British Columbia
See Also:
Demographics of British Columbia |
Strait of Georgia, near Vancouver, B.C. |
British Columbia is bordered by the
Pacific Ocean on its west, by the American state of
Alaska on its Northwest, and to the north by the
Yukon Territory and the
Northwest Territories, on the east by the province of
Alberta, and on the south by the states of
Washington,
Idaho, and
Montana. The current southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846
Oregon Treaty, although its history is tied up with lands as far south as the
Columbia River.
British Columbia's land area is 944,735 square kilometers (364,764 square miles) which is about the size of France, Germany and the Netherlands combined. It is larger than the total area of Washington, Oregon and California. British Columbia's rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometers (16,780 miles), including deep, mountainous fjords and about 6,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited.
British Columbia's capital is
Victoria, located at the southeastern tip of
Vancouver Island. BC's most populous city is
Vancouver, located in southwest corner of the BC mainland called the
Lower Mainland. Other major cities include
Surrey,
Burnaby,
Coquitlam,
Richmond,
Delta, and
New Westminster in the
Lower Mainland;
Abbotsford and
Langley in the
Fraser Valley;
Nanaimo on
Vancouver Island; and
Kelowna and
Kamloops in the
Interior.
Prince George is the major city nearest the centre of the province; however, a small town called Vanderhoof, 100 km to the west, is much nearer to the geographic centre.
|
Mount Robson, Canadian Rockies, B.C. |
The
Coast Mountains,
Canadian Rockies and the
Inside Passage's many
inlets provide some of British Columbia's renowned and spectacular scenery, which forms the backdrop and context for a growing outdoor adventure and
ecotourism industry. 75% of the province is mountainous (more than 1,000 meters or 3,280 feet above sea level), 60% is forested, and only about 5% is arable. The
Okanagan area is one of only three wine-growing regions in Canada and also produces excellent
ciders, but exports little of either beverage. The small rural towns of
Penticton,
Oliver, and
Osoyoos have some of the warmest and longest summer climates in Canada, although their temperature ranges are exceeded by the even-warmer Fraser Canyon towns such as
Lillooet and
Lytton, which vie for the title of "Canada's Hot Spot".
Much of the western part of
Vancouver Island is covered by
temperate rain forest, one of a mere handful of such
ecosystems in the world (notable others being on the
Olympic Peninsula of
Washington and in
Chile,
New Zealand and
Tasmania). The province's mainland outside of the
Lower Mainland has snowy, cold winters, especially in the north. The Coast and Vancouver Island are temperate in most places, as the climate is moderated by the
Pacific Ocean. In the Interior, summer temperatures can be quite warm, even notably hot and there are large semi-arid areas and a few localities classifiable as
pocket deserts, including the towns of
Osoyoos and
Lillooet. There is more than one spot in British Columbia that has recorded peak summer temperatures of 43.3 °C (110 °F) and an ongoing rivalry exists between the
Fraser Canyon towns of
Lytton and
Lillooet for the title of "Canada's Hot Spot".
Ten Largest Communities in BC by population [StatsCan-Ten Largest Communities in BC by population]Community (includes metro areas) | 2001 | 1996 | | Vancouver | 1,986,965 | 1,831,665 |
| Victoria | 311,902 | 304,287 |
| Kelowna | 147,739 | 136,541 |
| Abbotsford | 147,370 | 136,480 |
| Kamloops | 86,491 | 85,407 |
| Nanaimo | 85,664 | 82,691 |
| Prince George | 85,035 | 87,731 |
| Chilliwack | 69,776 | 66,254 |
| Vernon | 51,530 | 49,701 |
| Courtenay | 47,051 | 46,297 |
Ten Largest Municipalities in BC by population| Municipality | 2001 | 1996 | | Vancouver | 545,671 | 514,008 |
| Surrey (GVA) | 347,825 | 304,477 |
| Burnaby (GVA) | 193,954 | 179,209 |
| Richmond (GVA) | 164,345 | 148,867 |
| Abbotsford | 115,463 | 104,403 |
| Coquitlam (GVA) | 112,890 | 101,820 |
| Saanich | 103,654 | 101,388 |
| Delta (GVA) | 96,950 | 95,411 |
| Kelowna | 96,288 | 89,422 |
| Langley Township (GVA) | 86,896 | 80,179 |
|
A view overlooking Skaha Lake in the Okanagan Valley, one of the driest regions of the province's interior. |
Pre-Confederation
The discovery of stone tools on the
Beatton River near
Fort St. John date human habitation in British Columbia to at least 11,500 years ago. The
First Nations population spread throughout the region, mostly on the coast, where aboriginals achieved the highest density of any place in Canada. At the time of European contact, nearly half the aboriginal people in present-day Canada lived in BC.
