000 in 2006, the highest of any major metropolitan region in Canada at that time, to 16.2 in 2017. A series of gang-related incidents in early 2009 escalated into what police have dubbed a 2009 Vancouver gang war, gang war. Vancouver plays host to special events such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, the Clinton-Yeltsin Summit, or the Symphony of Fire fireworks show that require significant policing. The 1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot, 1994 Stanley Cup riot overwhelmed police and injured as many as 200 people. A 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot, second riot took place following the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. To reduce the public health risk from discarded hypodermic needles which are commonly found on the streets of downtown and the adjacent Downtown Eastside, the city runs a continuous collection effort, recovering approximately 1000 needles per day from public spaces. According to Vancouver Coastal Health, the regional health authority and a distributor of clean needles to intravenous drug users, there has never been a documented case of disease transmission from an accidental needlestick.


Military

Jericho Beach Jericho Beach, known originally as ''iy'a'l'mexw'' in Squamish, a Vancouver beach, is located west of the seaside neighbourhood of Kitsilano. It is surrounded by Jericho Beach Park, a grassy area with a pond, which is a picnic destination. Je ...
in Vancouver is the location of the headquarters of 39 Canadian Brigade Group of the Canadian Army. Local primary reserve units include The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own), based at the Seaforth Armoury and the Beatty Street Drill Hall, respectively, and the 15th Field Artillery Regiment (Canada), 15th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. The Naval Reserve Unit is based on Deadman's Island (Vancouver), Deadman's Island in Stanley Park. RCAF Station Jericho Beach, the first air base in Western Canada, was taken over by the Canadian Army in 1947 when sea planes were replaced by long-range aircraft. Most of the base facilities were transferred to the City of Vancouver in 1969 and the area renamed "Jericho Park".


Education

The School District 39 Vancouver, Vancouver School Board enrolls more than 110,000 students in its elementary, secondary, and higher education, post-secondary institutions, making it the second-largest school district in the province. The district administers about 76 elementary schools, 17 elementary annexes, 18 secondary schools, 7 adult education centres, 2 Vancouver Learning Network schools, which include 18 French immersion schools, a Standard Mandarin, Mandarin bilingual school, and fine arts (Byng Arts Mini School), gifted, and Montessori method, Montessori schools. The ''Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique'' operates three Francophone schools in that city: the primary schools ''école Rose-des-vents'' and ''école Anne-Hébert'' as well as the ''école secondaire Jules-Verne''. More than 46 Independent school#Canada, independent schools of a wide variety are also eligible for partial provincial funding and educate approximately 10 percent of pupils in the city. There are five public universities in the Greater Vancouver area, the largest and most prestigious being the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU), with a combined enrolment of more than 90,000 undergraduates, graduates, and professional students in 2008. UBC often ranks among the top 50 best universities in the world and is ranked among the 20 best public universities in Canada. SFU consistently ranks as the top comprehensive university in Canada and is among the 300 best universities in the world. UBC's main campus is located on the tip of Burrard Peninsula, just west of the University Endowment Lands with the city-proper adjacent to the east. SFU's main campus is in
Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
. Both also maintain campuses in Downtown Vancouver and Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey. The other public universities in the metropolitan area around Vancouver are Capilano University in North Vancouver, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and Kwantlen Polytechnic University whose four campuses are all outside the city proper. Six private institutions also operate in the region: Trinity Western University in Langley, University of Phoenix, UOPX Canada in Burnaby, and University Canada West, New York Institute of Technology, NYIT Canada, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Columbia College (British Columbia), Columbia College, and Sprott Shaw College, all in Vancouver. Vancouver Community College and Langara College are publicly funded College (Canada), college-level institutions in Vancouver, as is Douglas College with three campuses outside the city. The British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby provides institute of technology#Canada, polytechnic education. These are augmented by private and vocational institutions and other colleges in the surrounding areas of Metro Vancouver that provide Vocational school#Canada, career, Vocational school, trade, technical school, technical, and university-transfer programs, while the Vancouver Film School provides one-year programs in film production and video game design. International students and English as a second or foreign language, English as a second language (ESL) students have been significant in the enrolment of these public and private institutions. For the 2008–2009 school year, 53 percent of Vancouver School Board's students spoke a language other than English at home.


