Brita Kolumbio

Wikipedia's British Columbia as translated by GramTrans

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Brita Kolumbio
Colombie-brita ( franca)
Flago de Brita Kolumbio
Blazono de Brita Kolumbio
Moto (j): Latin: (angle: Grandiozeco sen diminishment)
Konfederacio La 20-an de julio 1871 (7-a)
Kapitalo Viktorio
Plej granda grandurbo Vankuvero
Plej granda metroo Metroa Vankuvero
• Tipo Konstitucia monarkio
Vicgubernatoro Judith Guichon
Ĉefministro John Horgan ( NDP)
Parlamento Leĝdona Asembleo de Brita Kolumbio
Federacia reprezentantaro (in Canadian Parliament)
House-sidlokoj 42 el 338 (12.4%)
Senatlokoj 6 el 105 (5.7%)
• Totala 944,735 km2 (364,764 kv. mejl.)
• Tero 925,186 km2 (357,216 kv. mejl.)
• Akvo 19,548.9 km2 (7,547.9 kv. mejl.) 2.1%
Areorango Rangigita 5-a
9.5% de Kanado
Populacio (2016)
• Totala 4,648,055 [1]
• Takso (2017 Q4) 4,841,078 [2]
• Rango Rangigita tria
• Denseco 5.02/ km2 (13.0/kv. mejl.)
Demonimo (j) Brita kolumbiano [3]
Oficialaj lingvoj La angla
Rango 4-a
• Totala (2015) CUS$ 249.981 miliardoj [4]
• Pokape CUS$ 53,267 ( 8-a)
Horzono Pacific (la plej granda parto de provinco) Monto
(ege orienta) UTC −8 & −7
Poŝta abr. A.K.
Poŝtkodprefikso V
ISO 3166 kodo CA-BC
Floro Pacific-kornuso
Arbo Okcidenta ruĝa cedro
Birdo Steller-garolo
Retejo w2.
Rangotabeloj inkludas ĉiujn provincojn kaj teritoriojn

Brita Kolumbio ( BC a.K.; La franca: Colombie-brita) estas la plej okcidenta regiono de Kanado, situanta inter la Pacifiko kaj la Roka Montaro. Kun laŭtaksa populacio de 4.8 milionoj aktuale en 2017, ĝi estas la tria-plej-multa popolriĉa provinco de Kanado.

The first British settlement in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, which gave rise to the city of Victoria, at first the capital of the separate Colony of Vancouver Island. Subsequently, on the mainland, the Colony of British Columbia (1858-66) was founded by Richard Clement Moody[5] and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Moody was Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works for the Colony and the first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia: he was hand-picked by the Colonial Office in London to transform British Columbia into the British Empire's "bulwark in the farthest west",[6] and "to found a second England on the shores of the Pacific".[7] Moody selected the site for and founded the original capital of British Columbia, New Westminster, established the Cariboo Road and Stanley Park,[8] and designed the first version of the Coat of arms of British Columbia.[9]Port Moody is named after him.[10]


The capital of British Columbia remains Victoria, the fifteenth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for the Queen who created the original European colonies. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, and the third-largest in the Pacific Northwest. In October 2013, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,606,371 (about 2.5 million of whom were in Greater Vancouver).[11] The province is currently governed by the British Columbia New Democratic Party in a minority government supported by the British Columbia Green Party, led by John Horgan, who became premier as a result of a no-confidence motion on June 29, 2017.

British Columbia evolved from British possessions that were established in what is now British Columbia by 1871. First Nations, the original inhabitants of the land, have a history of at least 10,000 years in the area. Today there are few treaties and the question of Aboriginal Title, long ignored, has become a legal and political question of frequent debate as a result of recent court actions. Notably, the Tsilhqot'in Nation has established Aboriginal title to a portion of their territory, as a result of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision (William [Tsilhqot'in Nation] v. British Columbia).