The explorations of
James Cook in the 1770s and
George Vancouver in the 1790s, and the concessions of
Spain in the 1790s established British jurisdiction over the coastal area north and west of the
Columbia River. In 1793,
Sir Alexander Mackenzie was the first European to journey across North America overland to the
Pacific Ocean, inscribing a stone marking his accomplishment on the shoreline of
South Bentinck Arm near
Bella Coola. His expedition theoretically established British sovereignty inland, and a succession of other fur company explorers charted the maze of rivers and mountain ranges between the Prairies and the Pacific. Mackenzie and these other explorers — notably
John Finlay,
Simon Fraser,
Samuel Black, and
David Thompson — were primarily concerned with extending the
fur trade, rather than political considerations.
Their establishment of trading posts under the auspices of the
North West Company and the
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), however, effectively established a permanent British presence in the region, which (south of 54-40 latitude) was, as of the
Anglo-American Convention of 1818, under the "joint occupancy and use" of citizens of the United States and subjects of Britain (which is to say, the fur companies). This co-occupancy was ended with the
Oregon Treaty of
1846.
Some of these early posts would grow into settlements, communities, and cities. Among the places in British Columbia that began as fur trading posts are
Fort St. John (established 1794);
Hudson's Hope (1805);
Fort Nelson (1805);
Fort St. James (1806);
Prince George (1807);
Kamloops (1812);
Fort Langley (1827);
Victoria (1843);
Yale (1848); and
Nanaimo (1853). Fur company posts that became cities in what is now the United States include
Vancouver, Washington (
Fort Vancouver), formerly the "capital" of Hudson's Bay operations in the Columbia District (aka the Oregon Territory).
With the amalgamation of the two fur trading companies in 1821, the region now comprising British Columbia existed in three fur trading departments. The bulk of the Central and Northern Interior was organised into the
New Caledonia district, administered from Fort St. James. The Interior south of the
Thompson River watershed and north of the Columbia was organised into the
Columbia District, administered from
Fort Vancouver (present-day
Vancouver, Washington). The northeast corner of the province east of the
Rockies, known as the
Peace River Block, was attached to the much larger
Athabasca District, headquartered in
Fort Chipewyan (in present day Alberta).
Until 1849, these districts were a wholly unorganised area of
British North America under the defacto jurisdiction of HBC administrators. Unlike
Rupert's Land to the north and east, however, the territory was not a concession to the Company. Rather, it was simply granted a monopoly to trade with the First Nations inhabitants. All that was changed with the westward extension of
American exploration, and the concomitant overlapping claims of territorial sovereignty, especially in the southern Columbia basin (within present day Washington state and
Oregon). In 1846, the
Oregon Treaty divided the territory along the
49th parallel to
Georgia Strait, with the area south of this boundary, excluding Vancouver Island and the
Gulf Islands) transferred to sole American sovereignty. The
Colony of Vancouver Island was created in 1849, with
Victoria designated as the capital. New Caledonia continued to be an unorganized territory of British North America, "administered" by individual HBC
trading post managers.
