Richmond is a city in the coastal

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 the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...

region of

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

, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of

Lulu Island Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River, located south of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the List of Canadian islands by population, second-most populous island in British Columbia, after Vancou ...

(excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine

distributaries A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurca ...

of the

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

. Encompassing the adjacent Sea Island (where the

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island (British Columbia), Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is lo ...

is located) and several other smaller

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s and uninhabited

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

s to its north and south, the suburb neighbours

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and

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 In ...

on the

Burrard Peninsula The Burrard Peninsula () 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 River and D ...

to the north,

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 cap ...

and

Annacis Island Annacis Island is a narrow island under the jurisdiction of City of Delta in Lower Mainland, British Columbia, located just downstream of the south arm of the Fraser River bifurcation between Lulu Island to the north and the Delta peninsula to ...

to the east,

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

to the south, and the

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

to the west. The indigenous

Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are 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 on ...

peoples were the first people to inhabit the area of modern-day Richmond, with the

Musqueam Band The Musqueam Nation (Hunquminum: ) is a First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses the western half of what is now Greater Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is governed by a band council and is known officially as the Musqu ...

naming the site near Terra Nova "" or "boiling point". Today,

East Asian Canadians East Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their Ancestor, ancestry to East Asia. East Asian Canadians are also a subgroup of Asian Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, East Asian Canadians are considered Visi ...

make up a majority of Richmond's population, along with the Continental

Asian Canadian Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the continent of Asia. Canadians with Asian ancestry comprise both the largest and fastest-growing group in Canada, after European Canadians, forming approximat ...

population numbering almost three-fourths of the city's population. As a member municipality of

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

, Richmond is composed of eight local neighbourhoods: Sea Island, City Centre, Thompson, West Richmond, Steveston, South Arm, East Richmond and Hamilton. As of 2023, the city has an estimated population of 229,781 people. During the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

, the

Richmond Olympic Oval The Richmond Olympic Oval () is an indoor multi-sports arena in the Canada, Canadian city of Richmond, British Columbia. The oval was built for the 2010 Winter Olympics and was originally configured with a speed skating rink. The venue has since ...

was a venue for

long track speed skating 　 Long-track speed skating, usually simply referred to as speed skating, is the Olympic sport, Olympic discipline of speed skating where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as ice skat ...

events.

History

bands had temporary camps on the island, to fish and collect berries, which were scattered and moved from year to year. Certain Coast Salish summer camps were located at Garry Point, and Woodward's Landing, along with the site of the Terra Nova cannery, which had at one time been a Musqueam village. There is no definitive historical account as to how Richmond was named. There are several possibilities that have been proposed, including: * The first family to settle in Richmond, that of Hugh McRoberts, had formerly lived in Australia. Their home there was called "Richmond View", and that is what they named their homestead in Richmond. * W.D. Ferris drafted the original petition for the incorporation of The Township of Richmond. He was originally from

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. * Another early settler was Hugh Boyd. He was also the first Reeve of the township. His wife had been born in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. The Township of Richmond, British Columbia was incorporated on 10 November 1879. The Township of Richmond was modeled after Ontario's political townships – an incorporated municipality, consisting of communities that are united as a single entity with a single municipal administration. Each community was represented on the municipal council through a ward electoral system with five wards until 1946 when the ward electoral system was replaced with the at large electoral system that is currently in place. On 3 December 1990, Richmond was designated as a City. The first Town Hall, the Agricultural Hall and the Methodist Church (now Minoru Chapel), were built at the corner of No. 17 (River) Rd and No. 20 (Cambie) Rd near the main settlement on the northwestern tip of Lulu Island at North Arm. The old fishing village of

Steveston The settlement of Steveston, founded in the 1880s, is a neighbourhood of Richmond in Metro Vancouver. On the southwest tip of Lulu Island, the village is a historic port and salmon canning centre at the mouth of the South Arm of the Fraser River. ...

on the southwestern tip of

is now home to several museums and heritage sites, as well as a working harbour for fishing boats. Currently, London Heritage Farm, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery and the Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site in Steveston highlight these parts of Richmond's diverse history.

Geography

Richmond is made up of most of the islands in the

delta, the largest and most populated island being

. The city of Richmond includes all but a small portion of Lulu Island (the Queensborough neighbourhood at the far eastern tip is part of the city of New Westminster). The next largest island, Sea Island, is home to the

(YVR). In addition to Lulu and Sea Islands, 15 smaller islands make up the city's land area, including: * Mitchell Island, an industrial island accessed via the Knight Street Bridge, a bridge which connects Richmond and Vancouver. * Richmond Island, a former sand bar that has been turned into a peninsula that can only be reached from Vancouver, but technically is within Richmond's city limits. * Shady Island, an uninhabited island covered with trees, which can be reached over land by foot at low tide from near Steveston. The city also includes the fishing village of Steveston, located in the far southwest corner of the city, and Burkeville, which shares Sea Island with the airport. Both Steveston and Burkeville were independent villages until they were annexed by Richmond. Since all of Richmond occupies islands in a

river delta A river delta is a landform, archetypically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water. The creat ...