Arts and culture


Theatre, dance, film and television


Theatre

Prominent theatre companies in Vancouver include the Arts Club Theatre Company on Granville Island, and Bard on the Beach. Smaller companies include Touchstone Theatre, and Studio 58. The Cultch, The Firehall Arts Centre, United Players, Pacific and Metro Theatres, all run continuous theatre seasons. Theatre Under The Stars (Vancouver), Theatre Under the Stars produces shows in the summer at Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. Annual festivals that are held in Vancouver include the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in January and the Vancouver Fringe Festival in September. The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company operated for fifty years, ending in March 2012.


Dance

Vancouver is home to Ballet BC, a ballet company whose principle venue is the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Ballet BC was founded in 1986 and is currently British Columbia's only ballet company. The Scotiabank Dance Centre, a converted bank building on the corner of Davie and Granville, functions as a gathering place and performance venue for Vancouver-based dancers and choreographers. Dances for a Small Stage is a semi-annual dance festival.


Film

The Vancouver International Film Festival, which runs for two weeks each September, shows over 350 films and is one of the larger film festivals in North America. The VIFF Centre venue, the Vancity Theatre, runs independent non-commercial films throughout the rest of the year, as do the The Cinematheque, Pacific Cinémathèque, and the Rio theatres.


=Films set in Vancouver

= Vancouver has become a major film location, known as
Hollywood North Hollywood North is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and/or film locations north of its namesake, Hollywood, California. The term has been applied principally to the film industry in Canada, specifically to the city of T ...
, as it has stood in for several U.S. cities. However, it has started to appear as itself in several feature films. Among :films set in Vancouver, films set in the city and its surroundings are the 1994 US thriller ''Intersection (1994 film), Intersection'', starring Richard Gere and Sharon Stone; the 2007 Canadian ghost thriller ''They Wait'', starring Terry Chen and Jaime King; and the acclaimed Canadian 'mockumentary' ''Hard Core Logo'', and was named the second-best Canadian film of the last 15 years, in a 2001 poll of 200 industry voters, performed by Playback. Genie Awards, Genie Award-winning filmmaker Mina Shum has filmed and set several of her internationally released features in Vancouver, including the Sundance Film Festival, Sundance-screened ''Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity'' (2002).


Television shows produced in Vancouver

Many past and current TV shows have been filmed and :Television shows set in Vancouver, set in Vancouver. The first Canadian prime time national series to be produced out of Vancouver was ''Cold Squad'' and its storyline was also physically set in the city. Other series set in or around the city of Vancouver include ''Continuum (TV series), Continuum'', ''Da Vinci's Inquest'', ''Danger Bay'', ''Edgemont (TV series), Edgemont'', ''Godiva's'', ''Intelligence (Canadian TV series), Intelligence'', ''Motive (TV series), Motive'', ''Northwood (TV series), Northwood'', ''Primeval: New World'', ''Robson Arms'', ''The Romeo Section'', ''Shattered (2010 TV series), Shattered'', ''The Switch (TV series), The Switch'', and ''These Arms of Mine (TV series), These Arms of Mine''. Television shows produced (but not set) in Vancouver (that have been produced by American and Canadian studios alike) include ''21 Jump Street'', ''The 100 (TV series), The 100'', ''The 4400'', ''Airwolf'', ''Almost Human (TV series), Almost Human'', ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow'', ''Backstrom (TV series), Backstrom'', ''Caprica'', ''Cedar Cove (TV series), Cedar Cove'', ''Chesapeake Shores'', ''The Commish'', ''Dark Angel (2000 TV series), Dark Angel'', ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV series), Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'', ''The Flash (2014 TV series), The Flash'', ''The Good Doctor (TV series), The Good Doctor'', ''Haters Back Off'', ''Hellcats'', ''Intelligence (Canadian TV series), Intelligence'', ''iZombie (TV series), iZombie'', ''The Killing (American TV series), The Killing'', ''The L Word'', ''Life Unexpected'', ''The Man in the High Castle (TV series), The Man in the High Castle'', ''Once Upon a Time (TV series), Once Upon a Time'', ''Psych'', ''Reaper (TV series), Reaper'', ''Riverdale (2017 TV series), Riverdale'', ''Rogue (TV series), Rogue'', ''Smallville'', ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'', ''Supernatural (U.S. TV series), Supernatural'', ''The Tomorrow People (U.S. TV series), The Tomorrow People'', ''The Magicians (American TV series), The Magicians'', ''Tru Calling'', ''Van Helsing (TV series), Van Helsing'', ''Witches of East End (TV series), Witches of East End'', and ''The X-Files''.