With the
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, an influx of Americans into New Caledonia prompted the
colonial office to formally designate the mainland as the
Colony of British Columbia, with
New Westminster as its capital. A second gold rush — the
Cariboo Gold Rush — followed in 1862, forcing the colonial administration into deeper debt as it struggled to meet the extensive infrastructure needs of far-flung boom communities like
Barkerville and Lillooet, which literally sprang up overnight. The Vancouver Island colony was facing financial crises of its own, and pressure to merge the two eventually succeeded in 1866, with the name
British Columbia being applied to the newly united colony.
Rapid growth and development
The Confederation League led by such figures as
Amor De Cosmos,
John Robson, and
Robert Beaven had long led the chorus pressing for the colony to join Canada, which had been created out of four British colonies in 1867. Several factors motivated this agitation, including the fear of annexation to the
United States, the overwhelming debt created by rapid population growth, the need for government-funded services to support this population, and the economic depression caused by the end of the gold rush. With the agreement by the Canadian government to extend the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to British Columbia and to assume the colony's debt, BC became the sixth province to join
Confederation on
July 20,
1871. The borders of the province were not completely settled until 1903, however, when the province's territory shrank somewhat after the
Alaska Boundary Dispute settled the vague boundary of the
Alaska Panhandle.
Population in British Columbia continued to expand as the province's
mining,
forestry,
agriculture, and
fishing sectors were developed. Mining activity was particularly notable in the
Boundary Country, in the
Slocan, in the
West Kootenay around
Trail, the
East Kootenay (the southeast corner of the province), the
Fraser Canyon, the
Cariboo and elsewhere. Agriculture attracted settlers to the fertile
Fraser Valley, and cattle ranchers and later fruit growers to the drier grasslands of the Thompson River area, the
Cariboo, the
Chilcotin, and the
Okanagan. Forestry drew workers to the lush
temperate rain forests of the coast, which was also the locus of a growing
fishery.
The completion of the CPR in 1885-86 was a huge boost to the province's economy, facilitating the transportation of the region's considerable resources to the east. The booming logging town of Granville, near the mouth of the
Burrard Inlet was selected as the terminus of the railway, prompting the incorporation of the community as Vancouver in 1886. The completion of the
Port of Vancouver spurred rapid growth, and in less than fifty years the city would surpass
Winnipeg as the largest in western Canada.
The early decades of the province were ones in which issues of land use — specifically, its settlement and development — were paramount. This included expropriation from First Nations people of their land, control over its resources, as well as the ability to trade in some resources (such as the fishery). Establishing a
labour force to develop the province was problematic from the start, and British Columbia was the locus of immigration not only from Europe, but also from
China and
Japan. The influx of a non-caucasian population stimulated resentment from the dominant ethnic groups, resulting in agitation (much of it successful) to restrict the ability of Asian people to immigrate to British Columbia through the imposition of a
head tax. This resentment culminated in mob attacks against Chinese and Japanese immingrants in Vancouver in 1887 and 1907. By 1923, almost all Chinese immigration had been blocked except for merchants and investors (
see Anti-Chinese legislation in Canada).
Meanwhile, the province continued to grow. In 1914, the last spike of a second transcontinental rail line, the
Grand Trunk Pacific, linking north-central British Columbia from the
Yellowhead Pass through
Prince George to
Prince Rupert was driven at
Fort Fraser. This opened up the north coast and the
Bulkley Valley region to new economic opportunities. What had previously been an almost exclusively fur trade and subsistence economy soon became a locus for forestry, farming, and mining.
The 1920s through the 1940s
When the men returned from
World War I, they discovered the recently-enfranchised women of the province had helped vote in the prohibition of liquor in an effort to end the social problems associated with the hard-core drinking that Vancouver and the rest of the province was famous for until the war. Because of pressure from veterans, prohibition was quickly relaxed so that the "soldier and the working man" could enjoy a drink, but widespread unemployment among veterans was hardened by many of the available jobs being taken by European immigrants - Italians and others - and disgruntled veterans organized a range of "soldier parties" to represent their interests, variously named Soldier-Farmer, Soldier-Labour, and Farmer-Labour Parties. These formed the basis of the fractured labour-political spectrum that would generate a host of fringe leftist and rightist parties, including those who would eventually form the
Co-operative Commonwealth and the early
Social Credit splinter groups.