, the city has plenty of rich,

alluvial soil Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

for agriculture, and was one of the first areas in British Columbia to be farmed by Europeans in the 19th century. The drawback of Richmond's geographical location was that since all the land averages just one metre above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, it was prone to flooding, especially during

high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. As a result, all the major islands are now surrounded by a system of dykes, which, although not as massive as those in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

or the levees of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, serve to protect the city from anticipated sources of flooding. There is a possibility that, during an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

, the dykes could rupture, and the

may

liquefy In materials science, liquefaction is a process that generates a liquid from a solid or a gas or that generates a non-liquid phase which behaves in accordance with fluid dynamics. It occurs both naturally and artificially. As an example of the ...

, causing extensive damage. Richmond is also at risk of a major flood if the

has an unusually high spring

freshet The term ''freshet'' is most commonly used to describe a snowmelt, an annual high water event on rivers resulting from snow and river ice melting. Description A spring freshet can sometimes last several weeks on large river systems, resulting ...

. Recreational trails run along the tops of many of the dykes, and Richmond also supports about of parkland. Because of the high

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

table, very few houses in Richmond have

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

s and until the late 1980s, very few buildings were above 3 storeys high. Also, because of proximity to the airport, current

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for construction objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permis ...

s limit the height of buildings to .

Climate

Richmond has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

( Cfb). Because it is not as close to the mountains, it actually receives 30% less rain than neighbouring Vancouver. It rarely snows in winter, and the summer temperatures are mild to warm. Richmond is also very cloudy in the cooler months.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Richmond had a population of 209,937 living in 81,080 of its 85,035 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 198,309. The average age of the population was 43.3 years old, and the median age of the population was 43.6. Of the population, 13.3 percent was 0 to 14 years of age, 20 percent was 65 years and over, 2.4 percent was 85 years and over, and 66.7 percent was the age 15 to 64 years old. Richmond's 2021 population of 209,937 makes it the fourth-largest city in

, after

(662,248),

(568,322) and

(249,125). Richmond has a land area of and a population density of in 2021. The average size of a household in Richmond is 2.6 persons. Most households have a household size of 2 persons, and the least households have 5 or more persons.

Apartment buildings An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement ( Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) t ...

are the most common structural type of dwellings, made up of 18,590 apartment in a building that has fewer than five storeys, 15,475 apartment in a building that has five or more storeys, and 4,990 apartment or flat in a duplex. Single-detached houses are also popular with 24,435 single-detached houses located in Richmond. Other types of buildings include 1,585, semi-detached houses 15,945

row houses A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

, 20 other single-attached houses, and 45 movable dwellings. The average price of a detached home in Richmond is $1,581,600. Richmond has an immigrant population of 60 percent, the highest in Canada. Richmond is also home to two of the largest Buddhist temples in North America, the

International Buddhist Temple , native_name_lang = , image = Ibstemplegarden.jpg , image_upright = 1.3 , alt = , caption = A corner of the Chinese garden at the International Buddhist Temple , religious_affi ...

and the Ling Yen Mountain Temple.

Ethnicity

Approximately half of Richmond residents identify as having Chinese ancestry with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

calling it "North America's most Asian city" in 2012.

make up a majority of Richmond's population, many of whom immigrated in the late 1980s, mostly from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

on top of the

Japanese Canadian are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Japanese people, Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of Japanese Canadians in British Columbia, British Columbia, which hosts the largest ...

community who immigrated to Canada nearly a century earlier. Almost three quarters of city's population is of Continental Asian descent, where other Continental

Asian Canadians Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their Ancestor, ancestry to the continent of Asia. Canadians with Asian ancestry comprise both the largest and fastest-growing group in Canada, after European Canadians, forming ...

communities residing in Richmond include

Indo-Canadians Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The term ''East Indian'' is sometimes used to avoid confusion with Indigenous groups. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of South Asian Canadians which is a furthe ...

and

Filipino Canadians The Filipino Canadians (); () are Canadians who have a Filipino descent or ethnicity. The Filipino Canadians is the second largest subgroup of the overseas Filipinos, surpassed only by the United States, and one of the fastest-growing minority ...

. Richmond's Japanese community has a long history in

dating back to the 1800s. Following Japan's 1941

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, the

Anti-Japanese sentiment Anti-Japanese sentiment (also called Japanophobia, Nipponophobia and anti-Japanism) is the fear or dislike of Japan or Japanese culture. Anti-Japanese sentiment can take many forms, from antipathy toward Japan as a country to racist hatr ...

grew, and this community was devastated as residents of Japanese descent were relocated to

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

in the

BC Interior The British Columbia Interior, popularly referred to as the BC Interior or simply the Interior, is a geographic region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. While the exact boundaries are variously defined, the British Columbia Interior ...

and

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and their property sold at auction.

Languages

The 2021 census found that English was spoken as mother tongue by 31.31% of the population. The next most common mother tongue language was

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

, spoken by 21.52% of the population, followed by

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

at 21.08%.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Richmond included: *

Irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...