Libraries and museums

Libraries in Vancouver include the Vancouver Public Library with its main branch at Library Square, designed by Moshe Safdie. The central branch contains 1.5million volumes. Altogether there are twenty-two branches containing 2.25million volumes. The Vancouver Tool Library is Canada's original tool lending library. The Vancouver Art Gallery has a permanent collection of nearly 10,000 items and is the home of a significant number of works by Emily Carr. However, little or none of the permanent collection is ever on view. Downtown is also home to the Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver), which showcases temporary exhibitions by up-and-coming Vancouver artists. The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery with a small collection of contemporary works is part of the University of British Columbia. In the
Kitsilano Kitsilano () is a neighbourhood located in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kitsilano is named after Squamish chief August Jack Khatsahlano, and the neighbourhood is located in Vancouver's West Side along the south shore of Engli ...
district are the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the H. R. MacMillan Space Centre, and the Museum of Vancouver, Vancouver Museum, the largest civic museum in Canada. The Museum of Anthropology at UBC is a leading museum of Pacific Northwest, Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations in Canada, First Nations culture. A more interactive museum is Science World (Vancouver), Science World at the head of
False Creek False Creek (french: Faux ruisseau) is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown and West End neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four main bodies of water bordering Vancouver, along with ...
. The city also features a diverse collection of Public Art.


Visual art

The Vancouver School of conceptual art, conceptual photography (often referred to as photoconceptualism)Sarah Milroy "Is Arden our next greatest photographer?" ''Globe and Mail'' (October 27, 2007): R1. is a term applied to a grouping of artists from Vancouver who achieved international recognition starting in the 1980s. No formal "art movement, school" exists and the grouping remains both informal and often controversialMarsha Lederman "Behind the Lens: The Vancouver School Debate" ''Globe and Mail'' (October 20, 2007): R13. even among the artists themselves, who often resist the term. Artists associated with the term include Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace (artist), Ian Wallace, Ken Lum, Roy Arden, Stan Douglas and Rodney Graham. Vancouver has a history of Aboriginal art. Examples of this can be seen at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.


Music and nightlife

Musical contributions from Vancouver include performers of classical, folk and popular music. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is the professional orchestra based in the city. The Vancouver Opera is a major opera company in the city, and City Opera of Vancouver is the city's professional chamber opera company. The city is home to a number of Canadian composers including Rodney Sharman, Jeffrey Ryan, and Jocelyn Morlock. The city produced a number of notable punk rock bands, including D.O.A. (band), D.O.A. Other early Vancouver punk bands included the Subhumans (Canadian band), Subhumans, the Young Canadians, the Pointed Sticks, and U-J3RK5. When alternative rock became popular in the 1990s, several Vancouver groups rose to prominence, including 54-40 (band), 54-40, Odds (band), Odds, Moist (Canadian band), Moist, the Matthew Good Band, Sons of Freedom (band), Sons of Freedom and Econoline Crush. Recent successful Vancouver bands include Gob (band), Gob, Marianas Trench (band), Marianas Trench, Theory of a Deadman and Stabilo (band), Stabilo. Today, Vancouver is home to a number of popular independent bands such as The New Pornographers, Japandroids, Destroyer (band), Destroyer, In Medias Res (band), In Medias Res, Tegan and Sara, and independent labels including Nettwerk and Mint Records, Mint. Vancouver also produced influential metal band Strapping Young Lad and pioneering electro-industrial bands Skinny Puppy, Numb (band), Numb and Front Line Assembly; the latter's Bill Leeb is better known for founding ambient pop super-group Delerium. Other popular musical artists who made their mark from Vancouver include Carly Rae Jepsen, Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan, Heart (band), Heart, Prism (band), Prism, Trooper (band), Trooper, Chilliwack (band), Chilliwack, Payolas, Moev, Images in Vogue, Michael Bublé, DYLN, Stef Lang and Spirit of the West. Larger musical performances are usually held at venues such as Rogers Arena, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, BC Place, BC Place Stadium or the Pacific Coliseum, while smaller acts are held at places such as the Commodore Ballroom, the Orpheum (Vancouver), Orpheum Theatre and the Vogue Theatre. The Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival showcase music in their respective genres from around the world. Vancouver's Hong Kong Chinese population has produced several Cantopop stars across the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Similarly, various Indo-Canadian artists and actors have a profile in Bollywood or other aspects of India's entertainment industry. Vancouver has a vibrant nightlife scene, whether it be food and dining, or bars and nightclubs. The Granville Entertainment District has the city's highest concentration of bars and nightclubs with closing times of 3am, in addition to various after-hours clubs open until late morning on weekends. The street can attract large crowds on weekends and is closed to traffic on such nights.
Gastown Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver. Its hi ...
is also a popular area for nightlife with many upscale restaurants and nightclubs, as well as the Davie Village which is centre to the city's LGBT community.