The advent of prohibition in the United States created new opportunities, and many found employment or at least profit in cross-border liquor smuggling. Much of Vancouver's prosperity and opulence in the 1920s is due to this "pirate economy", although growth in forestry, fishing and mining continued. The end of US-side Prohibition, combined with the onset of the
Great Depression, plunged the province into economic destitution. Compounding the already dire local economic situation, tens of thousands of men from colder parts of Canada swarmed into Vancouver, creating huge
hobo jungles around False Creek and the Burrard Inlet railyards, including the old CPR mainline right-of-way through the heart of the city's downtown (at Hastings and Carrall). Increasingly desperate times led to intense political organizing efforts, an occupation of the main Post Office at Granville & Hastings whch was violently put down by the police, and an effective imposition of martial law on the docks for almost three years. A Vancouver contingent for the
On-to-Ottawa Trek was organized and seized a train, which was loaded with thousands of men bound for the capital but was met by a
Gatling gun straddling the tracks at Mission; the men were arrested and sent to work camps for the duration of the Depression.
There were some signs of economic life beginning to assert normalcy towards the end of the '30s, but it was the onset of World War II which transformed the national economy and ended the hard times of the Depression. Because of the war effort, women entered the workforce as never before.
BC has long taken advantage of its Pacific coast to have close relations with
East Asia. However, this has caused friction, with frequent feelings of animosity towards Asian immigrants. This was most manifest during the
Second World War when many people of
Japanese descent were relocated or interned in the Interior of the province.
A second growth spurt: The 1950s and 1960s
The post-
World War II years saw Vancouver and Victoria also become cultural centres as poets, authors, artists, musicians, as well as dancers, actors, and
haute cuisine chefs flocked to the beautiful scenery and warmer temperatures. Similarly, these cities have either attracted or given rise to their own noteworthy academics, commentators, and creative thinkers. Tourism also began to play an important role in the economy. The rise of Japan and other Pacific economies was a great boost to the BC economy.
Shifting fortunes: BC since the 1970s
Main Article:
Demographics of British Columbia See Also Cities in British Columbia, List of Communities in British Columbia
Population of British Columbia since 1851
| Year | Population | Five Year
% change | Ten Year
% change!Rank Among
Provinces | | 1851 | 55,000 | n/a | n/a | 6 |
| 1861 | 51.524 | n/a | -6.3 | 6 |
| 1871 | 36,247 | n/a | -29.7 | 7 |
| 1881 | 49,459 | n/a | 36.4 | 8 |
| 1891 | 98,173 | n/a | 98.5 | 8 |
| 1901 | 178,657 | n/a | 82.0 | 6 |
| 1911 | 392,480 | n/a | 119.7 | 6 |
| 1921 | 524,582 | n/a | 33.7 | 6 |
| 1931 | 694,263 | n/a | 32.3 | 6 |
| 1941 | 817,861 | n/a | 17.8 | 6 |
| 1951 | 1,165,210 | n/a | 42.5 | 3 |
| 1956 | 1,398,464 | 20.0 | n/a | 3 |
| 1961 | 1,629,082 | 16.5 | 39.8 | 3 |
| 1966 | 1,873,674 | 15.0 | 34.0 | 3 |
| 1971 | 2,184,620 | 16.6 | 34.1 | 3 |
| 1976 | 2,466,610 | 12.9 | 31.6 | 3 |
| 1981 | 2,744,467 | 11.3 | 25.6 | 3 |
| 1986 | 2,883,370 | 5.1 | 16.9 | 3 |
| 1991 | 3,282,061 | 13.8 | 19.6 | 3 |
| 1996 | 3,724,500 | 13.5 | 29.2 | 3 |
| 2001 | 3,907,738 | 4.9 | 19.1 | 3 |
:
Source: Statistics Canada[Statistics Canada - Population]Ethnic Groups
Note: The following statistics represent both single (e.g., "German") and multiple (e.g., "part Chinese, part English") responses to the 2001 Census, and thus do not add up to 100%.