(111,140 persons or 53.3%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(64,405 persons or 30.9%) *

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(11,590 persons or 5.6%) *

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(7,630 persons or 3.7%) *

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

(6,985 persons or 3.4%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(2,605 persons or 1.3%) *

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

(2,515 persons or 1.2%) * Indigenous spirituality (40 persons or <0.1%)

Economy

Richmond supports about 100,000 jobs in various areas, including services, retailing, tourism, light manufacturing, airport services and aviation, agriculture, fishing, and government. Richmond also is a leading centre in the region for high-technology companies, including Norsat and

Sierra Wireless Sierra Wireless (a subsidiary of Semtech Corporation) is a Canadian multinational wireless communications equipment designer, manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It also maintains offices and ...

Pacific Coastal Airlines Pacific Coastal Airlines is a Canadian regional airline that operates scheduled, charter and cargo services to destinations in British Columbia. Its head office is located in the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Br ...

has its headquarters in the South Terminal of

Air Canada Jazz An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

operates a regional office in Richmond. Before its dissolution,

Canadian Airlines Canadian Airlines International Ltd. (stylized as Canadi›n Airlines or Canadi‹n Airlines, or simply Canadian) was a major Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada ...

operated an office in Richmond. Before it merged into Air Canada Jazz, regional airline

Air BC Air BC was a Canadian regional airline headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It later became part of Air Canada Jazz. This regional airline primarily flew turboprop aircraft but also operated jets as we ...

was headquartered in Richmond. Prior to its dissolution,

Harmony Airways Harmony Airways was a Canadian airline headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver. It operated holiday flights from Canada to Mexico, Hawaii and Las Vegas. Its main base was Vancouver International Airport.Flight Interna ...

Pacific Western Airlines Pacific Western Airlines (PWA) was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1987, PWA purchased Canadian Pacific Air Lines, and the merged a ...

and

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia, ...

were all headquartered in Richmond. The first

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

restaurant outside of the United States was opened in Richmond in June 1967.

Agriculture

The

Agricultural Land Reserve British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is a collection of land where agriculture is designated as the priority use. Farming is encouraged and non-agricultural uses are restricted. The ALR was established by the British Columbia New De ...

preserves 4,916 hectares within the city as farmland, an area that makes up most of east Richmond. Of this area, 3,012 hectares are farmed by 247 farms; the rest is either vacant or occupied by non-farm uses.

Cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not t ...

and

blueberries Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...

are the dominant crops grown. Other crops grown include

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit is appreciated f ...

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

, and

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es. In 2001, Richmond had approximately 47% of BC's cranberry acreage.

Retail

Richmond Centre,

Lansdowne Centre Lansdowne Centre (formerly Lansdowne Park Shopping Centre) is a shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It is located on No. 3 Road and is the second-largest mall in Richmond after Richmond Centre (mall), ...

, McArthurGlen Vancouver,

Parker Place Parker Place (百家店) is a shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia. It is located on No. 3 Road, in Richmond's Golden Village, the main Asian district. It primarily serves the Asian Canadian population of Richmond. It contains about 15 ...

Aberdeen Centre Aberdeen Centre is a shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia. It is located in the Golden Village district on Hazelbridge Way, bordered by Cambie Road to the north. History The original Aberdeen Centre was built in 1989. It contained ...

, and Central at Garden City are some of the most prominent malls in Richmond. The success of these malls has created significant economic growth in Richmond. In 2023, Richmond Centre was ranked 4th in Canada for shopping centres by sales per square foot. Offices, apartment buildings, and transportation hubs have sprung up around the mall. While McArthurGlen Vancouver has been given the Best Outlet Centre 2015 award at MAPIC. Richmond is also home to many Chinese-oriented shopping malls, most of them along No. 3 Road from Alderbridge Way to Capstan Way. This area is officially termed as the "

Golden Village Golden Village is a cinema operator in Singapore. It also is a partner of Orange Sky Golden Harvest, a Hong Kong-based film production company. Established in 1992 as a joint venture between Golden Harvest and Village Roadshow, the company ope ...

" by Tourism Richmond and includes malls such as

, Continental Centre, Union Square, President Plaza,

, and Yaohan Centre. The strip malls located on Alexandra Road are famous for their restaurants, and the area is more commonly known as "food street". Neighbourhood shopping centres are distributed throughout Richmond's residential areas, serving as central gathering points for their surrounding communities. These centres provide essential services such as grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, and pharmacies. Examples include Garden City Shopping Centre, Blundell Centre, Broadmoor Village, Ironwood Plaza, Terra Nova Village, Cambie Plaza, and Seafair Shopping Centre. Street-facing retail and dining establishments are also prevalent in the city, particularly concentrated in the City Centre and Steveston Village.