BC's economy is diverse, with service producing industries accounting for the largest portion of the province's GDP.[12] It is the terminus of two transcontinental railways, and the site of 27 major marine cargo and passenger terminals. Though less than 5% of its vast 944,735 km2 (364,764 sq mi) land is arable, the province is agriculturally rich (particularly in the Fraser and Okanagan valleys), because of milder weather near the coast and in certain sheltered southern valleys. Its climate encourages outdoor recreation and tourism, though its economic mainstay has long been resource extraction, principally logging, farming, and mining. Vancouver, the province's largest city, serves as the headquarters of many western-based natural resource companies. It also benefits from a strong housing market and a per capita income well above the national average. While the coast of British Columbia and some valleys in the south-central part of the province have mild weather, the majority of its land mass experiences a cold-winter-temperate climate similar to the rest of Canada. The Northern Interior region has a subarctic climate with very cold winters. The climate of Vancouver is by far the mildest winter climate of the major Canadian cities, with nighttime January temperatures averaging above the freezing point.[13]


The province's name was chosen by Queen Victoria, when the Colony of British Columbia (1858-66), i.e., "the Mainland", became a British colony in 1858.[14] It refers to the Columbia District, the British name for the territory drained by the Columbia River, in southeastern British Columbia, which was the namesake of the pre-Oregon Treaty Columbia Department of the Hudson's Bay Company. Queen Victoria chose British Columbia to distinguish what was the British sector of the Columbia District from the United States ("American Columbia" or "Southern Columbia"), which became the Oregon Territory on August 8, 1848, as a result of the treaty.[15]

Ultimately, the Columbia in the name British Columbia is derived from the name of the Columbia Rediviva, an American ship which lent its name to the Columbia River and later the wider region;[16] the Columbia in the name Columbia Rediviva came from the name Columbia for the New World or parts thereof, a reference to Christopher Columbus.



British Columbia is bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean and the American state of Alaska, to the north by Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories, to the east by the province of Alberta, and to the south by the American states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, although its history is tied with lands as far south as California. British Columbia's land area is 944,735 square kilometres (364,800 sq mi). British Columbia's rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres (17,000 mi), and includes deep, mountainous fjords and about 6,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited. It is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean.

British Columbia's capital is Victoria, located at the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island. Only a narrow strip of Vancouver Island, from Campbell River to Victoria, is significantly populated. Much of the western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by temperate rainforest. The province's most populous city is Vancouver, which is at the confluence of the Fraser River and Georgia Strait, in the mainland's southwest corner (an area often called the Lower Mainland). By land area, Abbotsford is the largest city. Vanderhoof is near the geographic centre of the province.[17]

Outline map of British Columbia with significant cities and towns.
Outline map of British Columbia with significant cities and towns

The Coast Mountains 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 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level); 60% is forested; and only about 5% is arable.

The province's mainland away from the coastal regions is somewhat moderated by the Pacific Ocean. Terrain ranges from dry inland forests and semi-arid valleys, to the range and canyon districts of the Central and Southern Interior, to boreal forest and subarctic prairie in the Northern Interior.

The Okanagan area, extending from Vernon to Osoyoos at the United States border, is one of several wine and cider-producing regions in Canada. Other wine regions in British Columbia include the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley.

The Southern Interior cities of Kamloops and Penticton have some of the warmest and longest summer climates in Canada, although their temperatures are often exceeded north of the Fraser Canyon, close to the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson rivers, where the terrain is rugged and covered with desert-type flora. Semi-desert grassland is found in large areas of the Interior Plateau, with land uses ranging from ranching at lower altitudes to forestry at higher ones.

The northern, mostly mountainous, two-thirds of the province is largely unpopulated and undeveloped, except for the area east of the Rockies, where the Peace River Country contains BC's portion of the Canadian Prairies, centred at the city of Dawson Creek.

British Columbia is considered part of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion, along with the American states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana (western portion), Oregon and Washington.[18][19]


Köppen climate types in British Columbia

Coastal southern British Columbia has a mild, rainy oceanic climate, some far southern parts of which are warm-summer Mediterranean, influenced by the North Pacific Current, which has its origins in the Kuroshio Current. Due to the blocking presence of successive mountain ranges, the climate of the interior of the province is semi-arid with certain locations receiving less than 250 mm (10") in annual precipitation. The annual mean temperature in the most populated areas of the province is up to 12 °C (54 °F), the mildest anywhere in Canada.