!Ethnic Origin>Population | Percent | | English | 1,144,335 | 25.58% |
| Canadian | 939,460 | 24.28% |
| Scottish | 748,905 | 19.36% |
| Irish | 562,895 | 14.55% |
| German | 500,675 | 12.94% |
| Chinese | 373,830 | 9.66% |
| French | 331,535 | 8.57% |
| East Indian | 183,650 | 4.75% |
| Dutch (Netherlands) | 180,635 | 4.67% |
| Ukrainian | 178,880 | 4.62% |
| North American Indian | 175,085 | 4.53% |
| Italian | 126,420 | 3.27% |
| Norwegian | 112,045 | 2.90% |
| Polish | 107,340 | 2.77% |
| Swedish | 89,630 | 2.32% |
| Welsh | 86,710 | 2.24% |
| Russian | 86,110 | 2.23% |
| Filipino | 69,345 | 1.79% |
| American (USA) | 59,075 | 1.53% |
| Danish | 49,685 | 1.28% |
| Métis | 45,455 | 1.17% |
| Hungarian (Magyar) | 43,515 | 1.12% |
Source: Statistics Canada[2001 Canadian Census]British Columbia has a very diverse ethnic population, with a large number of immigrants having lived in the province for 30 years or less. Asians are by far the largest visible minority demographic, with many of the
Lower Mainland's large cities having sizeable
Chinese,
Japanese,
Filipino, and
Korean communities. The
East Indian population is also considerable, especially in
Surrey and
South Vancouver.
Also present in large numbers relative to other cities in Canada (except Toronto), and ever since the province was first settled (unlike Toronto), are many European ethnicities of the first and second generation, notably Germans, Scandinavians, Yugoslavs and Italians; third-generation Europeans are generally of mixed lineage, and traditionally intermarried with Asian or other non-European ethnicities more than in any other Canadian province. First-generation Britons remain a strong component of local society despite limitations on immigration from Britain since the ending of special status for British subjects in the 1960s.
The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 40,000 responses are included.
Further information: Statistics Canada. "British Columbia ethno-cultural profile"[Statistics Canada. "British Columbia ethno-cultural profile"] |
The Legislative Buildings, Victoria, BC |
The
Lieutenant Governor,
Iona Campagnolo, is the
Queen of Canada's representative in the Province of British Columbia. During the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor, the
federal Cabinet may appoint an Administrator to execute the duties of the office. In practice, this is usually the
Chief Justice of British Columbia [ Executive Power in the Provinces under the Constitutional Act, 1867 ].
BC has a 79-member elected
Legislative Assembly, elected by the
plurality voting system, though in recent years there has been significant debate about switching to a "
mixed member" style system.
Currently, the province is governed by the
British Columbia Liberal Party under Premier
Gordon Campbell. Campbell won the largest landslide election in BC history in 2000 (77 of 79 seats), but the legislature is more evenly divided between Liberals and members of the
social democratic New Democratic Party following the 2005 provincial election.
The British Columbia Liberal Party is unrelated to the federal Liberal Party and does not share its ideology. Instead, the BC Liberal party is a rather diverse coalition, made up of the remnants of the Social Credit Party, many federal Liberals, federal Conservatives, and those who would otherwise support right-of-centre or 'free enterprise' parties. Historically, there have commonly been
third parties members present in the legislature, but there are presently none.
Prior to the rise of the Liberal Party, British Columbia's main right-of-center political party was the
BC Social Credit Party which ruled BC for almost 40 continious years.
BC is well-known for having very politically active labour
unions, who normally support the NDP.
British Columbia has a resource dominated economy. While employment in the resource sector has fallen steadily, unemployment is currently at a 30-year low of 4.5%[
1]. New jobs are mostly in the construction and retail/service sectors.