Development

Richmond city planners are one year into their update of its official plan, passed in fall 2019, for the city centre. The plan is anchored by the

Canada Line The Canada Line is a rapid transit line in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, that is part of the SkyTrain (Vancouver), SkyTrain system. The line is owned by TransLink (British Columbia), TransLink and InTransitBC and is operated by SN ...

and includes the development of nine transit-oriented village centres. The population of the area is expected to grow from about 40,000 to 120,000 residents. According to a senior planner for the city, the goal of the plan is to "turn the middle arm of the Fraser River into a focus instead of an edge." A Richmond parks manager said that for "too long residents have felt contained by the river, seen it as being to their backs. Now, they want people to face the river and embrace the waterfront."

Lansdowne

will be undergoing redevelopment in 2025 to make way for a 50-acre master planned mixed-use community, which is estimated to take 20 years to build out. Within this development plan, there will be mixed housing, large public spaces with a Civic Plaza slated to be placed in the corner of Lansdowne Road and No 3 Road. The property owner, Vanprop Investment Ltd., has plans for Lansdowne to be a pedestrian-friendly area with shops and services lined within its block.

The Olympic Oval

Water Sky Garden At Richmond Olympic Oval

Aspac Developments Ltd purchased of land adjacent to the Fraser River and the finished $178 million

. The $1 billion plan includes 16 high-density towers, up to 14 stories in height. The towers will be stepped toward the waterfront and will include trees and green space. Aspac's plans are for "probably the highest-end development Richmond has seen to date" said Mayor Brodie. A $2.3 million hard-surfaced path will be constructed along the river to link the project to Aberdeen Centre. Aspac's initial plan includes constructing the development in four phases, with the first phase consisting of of residential development, and of ground-level commercial space. Some construction will not begin until after 2010, and will take up to 12 years to complete. The warehouses and commercial parks near the development are also slated for redevelopment.

The John M.S. Lecky boathouse

The

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

constructed the John M.S. Lecky boathouse along River Road. It draws crowds from rowing

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

s and

dragon boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of t ...

races.

Cambie Road pedestrian bridge

In 2007, A possible pedestrian bridge where Cambie Road reaches the river was included in a future vision of the area. It would have linked nature trails on the north and south banks, and made Aberdeen Centre within walking distance for BCIT's aerospace campus students. Interest around the project has since mellowed down and has not been mentioned within Official Community Plans since the initial studies for a possible bridge.

Capstan Village

Richmond Apartment construction site view 201807

Developer Pinnacle International is planning a 16-building development on a property near Capstan Way and No 3 road. The mixed-use development would include over 2,100 residential units, various commercial uses, and a hotel. The

is considered critical to the project. A fifth Richmond station at Capstan Way (No. 3 Road and Capstan Way) was originally planned, but was cancelled in March 2009. This station was considered so critical to the development that the City of Richmond has received $19 million from developers for the station to be built. TransLink, the Canada Line operator, started designing this station in November 2017. Construction started on Capstan station on September 2, 2021. On December 20, 2024, Capstan station opened to the public.

Aberdeen Square

Fairchild Developments built a six-floor expansion to its Chinese-oriented shopping centre,

. The plan includes an office building and a link to the Canada Line's Aberdeen station. The new complex was completed and opened up to the public in 2014.

Bridgeport Station

The

River Rock Casino Resort River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia is the largest casino in the province of British Columbia. The casino is owned by Great Canadian Entertainment. The hotel has a total of 396 rooms, including standard rooms and suites and it ...

is located near the Canada Line Bridgeport station and has built a 12-story hotel.

Garden City Lands

The parcel known as the Garden City Lands was leased by the federal government for decades and was formerly used as a transmitter site for program requirements of the

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...

. The property is bounded by Westminster Highway, Garden City Road, Alderbridge Way and No. 4 Road and has been within the Provincial Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) since 1973. In 2005, the Federal Government of Canada deemed the land as "surplus" to its needs and sold the site to the Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation. The City of Richmond,

Canada Lands Company Canada Lands Company Limited () is a self-financing federal Crown corporation reporting to the Parliament of Canada through Public Services and Procurement Canada. The company is responsible for managing property on behalf of the federal gover ...

, and the Musqueam Indian Band entered a 2005 agreement with the federal government that included the intent to remove the land from the ALR for the purposes of high-density development. In April 2008, an application to exclude the land from the

was made to the Agricultural Land Commission. The application was rejected on 10 February 2009. On 8 March 2010, Richmond City Council announced a deal had been approved whereby the city would purchase the entire parcel of land from the Musqueam Band and Canada Lands Company for $59.2 million. The Musqueam band has since brought a lawsuit against the City of Richmond, claiming they sold it under duress. The lawsuit remains dormant and it is the understanding of Coun. Harold Steves that the lawsuit will remain dormant unless the city wants to develop the lands into anything that is not related to ALR use.