The valleys of the Southern Interior have short winters with only brief bouts of cold or infrequent heavy snow, while those in the Cariboo, in the Central Interior, are colder because of increased altitude and latitude, but without the intensity or duration experienced at similar latitudes elsewhere in Canada. For example, the average daily low in Prince George (roughly in the middle of the province) in January is −12 °C (10 °F).[20] Heavy snowfall occurs in all elevated mountainous terrain providing bases for skiers in both south and central British Columbia.

Winters are generally severe in the Northern Interior, but even there milder air can penetrate far inland. The coldest temperature in British Columbia was recorded in Smith River, where it dropped to −58.9 °C (−74 °F) on January 31, 1947,[21] one of the coldest readings recorded anywhere in North America. Atlin in the province's far northwest, along with the adjoining Southern Lakes region of Yukon, get midwinter thaws caused by the Chinook effect, which is also common (and much warmer) in more southerly parts of the Interior.

During winter, on the coast, rainfall, sometimes relentless heavy rain, dominates because of consistent barrages of cyclonic low-pressure systems from the North Pacific. Average snowfall on the coast during an average winter is between 25 and 50 cm (9.8 and 19.7 in), but on occasion (and not every winter) heavy snowfalls with more than 20 cm (7.9 in) and well below freezing temperatures arrive when modified arctic air reaches coastal areas, typically for short periods, and can take temperatures below −10 °C (14 °F), even at sea level, and arctic outflow winds can make wind chill temperatures at or even below −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) for a couple of mornings. While winters are very wet, coastal areas are generally milder and dry during summer under the influence of stable anti-cyclonic high pressure. Southern Interior valleys are hot in summer; for example in Osoyoos the July maximum temperature averages 31.7 °C (89 °F) the hottest month of any place in Canada, this hot weather sometimes spreads towards the coast or to the far north of the province. Temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in the lower elevations of valleys in the Interior during mid-summer, with the record high of 44.4 °C (111.9 °F) being held in Lytton on July 16, 1941.[22]

The Okanagan region has a climate suitable to vineyards.

The extended summer dryness often creates conditions that spark forest fires, from dry-lightning or man-made causes. Many areas of the province are often covered by a blanket of heavy cloud and low fog during the winter months, in contrast to abundant summer sunshine. Annual sunshine hours vary from 2200 near Cranbrook and Victoria to less than 1300 in Prince Rupert, on the North Coast just south of Southeast Alaska.


Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected cities in British Columbia[23]
Municipality January April July October
Prince Rupert 5.6 °C (42.1 °F)/ −0.8 °C (30.6 °F) 10.2 °C (50.4 °F)/ 2.5 °C (36.5 °F) 16.2 °C (61.2 °F)/ 10.5 °C (50.9 °F) 11.1 °C (52.0 °F)/ 4.9 °C (40.8 °F)
Tofino 8.3 °C (46.9 °F)/ 2.3 °C (36.1 °F) 11.9 °C (53.4 °F)/ 4.0 °C (39.2 °F) 18.9 °C (66.0 °F)/ 10.5 °C (50.9 °F) 13.6 °C (56.5 °F)/ 6.3 °C (43.3 °F)
Nanaimo 6.9 °C (44.4 °F)/ 0.1 °C (32.2 °F) 14.1 °C (57.4 °F)/ 3.9 °C (39.0 °F) 23.9 °C (75.0 °F)/ 12.3 °C (54.1 °F) 14.6 °C (58.3 °F)/ 5.2 °C (41.4 °F)
Victoria 7.6 °C (45.7 °F)/ 1.5 °C (34.7 °F) 13.6 °C (56.5 °F)/ 4.3 °C (39.7 °F) 22.4 °C (72.3 °F)/ 11.3 °C (52.3 °F) 14.2 °C (57.6 °F)/ 5.7 °C (42.3 °F)
Vancouver 6.9 °C (44.4 °F)/ 1.4 °C (34.5 °F) 13.2 °C (55.8 °F)/ 5.6 °C (42.1 °F) 22.2 °C (72.0 °F)/ 13.7 °C (56.7 °F) 13.5 °C (56.3 °F)/ 7.0 °C (44.6 °F)
Chilliwack 6.1 °C (43.0 °F)/ 0.4 °C (32.7 °F) 15.8 °C (60.4 °F)/ 5.2 °C (41.4 °F) 25.0 °C (77.0 °F)/ 12.5 °C (54.5 °F) 15.3 °C (59.5 °F)/ 6.4 °C (43.5 °F)
Penticton 1.8 °C (35.2 °F)/ −3.0 °C (26.6 °F) 15.7 °C (60.3 °F)/ 2.5 °C (36.5 °F) 28.7 °C (83.7 °F)/ 13.3 °C (55.9 °F) 14.3 °C (57.7 °F)/ 3.2 °C (37.8 °F)
Kamloops 0.4 °C (32.7 °F)/ −5.9 °C (21.4 °F) 16.6 °C (61.9 °F)/ 3.2 °C (37.8 °F) 28.9 °C (84.0 °F)/ 14.2 °C (57.6 °F) 13.7 °C (56.7 °F)/ 3.3 °C (37.9 °F)
Osoyoos 2.0 °C (35.6 °F)/ −3.8 °C (25.2 °F) 18.1 °C (64.6 °F)/ 3.6 °C (38.5 °F) 31.5 °C (88.7 °F)/ 14.3 °C (57.7 °F) 16.4 °C (61.5 °F)/ 3.5 °C (38.3 °F)
Cranbrook −1.9 °C (28.6 °F)/ −10.2 °C (13.6 °F) 12.9 °C (55.2 °F)/ 0.3 °C (32.5 °F) 26.2 °C (79.2 °F)/ 11.2 °C (52.2 °F) 11.7 °C (53.1 °F)/ −0.3 °C (31.5 °F)
Prince George −4.0 °C (24.8 °F)/ −11.7 °C (10.9 °F) 11.2 °C (52.2 °F)/ −1.1 °C (30.0 °F) 22.4 °C (72.3 °F)/ 9.1 °C (48.4 °F) 9.4 °C (48.9 °F)/ −0.5 °C (31.1 °F)
Fort Nelson −16.1 °C (3.0 °F)/ −24.6 °C (−12.3 °F) 9.6 °C (49.3 °F)/ −3.6 °C (25.5 °F) 23.2 °C (73.8 °F)/ 10.9 °C (51.6 °F) 5.2 °C (41.4 °F)/ −4.2 °C (24.4 °F)

Parks and protected areas

There are 14 designations of parks and protected areas in the province that reflect 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 of Canada, 4 National Parks and 3 National Park Reserves. 12.5% (114,000 km2 (44,000 sq mi)) of British Columbia is considered protected under one of the 14 different designations that includes over 800 distinct areas.

British Columbia contains seven of Canada's national parks and National Park Reserves:

British Columbia contains a large number of provincial parks, run by BC Parks under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment. British Columbia's provincial parks system is the second largest parks system in Canada, the largest being Canada's National Parks system).

Another tier of parks in British Columbia are regional parks, which are maintained and run by regional districts. Forest Recreation Sites are operated by the Ministry of Forests.



Much of the province is undeveloped, so populations of many mammalian species that have become rare in much of the United States still flourish in British Columbia. Watching animals of various sorts, including a very wide range of birds, has long been popular. Bears (grizzly, black - including the Kermode bear or spirit bear) live here, as do deer, elk, moose, caribou, big-horn sheep, mountain goats, marmots, beavers, muskrats, coyotes, wolves, mustelids (such as wolverines, badgers and fishers), cougars, eagles, ospreys, herons, Canada geese, swans, loons, hawks, owls, ravens, harlequin ducks, and many other sorts of ducks. Smaller birds (robins, jays, grosbeaks, chickadees, and so on) also abound.

Murrelets are known from Frederick Island, a small islands off the coast of Queen Charlotte's Islands.[24]

Many healthy populations of fish are present, including salmonids such as several species of salmon, trout, char. Besides salmon and trout, sport-fishers in BC also catch halibut, steelhead, bass, and sturgeon. On the coast, harbour seals and river otters are common. Cetacean species native to the coast include the orca, humpback whale, grey whale, harbour porpoise, Dall's Porpoise, Pacific white-sided dolphin and minke whale.

