western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western Provinces and more commonly known as the West, is a region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study ...
, 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 district
In the province of British Columbia in Canada, a regional district is an Administrative division, adm ...
region of British Columbia
( en, Splendour without diminishment)
, image_map = British Columbia in Canada 2.svg
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, official_lang = None
, Slogan = Beautiful British C ...
. 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 the ...
in the province, the 2016 census
Sixteen or 16 may refer to:
*16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17
*one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
Films
* ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film
* Sixteen (1943 film), ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 ...
recorded 631,486 people in the city, up from 603,502 in 2011. The Greater Vancouver
Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated core city, urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories under the same admini ...
area had a population of 2,463,431 in 2016, making it the . Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,400 people per square kilometre. Vancouver is one of the most 
ethnically
An ethnic group or ethnicity is a grouping of people
A people is any plurality of person
A person (plural people or persons) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousne ...
and linguistically diverse cities in Canada: 52 percent of its residents are not native English speakers, 48.9 percent are native speakers of neither English nor French, and 50.6 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.
Vancouver is one of the most livable cities
The world's most livable cities is an informal name given to any list of cities
This is a list of lists of places:
Cities proper
* List of largest cities
* Lists of cities by country
* List of cities by continent (or continental region)
** Li ...
in Canada and in the world. In terms of housing affordability
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a median household income or below as rated by the national government or a local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administratio ...
, Vancouver is also one of the most expensive cities in Canada and in the world. Vancouver plans to become the greenest city in the world. Vancouverism
Vancouverism is an urban planning
Urban planning, also known as regional planning, town planning, city planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design
A design is a plan or ...
is the city's urban planning
Urban planning, also known as regional planning, town planning, city planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction o ...
design philosophy.
Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 10,000 years ago, and the city is on the traditional and unceded territories of the , 
Musqueam
The Musqueam Indian Band ( ; hur, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm ) is a First Nations
The First Nations (french: Premières Nations ) are groups of Canadian indigenous peoples, who are classified as distinct from the Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄ ...
, 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 creation of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver.
...
, 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
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland reg ...
that was built on July 1, 1867, and owned by proprietor Gassy Jack
John Deighton (November 1830 – May 23, 1875), generally known as "Gassy Jack", was a Canadian bar owner who was born in Hull, England. The Gastown
Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the creation of Vancouver, British C ...
. The original site is marked by the Gastown steam clock. Gastown then formally registered as a townsiteA townsite is a legal subdivision of land for the development of a town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary consider ...
dubbed Granville, Burrard Inlet
, image = Burrard Inlet 201807.jpg
, image_size = 250px
, alt =
, caption = Aerial view of Burrard Inlet
, image_bathymetry = Burrard-Inlet-map-en.svg
, alt_bathymetry =
, caption_bath ...
. The city was renamed "Vancouver" in 1886, through a deal with the Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) , known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996 and simply Canadian Pacific, is a historic Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be res ...
(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
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour and support life. 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. ...
became a vital link in the trade between Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific is the part of the world
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in dif ...
, East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
, Europe
Europe is a continent
A continent is any of several large landmass
A landmass, or land mass, is a large region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of scienc ...
, and Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces and territories of Canada, provinces:
* Newfoundland and Labrador
* New Brunswick
...
.
Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 Commonwealth Games, UN Habitat I
The term Habitat I refers to the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, 31 May – 11 June 1976, which was convened by the United Nations as governments began to recognize the magnitude and co ...
, Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a World's Fair
A world's fair is a large international exhibition designed to showcase achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character an ...
, APEC Canada 1997
APEC Canada 1997 was a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings focused on economic cooperation, held in Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 24–25 November 1997. It was the fifth Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC me ...
, the World Police and Fire Games
Border Patrol Agent Matt Phelps completes his successful attempt for a World Record bench press of 551lbs at the 2015 WPFG in Herndon Virginia.
The World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) is a biennial athletic event, open to active and retired law en ...
in 1989 and 2009; several matches of 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup including the finals at BC Place
BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium located at the north side of False Creek
False Creek (french: Faux ruisseau) is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown Vancouver, Downtown and West End, Vancouver, West ...
in Downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver is the main central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices. In larger cities, it is often synonymous with the city's "f ...
, and the 2010 Winter Olympics
)''
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, events = 86 in 7 sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive
Competition arises whenever two or more parties strive for a common goal
A goal is an idea of the future or ...
and Paralympics
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international s involving athletes with a range of physical , including impaired muscle power (e.g. and , , ), impaired passive range ...
which were held in Vancouver and Whistler, a resort community north of the city. In 1969, Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network. The network comprises 26 independent national/regional organisations in over 55 countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, as well as a co-ordinating body, Green ...
was founded in Vancouver. The city became the permanent home to TED conferences in 2014.
, Port Metro Vancouver
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority,_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_in_Canada.html" "title="in terms of total cargo and 44th in the world by container traffic. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority was established by the Government of Canada in January 2008 and is responsible for the stewardship of t ...
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 in Canada">tourism
Tourism is travel
Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical location
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of th ...
The 
The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR president 
The dominance of the economy by big business was accompanied by an often militant 
Located on the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver lies between 
Vancouver is the most densely populated city in Canada.
The Vancouver Art Gallery is housed Downtown Vancouver, 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 
The 
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, 
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.
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.
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.
Vancouver is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver Regional District, Metro Vancouver, a regional government. In total there are 22 municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation comprising Metro Vancouver, the regional government whose seat is in Burnaby. 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.
Vancouver operates the Vancouver Police Department, with 1,327 sworn members and an operating budget of $316.5million in 2018.
, Vancouver had the ninth-highest crime in Canada, crime rate, dropping 5 spots since 2005, among Canada's 35 census metropolitan areas.
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.
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 
The Vancouver School of conceptual art, conceptual
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. 
Vancouver is a centre for film and television production. Nicknamed Hollywood North, a distinction it shares with Toronto,
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.
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, 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.
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
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 
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 
In 2015, Vancouver was one of six venues for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Final game between the United States and Japan.
Vancouver has an adult obesity rate of 12 percent, compared to the obesity in Canada, Canadian average of 23 percent. 51.8 percent of Vancouverites are overweight, making it the fourth-thinnest city in Canada after Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax.
The City of Vancouver is a member of Metro Vancouver Regional District, Metro Vancouver, which provides sustainable regional services to the