Arts and culture

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

, Richmond has an annual festival in

called the Steveston Salmon Festival. This event includes a parade, and a huge

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

d salmon sale in front of the Steveston Community Centre. Locally based municipal, provincial and federal politicians frequently show up at this event, usually as part of the parade and/or to hand out Canadian flags. An annual Richmond Maritime Festival has been held at the Britannia Shipyard, National Historic Site every August since 2004. It is a family event that celebrates the region's maritime heritage with live entertainment, ships, exhibits and demonstrations. In 2002, Richmond hosted a

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...

s festival, which attracted an estimated 400,000 people to Steveston. The success of this event surpassed many expectations and caused traffic congestion in the usually quiet area. There was insufficient parking in the area, which gave locals the idea of selling "parking space" by using their driveways and front yards. Despite the event's popularity, there was a revenue shortfall and the city decided not to host the event again. Many indoor and outdoor

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanen ...

s are hosted by Richmond Arts Coalition (RAC) throughout the year. The Richmond Arts Strategy, passed in July 2004 by the City of Richmond, includes a proposal to promote communication between arts organizations and develop the Richmond arts community. In January 2005, a Board, mission, and mandate was established. On 1 November 2005, artists, art organizations, and patrons of the arts formed the Richmond Arts Coalition. The RAC hosts Richmond arts events, connects the public to artists and events, provides artist opportunities, nominate awards, funds performers to specific events, stimulates arts projects, and advocate for arts issues, performances, education, creation, and exhibition activities. During the summer weekends, an annual Richmond Night Market is held. Toys, clothes, cell phones, an
food
are available along with live entertainment. It is very popular and is usually crowded. Richmond also hosted the 2006

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in th ...

, which were held at River Rock Casino. This marked the first time the ceremony had taken place on the West Coast, as it traditionally takes place in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Parks and recreation

City Centre Community Centre Entrance void 2018

There are 140 public parks and 14 public recreation facilities in Richmond, including but not limited to: An extensive trail system provides 136 kilometres of recreational trails in parks and 87 kilometres of on-road cycling paths.

Sports

Richmond is home to the

Richmond Sockeyes The Richmond Sockeyes are a Junior ice hockey team based in Richmond, British Columbia. They were named the "Sockeyes" by the original owner and longtime Richmond resident and B.C. hockey volunteer and leader Bruce Allison in 1972. Allison was ...

Junior B hockey team. It also hosts the BC Thunder of the

National Ringette League The National Ringette League (NRL) ''()'' is the premier league for the sport of ringette in North America and Canada's national league for elite ringette players aged 18 and up. The NRL is not a women's variant of a more well-known men's leag ...

. Richmond also has two swim clubs: the Kigoos summer swimming club and the Richmond Rapids Swim Club. Richmond also has multiple soccer teams, under the name Richmond FC, ranging in ages and skill levels, from U4's to U18's, and from house divisions to elite programming. As of 1 October 2006, the middle arm of Richmond's Fraser River became home to both the UBC Thunderbirds varsity rowing program and St. George's School rowing program, with the completion of the new $6 million

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse. In addition, this facility will also function to enhance participation in the sports of rowing and dragon boating for the greater community, including youth, adults, and rowing alumni. Richmond also has their own short track speed skating club, the Richmond Rockets and their own rugby union club, the Richmond Rugby Football Club.

The 2010 Winter Olympics

For the

in Vancouver, the City of Richmond constructed an 8,000-seat speed-skating oval near the No. 2 Road Bridge, just across (the middle arm of) the Fraser River from Vancouver International Airport. The final construction cost (paid for by the city, the provincial government and the federal government) is around $178 million

. Since the completion of the Games, the oval has served as a recreational structure for local residents. The Richmond Oval officially opened on 12 December 2008. The city received $141 million CAD from ASPAC Developments for city-owned land next to the Oval. The sale more than covers the unfunded portion of the Oval's price tag.

Government

Richmond votes regularly for conservative or centrist parties, and is a stronghold for the BC Liberal Party.

Municipal

Richmond's municipal council is elected using an at-large electoral system. Like

, but unlike most cities in

, Richmond runs on a political system of locally based

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

, or

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

s. For the most part, however, their organization is weak, and they may collapse or change names from one election to another. Local government includes a 9-member

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

and a 7-member

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

. City council consists of a mayor and 8 councillors. The current mayor of Richmond is Malcolm Brodie, who is serving his 6th term as mayor. The last elections were held in October 2018. In the 2018 city elections, the RCA (Richmond Citizen's Association) party, the Richmond First party, and the RITE Richmond party all won 2 seats, the Richmond Community Coalition won one seat, and there is one independent. On the Richmond Board of Education, the Richmond Education Party won three seats, the Richmond First Party won two seats, and there are two independents.

Provincial

In the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

, Richmond was historically a stronghold of the BC United Party until the 2020 provincial election where the

BC NDP The New Democratic Party of British Columbia (BC NDP) is a social democratic political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum and is one of the two major parties in British Columbia; since ...

flipped three of Richmond's four

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

s (

Richmond South Centre Richmond South Centre is a former provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada in use from 2017 to 2024. The riding was created with territory taken from Richmond Centre, Richmond East and Richmond ...

Richmond-Queensborough Richmond-Queensborough is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was created in the 2015 redistribution from parts of Richmond East and New Westminster. It was first contested in the 2017 ...