British Columbian introduced species include: common dandelion, ring-necked pheasant, Pacific oyster, brown trout, black slug, European starling, cowbird, knapweed, bullfrog, purple loosestrife, Scotch broom, Himalayan blackberry, European earwig, tent caterpillar, sowbug, grey squirrel, Asian longhorn beetle, English ivy, fallow deer, thistle, gorse, Norway rat, crested mynah, and Asian or European gypsy moth.[citation needed]

Some endangered species in British Columbia are: Vancouver Island marmot, spotted owl, American white pelican, and badgers.

Freshwater fish 24 80
Amphibians 5 19
Reptiles 6 16
Birds 34 465
Terrestrial mammals Requires new data Requires new data
Marine mammals 3 29
Plants 257 2333
Butterflies 19 187
Dragonflies 9 87

As of 2001[25]


White spruce or Engelmann spruce and their hybrids occur in 12 of the 14 biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia (Coates et al. 1994).[26] Common types of trees present in BC's forests include Western Redcedar, Yellow-cedar, Rocky Mountain juniper, Lodgepole pine, Ponderosa or yellow pine, Whitebark pine, Limber pine, Western white pine, Western larch, Tamarack, Alpine larch, White spruce, Engelmann spruce, Sitka spruce, Black spruce, Grand fir, Amabilis fir, Subalpine fir, Western hemlock, Mountain hemlock, Douglas-fir, Western yew, Pacific dogwood, Bigleaf maple, Douglas maple, Vine maple, Arbutus, Black hawthorn, Cascara, Garry oak, Pacific crab apple, Choke cherry, Pin cherry, Bitter cherry, Red alder, Mountain alder, Paper birch, Water birch, Black cottonwood, Balsam poplar, Trembling aspen.

Traditional plant foods

Plant foods traditionally contributed only a part of the total food intake of coastal First Nations peoples of British Columbia, though they contributed to most of the material good produced. Among the plant foods used, berries, some roots (for example the Camas Lily - part of the Camassia family), cambium noodles (inner bark of hemlock), and seaweeds were (and to an extent still are) important. Animal products were traditionally far more important than plant foods in terms of quantity consumed; however, the huge nutritional diversity provided by native plants of BC largely contributes to the health of First Nations peoples of British Columbia. (Before colonization, British Columbia had the densest aboriginal population of any region in what is now called Canada.)[27]


Environment Canada subdivides British Columbia into six ecozones:


First Nations (Aboriginal) history

The area now known as British Columbia is home to First Nations groups that have a deep history with a significant number of indigenous languages. There are more than 200 First Nations in BC. Prior to contact (with non-Aboriginal people), human history is known from oral histories of First Nations groups, archaeological investigations, and from early records from explorers encountering societies early in the period.

The arrival of Paleoindians from Beringia took place between 20,000 and 12,000 years ago.[28]Hunter-gatherer families were the main social structure from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago.[29] The nomadic population lived in non-permanent structures foraging for nuts, berries and edible roots while hunting and trapping larger and small game for food and furs.[29] Around 5,000 years ago individual groups started to focus on resources available to them locally. Thus with the passage of time there is a pattern of increasing regional generalization with a more sedentary lifestyle.[29] These indigenous populations evolved over the next 5,000 years across a large area into many groups with shared traditions and customs.

To the northwest of the province are the peoples of the Na-Dene languages, which include the Athapaskan-speaking peoples and the Tlingit, who lived on the islands of southern Alaska and northern British Columbia. The Na-Dene language group is believed to be linked to the Yeniseian languages of Siberia.[30] The Dene of the western Arctic may represent a distinct wave of migration from Asia to North America.[30] The Interior of British Columbia was home to the Salishan language groups such as the Shuswap (Secwepemc), Okanagan and Athabaskan language groups, primarily the Dakelh (Carrier) and the Tsilhqot'in.[31] The inlets and valleys of the British Columbia Coast sheltered large, distinctive populations, such as the Haida, Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-chah-nulth, sustained by the region's abundant salmon and shellfish.[31] These peoples developed complex cultures dependent on the western red cedar that included wooden houses, seagoing whaling and war canoes and elaborately carved potlatch items and totem poles.[31]