History
Transportation played a major role in British Columbia history. The
Rocky Mountains and the ranges west of them constituted a significant obstacle to overland travel until the completion of the
transcontinental railway in 1885. The
Peace River Canyon through the Rocky Mountains was the route that the earliest explorers and fur traders used. Along with that route, overland travel from the rest of Canada involved using a combination of trails and wagon roads (such as the
Cariboo Wagon Road). The difficulty of overland travel prior to 1885 meant that most transportation to and from the region occurred via the Pacific Ocean, primarily through the ports of Victoria and New Westminster.
Until the 1930s, rail was the only means of overland travel to and from the rest of Canada — travellers using motor vehicles needed to journey through the United States. With the construction of the Inter-Provincial Highway in 1932 (now known as the
Crowsnest Pass Highway), and later the
Trans-Canada Highway, road transportation evolved into the preferred mode of overland travel to and from the rest of the country.
Roads and highways
 |
Highway 91 in Vancouver |
Main article: List of British Columbia provincial highways
Due to its size and rugged, varying topography, British Columbia requires thousands of kilometres of provincial highways to connect its communities. British Columbia's roads systems were notoriously poorly maintained and dangerous until a concentrated programme of improvement was initiated in the 1950s and 60s. There are now freeways in the Lower Mainland and Central Interior of the province, and much of the rest of the province is accessible by well-maintained two lane arterial highways with additional passing lanes in mountainous areas. The building and maintenance of provincial highways is the responsibility of the provincial government.
There are four major routes through the Rocky Mountains to the rest of Canada. From south to north they are: The Crowsnest Pass Highway through
Sparwood, the Trans-Canada Highway through
Banff National Park, the
Yellowhead Highway through
Jasper National Park, and
Highway 2 through
Dawson Creek. There are also several highway crossings to the adjoining American states of
Washington,
Idaho, and
Montana. The longest highway is
Highway 97, running 2081 km from the BC-Washington border at
Osoyoos north to
Watson Lake, Yukon.
Surface public transit
Prior to 1978, surface public transit was administered by
BC Hydro (formerly British Columbia Electric), the provincial
crown corporation responsible for the production and distribution of electricity. Subsequently, the province established
BC Transit to oversee and operate all municipal transportation systems. In 1998,
TransLink, a separate authority for the
Greater Vancouver Regional District, was established.
Public Transit in British Columbia consists mainly of diesel buses, although the City of Vancouver is also serviced by a fleet of electric buses. TransLink operates
SkyTrain, a
light rapid transit system serving Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and North Surrey. Presently, extensions of the line south to Richmond (the
Canada Line) and east to Coquitlam and Port Moody (the
Evergreen Line) are being developed.
Rail
The completion of the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) through the
Crowsnest Pass in 1885 was a condition of British Columbia's entry into the
Canadian Confederation. Rail development expanded greatly in the subsequent decades, and was the chief mode of long-distance surface transportation until the expansion and improvement of the provincial highways system began in the 1950s. Apart from the CPR, numerous other lines were developed. Two major routes through the
Yellowhead Pass competed with the CPR — the
Grand Trunk Pacific, terminating at
Prince Rupert, and the
Canadian National Railway (CNR), terminating at Vancouver. The
Pacific Great Eastern (PGE) line supplemented this service, providing a north-south route between Interior resource communities and the coast. The PGE (later known as British Columbia Railway and now owned by CNR) connects
Fort St. James,
Fort Nelson, and
Tumbler Ridge with
North Vancouver.
Water
BC Ferries was established as a provincial crown corporation in 1960 to provide passenger and vehicle ferry service between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland as a cheaper and more reliable alternative to the service operated by the CPR. It now operates 25 routes among the islands of British Columbia, as well as between the islands and the mainland. Ferry service to Washington is offered by the
Washington State Ferries (between
Sidney and
Anacortes) and
Black Ball Ferries (between Victoria and
Port Angeles). Ferry service over inland lakes and rivers is provided by the provincial government.
Commercial ocean transport is of vital importance. Major ports are located at Vancouver, Roberts Bank (near
Tsawwassen), Prince Rupert, and Victoria. Of these, the
Port of Vancouver is the most important, being the largest in Canada and the most diversified in North America. Vancouver, Victoria, and Prince Rupert are also major ports of call for
cruise ships.