, and Richmond-Steveston). In the most recent provincial election in 2024, three electoral districts ( Richmond Centre, Richmond-Bridgeport, Richmond-Queensborough) elected members from the

BC Conservatives The Conservative Party of British Columbia, commonly known as the BC Conservatives and colloquially known as the Tories, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is the main rival to the governing British Columbia New Demo ...

, and Richmond-Steveston elected a member from the BC NDP.

Federal

In the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

, Richmond is divided between two

s: Richmond Centre, which encompasses the city's centre and west, and Steveston—Richmond East, which encompasses the south and east. In the 2021 federal election, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

won Richmond Centre and Steveston—Richmond East.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Richmond is connected by a system of bridges and tunnels to Vancouver and Delta, and through the New Westminster suburb of Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to the "mainland" portion of New Westminster. Three bridges (one of them twinned) connect Lulu Island to Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport; one bridge connects Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport to Vancouver; two bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver; one bridge connects Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to New Westminster; one bridge connects Queensborough to Annacis Island in Delta; one twinned bridge connects Richmond to Annacis Island; and one of the few

underwater tunnel An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating a ferry link is unviable, or to provide competition or relief for existing bridges or ferry l ...

s in British Columbia connects Richmond to Delta. Dinsmore Bridge aerial

Two freeways serve Richmond: Highway 99, which connects to

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

at the border with the United States, and

Highway 91 The following highways are numbered 91: International * European route E91 Australia * Cairns Western Arterial Road * Summerland Way Brasil * SP-91, state highway in Sao Paulo Canada * British Columbia Highway 91 ** British Columbia High ...

, which connects Delta, New Westminster, and Richmond. Railway bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver, New Westminster, and

, and serve the

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

and

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

s, as well as the Southern Railway of British Columbia (although the latter railway's Lulu Island trackage is entirely within Queensborough). Public transportation in Richmond is provided by TransLink, the regional transit authority for Metro Vancouver. The system provides bus and rail service from Richmond to Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, and Delta. The

is a SkyTrain rail line, connecting both Richmond and the airport to

Downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. ...

and to points in between, opened on Monday, 17 August 2009. The Canada Line provides travel to Downtown Vancouver in 25 minutes with a frequency of 3 to 12 minutes, 20 hours per day. Major transit hubs include

Richmond–Brighouse station Richmond–Brighouse is an elevated station on the Canada Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. Located in the Brighouse area of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, it is one of the outbound terminus stations of the Canada L ...

, which serves as a hub for many Richmond bus routes, and Bridgeport station which serves as a hub for bus routes connecting to other municipalities. After the Canada Line closes at night, late-night service is provided by the N10 Nightbus every day of the week. The bus runs every 30 minutes, with the exception of one northbound trip (2am3am), during which service is at 60 minutes; service returns to 30 minutes after the northbound trip at 3am. A dockless

bicycle-sharing system A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include both ...

, consisting of e-bikes and e-scooters, was launched in the City Centre area in May 2022 by

Lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

(YVR), located on Sea Island, which is part of Richmond, to the north of Lulu Island, provides most of the air access to the region. Several

float plane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

companies (including

Salt Spring Air Salt Spring Air (also known as Saltspring AirSalt Spring Air
- Retrieved on June 6, 2016), now part of Harbour Air Harbour Air is a scheduled floatplane service, tour and charter airline based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The predominantly seaplane airline specializes in routes between Vancouver, Nanaimo, Victoria, Sechelt, Comox, Whistler and ...

and

Seair Seaplanes Seair Seaplanes is a scheduled and charter airline based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The airline flies routes between the Vancouver International Water Airport and the Nanaimo Harbour Water Airport, as well as other Gulf Islands in ...

) operate from the south terminal, providing service to the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island. The airport is the second busiest in Canada and one of the busiest international airports on the West Coast of North America.

Health care

Health care in Richmond is overseen by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which also covers the City of

, District of

West Vancouver West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is situated on the north shore of Burrard Inlet to the northwest of the city ...

, City of North Vancouver, and

District of North Vancouver The District of North Vancouver is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada, situated north of the city of Vancouver across the Burrard Inlet. It surrounds the respective City of North Vancouver on three sides, and the remaining ...

as well as coastal regions of

Richmond Hospital Richmond Hospital (RH) is a general hospital in Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH) is responsible for Richmond Health Services and Richmond Hospital. History Richmond Hospi ...

, located on the southeast corner of Westminster Highway and Gilbert Road, is undergoing redevelopment. In 2018, the Ministry of Health approved an 8-floor acute care tower redevelopment plan to replace the aging north tower. On 2 July 2020, the provincial government announced the acute care tower concept plan was being updated, with an additional floor (9 total) and announcement of expanded and renewed ER, ICU, Pharmacy, along with renovations to the south tower to include more inpatient psychiatric beds along with a psych ER. The city is known internationally as the headquarters of the

Canadian Hemochromatosis Society Marie Warder (born Marie van Zyl, 30 April 1927 – 20 October 2014) was a South African-born Canadian journalist, novelist and activist best known for her activities raising awareness about hemochromatosis. Warder founded the Hemochromatosis So ...