Contact with Europeans brought a series of devastating epidemics of diseases from Europe the people had no immunity to.[32] The result was a dramatic population collapse, culminating in the 1862 Smallpox outbreak in Victoria that spread throughout the coast. European settlement did not bode well for the remaining native population of British Columbia. Colonial officials deemed colonists could make better use of the land than the First Nations people, and thus the land territory be owned by the colonists.[33] To ensure colonists would be able to settle properly and make use of the land, natives were relocated onto reserves, which were often too small to support their way of life.[34] By the 1930s, British Columbia had over 1500 reserves.[35]

Fur trade and colonial era

The British, during the colonial period, spread across the world claiming territories and building the British Empire. Lands now known as British Columbia were added to the empire during the 19th century. Originally established under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company, colonies were established (Vancouver Island, the mainland) that were amalgamated, then entered Confederation as British Columbia in 1871 as part of the Dominion of Canada.

During the 1770s, smallpox killed at least 30% of the Pacific Northwest First Nations.[36] This devastating epidemic was the first in a series; the Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1862 killed 50% of the native population.[37]

Spanish fort San Miguel at Nootka in 1793
Kwakwaka'wakw house pole, second half of the 19th century


The explorations of James Cook in 1778 and George Vancouver in 1792-93 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 Dean Channel 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 Canadian Prairies and the Pacific. Mackenzie and other explorers - notably John Finlay, Simon Fraser, Samuel Black, and David Thompson - were primarily concerned with extending the fur trade, rather than political considerations. In 1794, by the third of a series of agreements known as the Nootka Conventions, Spain conceded its claims of exclusivity in the Pacific. This opened the way for formal claims and colonization by other powers, including Britain, but because of the Napoleonic Wars, there was little British action on its claims in the region until later.

The establishment of trading posts under the auspices of the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), effectively established a permanent British presence in the region. The Columbia District was broadly defined as being south of 54°40 north latitude, (the southern limit of Russian America), north of Mexican-controlled California, and west of the Rocky Mountains. It was, by 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.




Colony of British Columbia (1858-66)

With the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, an influx of Americans into New Caledonia prompted the colonial office to designate the mainland as the Colony of British Columbia. When news of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush reached London, Richard Clement Moody was hand-picked by the Colonial Office, under Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, to establish British order and to transform the newly established Colony of British Columbia into the British Empire's "bulwark in the farthest west"[6] and "found a second England on the shores of the Pacific".[7] Lytton desired to send to the colony "representatives of the best of British culture, not just a police force": he sought men who possessed "courtesy, high breeding and urbane knowledge of the world"[38] and he decided to send Moody, whom the Government considered to be the "English gentleman and British Officer"[39] at the head of the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment.

Moody and his family arrived in British Columbia in December 1858, commanding the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment. He was sworn in as the first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia and appointed Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works for British Columbia. On the advice of Lytton, Moody hired Robert Burnaby as his personal secretary.

In British Columbia, Moody "wanted to build a city of beauty in the wilderness" and planned his city as an iconic visual metaphor for British dominance, "styled and located with the objective of reinforcing the authority of the crown and of the robe".[40] Subsequent to the enactment of the Pre-emption Act of 1860, Moody settled the Lower Mainland. He selected the site and founded the new capital, New Westminster. He selected the site due to the strategic excellence of its position and the quality of its port.[40] He was also struck by the majestic beauty of the site, writing in his letter to Blackwood,

"The entrance to the Frazer is very striking--Extending miles to the right & left are low marsh lands (apparently of very rich qualities) & yet fr the Background of Superb Mountains-- Swiss in outline, dark in woods, grandly towering into the clouds there is a sublimity that deeply impresses you. Everything is large and magnificent, worthy of the entrance to the Queen of England's dominions on the Pacific mainland. [...] My imagination converted the silent marshes into Cuyp-like pictures of horses and cattle lazily fattening in rich meadows in a glowing sunset. [...] The water of the deep clear Frazer was of a glassy stillness, not a ripple before us, except when a fish rose to the surface or broods of wild ducks fluttered away".[41][42]