Air
There are over 200 airports located throughout British Columbia, the major ones being the
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and the
Victoria International Airport (YYJ). Vancouver International Airport is the second busiest airport in the country with an estimated 16 million travellers passing through in 2005.
There are 14 designations of parks and protected areas in the province that reflects the different administration and creation of these areas in a modern context. There are 141 ecological Reserves, 35 provincial marine parks, 7 Provincial Heritage Sites, 6 National Historic Sites, 4 National Parks and 3 National Park Reserves. 12.5% (114,000 km²) of BC is currently considered 'protected' under one of the 14 different designations that includes over 800 distinct areas.
British Columbia contains seven of
Canada's national parks:
*
Glacier National Park*
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve*
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site*
Kootenay National Park*
Mount Revelstoke National Park*
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve*
Yoho National ParkBC also contains a large network of provincial parks, run by
BC Parks of the Ministry of Environment. BC's provicial parks system is the second largest parks system in Canada (the largest is Canadian National Parks system).
In addition to these areas, over 4.7 million hectares of arable land are protected by the
Agricultural Land Reserve.
British Columbia Magazine continually features articles on BC's remote and accessible parks, as well as the wildlife and wilderness areas within.
Given its varied mountainous terrain and its coasts, lakes, rivers, and forests, British Columbia has long been enjoyed for pursuits like hiking and camping, rock climbing and mountaineering, hunting and fishing.
Much of the province is wild or semi-wild, so that populations of very many mammalian species that have become rare in much of the United States still flourish in B.C. Watching animals of various sorts, including a very wide range of birds, has also long been popular. Bears (
grizzly,
black), and the
Kermode bear or spirit bear--only found in British Columbia, live here, as do deer,
elk,
moose,
caribou, big-horn sheep,
mountain goats, beavers,
muskrat,
coyotes,
wolves,
mustelids (such as
wolverines and
fishers)
mountain lions, eagles,
ospreys,
herons, Canada geese, swans,
loons, hawks, owls,
ravens, and many sorts of ducks. Smaller birds (robins, jays,
grosbeaks,
chickadees, etc.) also abound.
Healthy populations of many sorts of fish are found in the waters (including
salmonids such as several species of
salmon,
trout,
char, etc.). Besides salmon and trout, sport-fishers in B.C. also catch
halibut,
steelhead,
bass, and
sturgeon.
Water sports, both motorized and non-motorized, are enjoyed in many places. Sea
kayaking opportunities abound on the B.C. coast with its
fjords.
Whitewater rafting and kayaking are popular on many inland rivers.
Sailing and
sailboarding are widely enjoyed.
In winter, cross-country and telemark skiing are much enjoyed, and in recent decades high-quality downhill skiing has been developed in the Coast Mountain range and the Rockies, as well as in the southern areas of the Shuswap Highlands and the Columbia Mountains. Snowboarding has mushroomed in popularity since the early 1990s. The
2010 Winter Olympics downhill events will be held in
Whistler-Blackcomb area of the province, while the indoor events will be in the
Vancouver area.
In Vancouver and Victoria (as well as some other cities), opportunities for joggers and bicyclists have been developed. Cross-country bike touring has been popular since the ten-speed bike became available many years ago. Since the advent of more robust mountain bikes, trails in more rugged and wild places have been developed for them. Some of the province's retired rail beds have been converted and maintained for hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing.
Horseback riding is enjoyed by many British Columbians. Opportunities for
trail riding, often into especially scenic areas, have been established for tourists in numerous areas of the province.
British Columbia also has strong participation levels in many other sports, including
golf,
tennis,
soccer,
hockey,
Canadian football,
rugby,
softball,
basketball,
curling and
figure skating. B.C. has produced many outstanding athletes, especially in aquatic and winter sports. Also, today programs of training and toning systems like
aerobics and
hatha yoga are widespread. Most communities of several thousand people or more have developed facilities for these.