, and also as the city where the National Annual Hemochromatosis Awareness Month was initiated by former Mayor G. H. Blair in 1987.

Emergency services

The Richmond Fire-Rescue Department, established in 1897, is responsible for providing both fire and extrication services in Richmond. The department has seven fire halls and responds to fire rescue calls and medical emergencies. It also provides emergency services at

. There are fire stations located in City Centre, Steveston, Cambie, Sea Island, Hamilton, Shellmont, and Crestwood. The City of Richmond utilizes the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

as its primary form of municipal law enforcement, with their main detachment located on No. 5 Road in the Ironwood area. The Richmond RCMP also has community police stations located in City Centre, South Arm, and Steveston. The

British Columbia Ambulance Service The British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS) is an ambulance service that provides emergency medical response for the province of British Columbia, Canada. BCAS is one of the largest providers of emergency medical services in North America. The ...

provides the city with emergency medical response.

Education

Richmond is home to a campus of

Kwantlen Polytechnic University Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public undergraduate degree-granting polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions b ...

, Sprott Shaw College and

Trinity Western University Trinity Western University (TWU) is a Private university, private Christian liberal arts university with campuses in both Langley, British Columbia (district municipality), Langley and Richmond, British Columbia, Richmond, British Columbia. The ...

. The

British Columbia Institute of Technology The British Columbia Institute of Technology (also referred to as BCIT), is a public polytechnic institute in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The technical institute has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with its main cam ...

also runs an aerospace technology campus in Sea Island near Vancouver International Airport. School District 38 Richmond oversees 10 public secondary schools and 38 public elementary schools, including three Montessori schools, two late French immersion schools, and six early French immersion schools. The district also hosts two

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

programs, located at

Richmond Secondary School Richmond Secondary School, (commonly, Richmond High School, RHS, and RSS) is a public, co-educational secondary school located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It educates approximately 1200 students from grades 8 to 12. Richmond Secondar ...

and

Hugh Boyd Secondary School Hugh Boyd Secondary School (H.B.S.S. or HBSS), commonly known as Hugh Boyd or Boyd is a public, co-educational secondary school part of School District 38 Richmond (SD38), serving and educating 599 (2022–2023) students from grades 8 to 12. Hugh ...

. The '' Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique'', headquartered in Richmond, operates one Francophone primary school in that city: ''école des Navigateurs''. Richmond is also home to a number of private schools providing K-12 education, including Richmond Christian School, Muslim School of British Columbia, St. Paul's Elementary School, St. Joseph the Worker Elementary School, Richmond Jewish Day School, Choice School for the Gifted and Exceptional, Cornerstone Christian Academy, and Pythagoras Academy.

Media

Radio production

The

Indo-Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The term ''East Indian'' is sometimes used to avoid confusion with Indigenous groups. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of South Asian Canadians which is a furthe ...

radio station

Sher-E-Punjab Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl ...

has its headquarters in Richmond. Two Chinese-Canadian radio stations providing news, traffic, and music are headquartered in Richmond.

Fairchild Radio The Fairchild Group is a Canadian business conglomerate headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Fairchild Group operates various media properties under the Fairchild Media Group name. Fairchild currently operates the Cantonese ch ...

, headquartered in

, is a radio station with programming for both Mandarin and Cantonese speakers. CHMB AM1320, a radio station for Cantonese speakers, is headquartered in East Richmond. Z95-3's studio is located in the Ironwood area of Richmond. The radio station provides Metro Vancouver listeners with

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

, incorporating a mix of older songs with Top 40 hits.

Film and television production

Steveston Village has played home to several major American movies such as ''

Blade II ''Blade II'' is a 2002 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Blade, directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by David S. Goyer. The sequel to ''Blade'' (1998), it is the second installment in the ''Blade'' franchise. T ...

'' and ''

The 6th Day ''The 6th Day'' is a 2000 American science fiction action film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, and Robert Duvall. In the film, a family man of t ...

'', and television series such as ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'', ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'', ''

The Secret Circle The Secret Circle is a supernatural, young-adult series of books created by L. J. Smith. The narrative follows the character of Cassie Blake as she is initiated into a "Circle" of eleven other teenage witches and the danger that ensues when t ...

'', ''

The Outer Limits ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', ''

Killer Instinct ''Killer Instinct'' is a series of fighting game, fighting video games originally created by Rare (company), Rare and published by Midway Games, Midway, Nintendo, and Microsoft Studios, Xbox Game Studios. The original Killer Instinct (1994 vide ...

'', ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...

'', the ''

Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes six films, ten novels, and two comic books. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for the television series ''The X-Files''. All of ...

'' series and the ''

Scary Movie ''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon Wayans, Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon ...

'' series. It is also the location for the fictitious town of Storybrooke in the ABC TV series ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

''.

Fantasy Gardens Fantasy Gardens, also known as Fantasy Garden World, was a former amusement park in Richmond, British Columbia that was located at the corner of Steveston Highway and No. 5 Road. The park was called Fantasy Gardens because it was surrounded by ...