Media

Vancouver is a centre for film and television production. Nicknamed
Hollywood North Hollywood North is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and/or film locations north of its namesake, Hollywood, California. The term has been applied principally to the film industry in Canada, specifically to the city of T ...
, a distinction it shares with Toronto, the city has been used as a film making location for nearly a century, beginning with the Edison Studios, Edison Manufacturing Company. In 2008 more than 260 productions were filmed in Vancouver. In 2011 Vancouver slipped to fourth place overall at 1.19billion, although the region still leads Canada in foreign production. A wide mix of local, national, and international newspapers are distributed in the city. The two major English language, English-language daily newspapers are the ''Vancouver Sun'' and ''The Province''. Also, there are two national newspapers distributed in the city, including ''The Globe and Mail'', which began publication of a "national edition" in BC in 1983 and recently expanded to include a three-page BC news section, and the ''National Post'' which centres on national news. Other local newspapers include ''24 Hours (newspaper), 24H'' (a local free daily), the Vancouver franchise of the national free daily ''Metro International, Metro'', the twice-a-week ''Vancouver Courier'', and the independent newspaper ''The Georgia Straight''. Three Chinese-language daily newspapers''Ming Pao'', ''Sing Tao Daily (Canada), Sing Tao'' and ''World Journal''cater to the city's large Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking population. A number of other local and international papers serve other multicultural groups in the Lower Mainland. Some of the local television stations include CBUT-DT, CBC, CKVU-DT, Citytv, CIVT-DT, CTV and CHAN-DT, Global BC. CHNM-DT, OMNI British Columbia produces daily newscasts in Cantonese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin, Punjabi language, Punjabi and Korean language, Korean, and weekly newscasts in Tagalog language, Tagalog, as well as programs aimed at other cultural groups. Fairchild Group also has two television stations: Fairchild TV and Talentvision, serving Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking audiences, respectively. Radio stations with news departments include CBU (AM), CBC Radio One, CKNW and CKWX, News 1130. The Franco-Columbian community is served by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio-Canada outlets CBUFT-DT channel 26 (Ici Radio-Canada Télé), CBUF-FM 97.7 (Ici Radio-Canada Première, Première Chaîne) and CBUX-FM 90.9 (Ici Musique, Espace musique). The multilingual South Asian community is served by Spice Radio on 1200 AM established in 2014. Media dominance is a frequently discussed issue in Vancouver as newspapers the ''Vancouver Sun'', ''The Province'', the ''Vancouver Courier'' and other local newspapers such as the ''Surrey Now'', the ''Burnaby Now'' and the ''Richmond News'', are all owned by Postmedia Network. The concentration of media ownership has spurred alternatives, making Vancouver a centre for independent online media including ''The Tyee'', ''The Vancouver Observer'', and NowPublic, as well as hyperlocal online media, like ''Daily Hive'' and ''Vancouver Is Awesome'', which provide coverage of community events and local arts and culture.