Consistent with both increased tourism and increased participation in diverse recreations by British Columbians themselves has been the proliferation of
lodges,
chalets,
bed and breakfasts, motels, hotels, fishing camps, and park-camping facilities in recent decades.
In certain areas, there are businesses, non-profit societies, or municipal governments dedicated to promoting
ecotourism in their region.
Recreational cannabis
In recent years, there has also been a rise of a '
marijuana culture' in many parts of BC, to the extent that there now exists a provincial political party known as the
British Columbia Marijuana Party. Production and sale of the drug now estimated by the provincial Organized Crime Agency to be among the province's largest industries
[Organized Crime Agency-Marijuana industry article]. In Vancouver, there are several open-to-the-public almost-"
Amsterdam"-style coffee houses where people can meet and openly smoke (but not purchase) marijuana. Though police may tend to turn a blind eye to cannabis use in some urban areas, the drug remains illegal throughout the province, and controlling its spread remains an ongoing and much-debated legal issue in the province. The rise of indoor marijuana "grow ops" in suburban communities and their possible ties to
organized crime continue to be a concern, although much production occurs through via highly decentralized "Mom-and-Pop"-type operations. The quality, assortment and price of this marijuana makes British Columbia a destination for those taking an interest in
cannabis.
Image:Bcmap.PNG|Cities in BCImage:BC-relief.png|Physical map of BCThe primary
local administrative units of British Columbia are its 28
Regional Districts.
Half of all British Columbians live in the
Greater Vancouver Regional District, which includes
Vancouver,
New Westminster,
Surrey,
West Vancouver,
North Vancouver (city),
North Vancouver (district municipality),
Burnaby,
Coquitlam,
Port Coquitlam,
Maple Ridge,
Langley (city),
Langley (district municipality),
Delta,
Pitt Meadows,
White Rock,
Richmond,
Port Moody,
Anmore,
Belcarra,
Lions Bay and
Bowen Island, as well as 17
Indian reserves and the unincorporated
regional district electoral area known as
Greater Vancouver Electoral Area A.
Other municipalities:
*
Abbotsford*
Campbell River*
Chilliwack*
Colwood*
Courtenay*
Dawson Creek*
Fort St. John*
Kamloops*
Kelowna*
Langford*
Mission*
Nanaimo*
North Cowichan*
Penticton*
Prince George*
Quesnel*
Saanich*
Vernon*
Victoria - provincial capital
*
Williams Lake*Historical Predecessors to the Province of British Columbia:
**
Oregon Boundary Dispute**
Colony of British Columbia**
United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia**
Crown Colony of Vancouver Island**
Stikine Territory**
New Caledonia**
Columbia District*
List of British Columbia-related topics**
List of British Columbians***
List of British Columbia premiers***
List of British Columbia lieutenant-governors**
List of communities in British Columbia**
List of British Columbia Regional Districts**
List of British Columbia provincial highways**
List of British Columbia Universities**
Same-sex marriage in British Columbia**
British Columbia government agencies and crown corporations***
Agricultural Land Reserve***
BC Ferries***
BC Hydro***
BC Rail***
British Columbia Utilities Commission***
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia***
Medical Services Plan**
Demographics of British Columbia**
Geography of British Columbia***
British Columbia Coast***
Cariboo***
Chilcotin***
Fraser Canyon***
Fraser Valley***
Interior Plateau***
Kootenays***
Lower Mainland***
Okanagan***
Peace River***
Queen Charlotte Islands***
Sunshine Coast***
Vancouver Island*
Canada**
Provinces and territories of Canada***
List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols**
List of cities in Canada*
Scouting in British Columbia
*
Tourism BC*
Travel.bc.ca British Columbia Travel & Tourism Information
*
Vancouver Info Centre Information about Vancouver, BC's largest city
*
Pictures of British Columbia*
Provincial Archives (includes online photo database)*
BC Govt online map archive (free)*
BC Ferries*
The Royal BC Museum*
Photos from BC and Vancouver*
Travel British Columbia - GoBC British Columbia Travel Information for Arts and Cultural Travel