(an old amusement park which is relocated now) served as Halloweentown in the popular

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

television movie '' Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge'' and was also featured in the TV series ''Killer Instinct'' and ''Stargate SG-1''. The television series ''

Aliens in America ''Aliens in America'' is an American sitcom created by David Guarascio and Moses Port that aired on The CW for one season from October 1, 2007, to May 18, 2008. Guarascio and Port also served as executive producers of the show alongside Tim Doy ...

'' and ''

Life Unexpected ''Life Unexpected'' is an American teen drama television series that aired for two seasons from January 18, 2010 to January 18, 2011. It was produced by Best Day Ever Productions and Mojo Films in association with CBS Productions and Warner Bro ...

'' also made use of Cambie Secondary School in the northern part of the city. The exterior of the Workers' Compensation Board building (now the

WorkSafeBC The Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia, operating as WorkSafeBC, is a statutory agency that was made in 1917, after the provincial legislature put into force legislation passed in 1902. This legislation is known as the ''Workers Comp ...

building) was used for the hospital in

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's ''

Kingdom Hospital ''Kingdom Hospital'' (sometimes known as ''Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital'') is a thirteen-episode television series based on Lars von Trier's '' The Kingdom'', developed by horror writer Stephen King in 2004 for American television. While initi ...

''. These exteriors can now be seen on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

series '' Eleventh Hour''. Vancouver International Airport on Richmond's Sea Island has also been featured in numerous films and television series, commonly standing in for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (as it does in ''

The Cleaner A cleaner is an industrial or domestic worker who cleans. Cleaner(s) or The Cleaner(s) may also refer to: Cleaning * Cleaning agent, a substance used to remove dirt, stains, etc. * Cleanser, a product used to cleanse, such as a facial cleanser * ...

'' and ''

Dead Like Me ''Dead Like Me'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for ...

''). It is also featured as stand-ins for other airports in films such as ''

'', ''

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' is a series of five bestselling Young adult literature, young adult novels by Ann Brashares: ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (novel), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2001),'' ''The Second S ...

'', ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...

'', ''

The Lizzie McGuire Movie ''The Lizzie McGuire Movie'' is a 2003 American teen comedy film directed by Jim Fall. The film serves as the finale of the Disney Channel television series ''Lizzie McGuire'' and was the first theatrical film based on a Disney Channel series ...

'', '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'' and '' Are We There Yet?'' The Aerospace Technology Campus of BCIT, located just next to

, was used as a military academy mess hall for the live-action prequel series for the popular console game ''

Halo 4 ''Halo 4'' is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by 343 Industries and published by Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. ''Halo 4''s story follows a Human genetic enhancement, genetically enha ...

'' in '' Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn''. In addition, many other films, such as ''

Rise of the Planet of the Apes ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2011 American science fiction action film directed by Rupert Wyatt from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the ''Planet of the Apes'' film series and is the seventh install ...

'' and '' This Means War'', were filmed there due to the directors taking a liking to the cement structure of the building, which makes for very official-looking sets. Richmond serves as the Vancouver headquarters for the Fairchild Media Group which broadcasts Cantonese and Mandarin television channels from

. Their channels include

Fairchild TV Fairchild TV or FTV (新時代電視), is a Canadian Cantonese language exempt specialty channel."Waging a war over a large, wealthy, educated audience ; Fairchild TV and CFMT are battling it out to deliver the news to Canada's Chinese communi ...

, Fairchild TV 2, and

Talentvision Talentvision (marketed as 城市電視) is a Canadian Mandarin Chinese specialty channel. It is owned by the Vancouver-based Fairchild Media Group (a subsidiary of the Fairchild Group) and TVB. Talentvision's studios are located at Aberdeen C ...

Sister cities

Richmond's

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

are: *

Pierrefonds-Roxboro Pierrefonds-Roxboro () is a borough of the city of Montreal. It was created January 1, 2006, following the demerger of parts of the city. Geography It is composed of the former municipalities of Pierrefonds and Roxboro, spanning the northern ...

(Montreal), Canada (since 1967) *

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: * Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan * Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama * Wakayama University, a national university in Wakayama, ...

, Japan (since 1973) *

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

, China (since 2012) Since 2008, Richmond also has a friendship city relationship with

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

, China.

Notable people

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in British Columbia Populated places in Greater Vancouver Populated places on the British Columbia Coast Populated places on the Fraser River

History

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Ethnicity

Languages

Religion

Economy

Agriculture

Retail

Development

Lansdowne

The Olympic Oval

The John M.S. Lecky boathouse

Cambie Road pedestrian bridge

Capstan Village

Aberdeen Square

Bridgeport Station

Garden City Lands

Arts and culture

Parks and recreation

Sports

The 2010 Winter Olympics

Government

Municipal

Provincial

Federal

Infrastructure

Transportation

Health care

Emergency services

Education

Media

Radio production

Film and television production

Sister cities

Notable people

See also

Notes

References

External links