Transportation

Vancouver's tram, streetcar system began on June 28, 1890, and ran from the (first) Granville Street Bridge to Westminster Avenue (now Main Street (Vancouver), Main Street and Kingsway (Vancouver), Kingsway). Less than a year later, the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company began operating Canada's first interurban line between the two cities (extended to Chilliwack in 1910). Another line (1902), the Vancouver and Lulu Island Railway, was leased by the Canadian Pacific Railway to the British Columbia Electric Railway in 1905 and ran from the Granville Street Bridge to Steveston, British Columbia, Steveston via Kerrisdale, which encouraged residential neighbourhoods outside the central core to develop. From 1897 the British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) became the company that operated the urban and interurban rail system, until 1958, when its last vestiges were dismantled in favour of "trackless" Trolley pole, trolley and gasoline/diesel buses; in that same year the BCER became the core of the newly created, publicly owned BC Hydro. Vancouver currently has the second-largest trolleybus fleet in North America, after San Francisco. Successive city councils in the 1970s and 1980s prohibited the construction of freeways as part of a long-term plan. As a result, the only major freeway within city limits is British Columbia Highway 1, Highway 1, which passes through the north-eastern corner of the city. While the number of cars in Vancouver proper has been steadily rising with population growth, the rate of car ownership and the average distance driven by daily commuters have fallen since the early 1990s. Vancouver is the only major Canadian city with these trends. Despite the fact that the journey time per vehicle has increased by one-third and growing traffic mass, there are 7 percent fewer cars making trips into the downtown core. In 2012, Vancouver had the worst traffic congestion in Canada and the second-highest in North America, behind Los Angeles. , Vancouver now has the worst traffic congestion in North America. Residents have been more inclined to live in areas closer to their interests, or use more energy-efficient means of travel, such as mass transit and cycling. This is, in part, the result of a push by city planners for a solution to traffic problems and pro-environment campaigns. Transportation demand management policies have imposed restrictions on drivers making it more difficult and expensive to commute while introducing more benefits for non-drivers. TransLink (British Columbia), TransLink is responsible for roads and public transportation within Metro Vancouver Regional District, Metro Vancouver (in succession to BC Transit, which had taken over the transit functions of BC Hydro). It provides bus service, including the RapidBus (TransLink), RapidBus express service, a foot passenger and bicycle ferry service (known as SeaBus), an automated rapid transit service called SkyTrain (Vancouver), SkyTrain, and West Coast Express commuter rail. Vancouver's SkyTrain system is currently running on three lines, the Millennium Line, the Expo Line (SkyTrain), Expo Line and the Canada Line with a total of 53 stations as of 2017. Only 20 of these stations are within the City of Vancouver borders, with the remainders in the adjacent suburbs. A number of city's biggest tourist attractions, such as English Bay, Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium, University of British Columbia with the Museum of Anthropology, and Kitsilano are not connected by this rapid transit system. Changes are being made to the regional transportation network as part of Translink's 10-Year Transportation Plan. The Canada Line, opened on August 17, 2009, connects Vancouver International Airport and the neighbouring city of Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond with the existing SkyTrain system. The Evergreen Extension, which opened on December 2, 2016, links the cities of Coquitlam and
Port Moody Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south a ...
with the SkyTrain system. As of January 2019, plans to extend the SkyTrain Millennium Line west to University of British Columbia, UBC as a subway under Broadway (Vancouver), Broadway have been approved and there are plans for capacity upgrades and an extension to the Expo Line (SkyTrain), Expo Line. Several road projects will be completed within the next few years, as part of the Provincial Government's Gateway Program (Vancouver), Gateway Program. Other modes of transport add to the diversity of options available in Vancouver. Inter-city passenger rail service is operated from Pacific Central Station by Via Rail to points east, Amtrak Cascades to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and Portland, Oregon, Portland, and Rocky Mountaineer rail tour routes. Small passenger ferries operating in False Creek provide commuter service to Granville Island, Downtown Vancouver and Kitsilano. Vancouver has a citywide network of bicycle lanes and routes, which supports an active population of cyclists year-round. Cycling has become Vancouver's fastest-growing mode of transportation. The bicycle-sharing system Mobi (bike share), Mobi was introduced to the city in June 2016. Vancouver is served by Vancouver International Airport (YVR), located on Sea Island (British Columbia), Sea Island in the city of Richmond, immediately south of Vancouver. Vancouver's airport is Canada's second-busiest airport, and the second-largest gateway on the west coast of North America for international passengers. Helijet, HeliJet and Floatplane, float plane companies operate scheduled air service from Vancouver harbour and YVR south terminal. The city is also served by two BC Ferries, BC Ferry terminals. One is to the northwest at Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, and the other is to the south, at Tsawwassen ferry terminal, Tsawwassen in Delta, British Columbia, Delta.


Sports and recreation

The mild climate of the city and proximity to ocean, mountains, rivers and lakes make the area a popular destination for outdoor recreation. Vancouver has over of parks, of which
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...
, at , is the largest. The city has several large beaches, many adjacent to one another, extending from the shoreline of Stanley Park around False Creek to the south side of English Bay, from Kitsilano to the University Endowment Lands, (which also has beaches that are not part of the city proper). The of beaches include Second and Third Beaches in Stanley Park, English Bay (First Beach), Sunset, Kitsilano Beach, Jericho, Locarno, Spanish Banks, Spanish Banks Extension, Spanish Banks West, and Wreck Beach. There is also a freshwater beach at Trout Lake in John Hendry Park. The coastline provides for many types of water sport, and the city is a popular destination for boating enthusiasts. Within a 20- to 30-minute drive from downtown Vancouver are the
North Shore Mountains The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city. The steep southern slopes of the No ...
, with three ski areas: Cypress Mountain Ski Area, Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, and Mount Seymour. Mountain biking, Mountain bikers have created world-renowned trails across the North Shore. The Capilano River, Lynn Creek and Seymour River, also on the North Shore, provide opportunities to whitewater enthusiasts during periods of rain and spring melt, though the canyons of those rivers are more utilized for hiking and swimming than whitewater. Running races include the Vancouver Sun Run (a race) every April; the Vancouver Marathon, held every May; and the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon held every June. The Grouse Mountain, Grouse Grind is a climb up Grouse Mountain open throughout the summer and fall months, including the annual Grouse Grind Mountain Run. Hiking trails include the Baden-Powell Trail, an arduous hike from West Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove, North Vancouver, Deep Cove in the North Vancouver (district municipality), District of North Vancouver. Vancouver is also home to notable Cycle sport, cycling races. During most summers since 1973, the Gastown Grand Prix, Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix has been held on the cobblestone streets of
Gastown Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver. Its hi ...
. This race and the UBC Grand Prix are part of BC Superweek, an annual series of professional cycling races in Metro Vancouver. The British Columbia Derby is a nine-furlong horse race held at the Hastings Racecourse in the third week of September. In 2009, Metro Vancouver hosted the
World Police and Fire Games The World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) is a biennial athletic event, open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel throughout the world. The WPFG Federation is an arm of the California Police Athletic Federation (CPAF), ...
. Swangard Stadium, in the neighbouring city of
Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
, hosted games for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Vancouver, along with Whistler and Richmond, was the host city for the
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
and the 2010 Winter Paralympics. On June 12, 2010, it played host to UFC 115, Ultimate Fighting Championship 115 (UFC 115) which was the fourth Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC event to be held in Canada (and the first outside Montreal). In 2011, Vancouver hosted the Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship game which is awarded every year to a different city which has a CFL team. The BC Titans of the International Basketball League played their inaugural season in 2009, with home games at the Langley Events Centre, Langley Event Centre. Vancouver is a centre for the fast-growing sport of Ultimate (sport), ultimate. During the summer of 2008 Vancouver hosted the World Ultimate Championships. The National Basketball Association (NBA) came to town in the form of the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995. They played their games at Rogers Arena. After six years in Vancouver, the team relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2001. In 2015, Vancouver was one of six venues for the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
and hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Final game between the United States and Japan. Vancouver is one of two Canadian cities which will host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Vancouver is Canada's fittest major city with an obesity rate of only 17.4%, compared to the national average of 24.8%. It is only surpassed by Kelowna, Kelowna, British Columbia with a rate of 17% and followed by Victoria, British Columbia at 19.6%. Overall, the province of British Columbia has the Obesity in Canada, lowest obesity rate in Canada, followed by Quebec at 2nd and Ontario at 3rd.


Current professional teams


Sustainability

The City of Vancouver is a member of Metro Vancouver, which provides sustainable regional services to the Greater Vancouver area. The city electrical grid is serviced by BC Hydro, which has 97.8 percent clean energy generation. The City of Vancouver is the greenest city in Canada according to an independent ongoing urban ecological footprint study. The Vancouver's greenest city action plan, Greenest City action plan (GCAP) is a City of Vancouver urban sustainability initiative. Its primary mission was to ensure that Vancouver would become the greenest city in the world by 2020. The GCAP originated based on the 2009 work of the Greenest City Action Team, a committee co-chaired by Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson (politician), Gregor Robertson. The GCAP was approved by Vancouver city council in July 2011. In May 2018, the zero waste, Zero Waste 2040 Strategy was passed by Vancouver's city council. The city began work the same year on decreasing the amount of single-use items distributed in the city and stated its intention to ban these items by 2021 if businesses do not meet reduction targets. As part of the plan, a ban on drinking straw, plastic straws, polystyrene food packaging and free shopping bags was to go into effect in mid-2019.


Twin towns – sister cities

The City of Vancouver was one of the first cities in Canada to enter into an international sister cities arrangement. Special arrangements for cultural, social and economic benefits have been created with these sister cities.


Notable people


See also

* East Vancouver * Gentrification of Vancouver * Leaky condo crisis * History of Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh longshoremen, 1863–1963


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

*
Destination Vancouver
{{Authority control Vancouver, 1886 establishments in British Columbia Cities in British Columbia Populated coastal places in Canada Populated places established in 1886 Populated places in Greater Vancouver Populated places on the Fraser River Port cities and towns on the Canadian Pacific coast