Moody designed the first Coat of arms of British Columbia.[9][10]

However, Lord Lytton "forgot the practicalities of paying for clearing and developing the site and the town" and the efforts of Moody's Engineers were continuously hampered by insufficient funds, which, together with the continuous opposition of Douglas, "made it impossible for Moody's design to be fulfilled".[43]

Moody and the Royal Engineers also built an extensive road network, including what would become Kingsway, connecting New Westminster to False Creek, the North Road between Port Moody and New Westminster, and the Cariboo Road and Stanley Park. He named Burnaby Lake after his private secretary Robert Burnaby and named Port Coquitlam's 400-foot "Mary Hill" after his wife. As part of the surveying effort, several tracts were designated "government reserves", which included Stanley Park as a military reserve (a strategic location in case of an American invasion). The Pre-emption act did not specify conditions for distributing the land, so large parcels were snapped up by speculators, including 3,750 acres (1,517 hectares) by Moody himself. For this he was criticized by local newspapermen for land grabbing. Port Moody is named after him. It was established at the end of a trail that connected New Westminster with Burrard Inlet to defend New Westminster from potential attack from the US.

By 1862, the Cariboo Gold Rush, attracting an additional 5000 miners, was underway, and Douglas hastened construction of the Great North Road (commonly known now as the Cariboo Wagon Road) up the Fraser Canyon to the prospecting region around Barkerville. By the time of this gold rush, the character of the colony was changing, as a more stable population of British colonists settled in the region, establishing businesses, opening sawmills, and engaging in fishing and agriculture. With this increased stability, objections to the colony's absentee governor and the lack of responsible government began to be vocalised, led by the influential editor of the New Westminster British Columbian and future Premier, John Robson. A series of petitions requesting an assembly were ignored by Douglas and the colonial office until Douglas was eased out of office in 1864. Finally, the colony would have both an assembly and a resident governor.

Later gold rushes

A series of gold rushes in various parts of the province followed, the largest being the Cariboo Gold Rush 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 sprang up overnight. The Vancouver Island colony was facing financial crises of its own, and pressure to merge the two eventually succeeded in 1866, when the colony of British Columbia was amalgamated with the Colony of Vancouver Island to form the Colony of British Columbia (1866-71), which was, in turn, succeeded by the present day province of British Columbia following the Canadian Confederation of 1871.

Rapid growth and development



Memorial "Last spike" in Craigellachie






In World War I, the province responded strongly to the call to assist the British Empire against its German foes in French and Belgian battlefields. About 55,570 of the 400,000 British Columbian residents, the highest per-capita rate in Canada, responded to the military needs. Horseriders from the province's Interior region and First Nations soldiers made contributions to Vimy Ridge and other battles. About 6,225 men from the province died in combat.[44]

1920s to 1940s

When the men returned from the First World War, 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 Vancouver and the rest of the province was famous for until the war. Because of pressure from veterans, prohibition was quickly relaxed so 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 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.




Coalition and the post-war boom


During the Second World War the mainstream BC Liberal and BC Conservative Parties of British Columbia united in a formal coalition government under new Liberal leader John Hart, who replaced Duff Pattullo when the latter failed to win a majority in the 1941 election. While the Liberals won the most number of seats, they actually received fewer votes than the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). Pattullo was unwilling to form a coalition with the rival Conservatives led by Royal Maitland and was replaced by Hart, who formed a coalition cabinet made up of five Liberal and three Conservative ministers.[46] The CCF was invited to join the coalition but refused.[46]


In 1947 the reins of the Coalition were taken over by Byron Ingemar Johnson. The Conservatives had wanted their new leader Herbert Anscomb to be premier, but the Liberals in the Coalition refused. Johnson led the coalition to the highest percentage of the popular vote in British Columbia history (61%) in the 1949 election. This victory was attributable to the popularity of his government's spending programmes, despite rising criticism of corruption and abuse of power. During his tenure, major infrastructures continued to expand, such as the agreement with Alcan Aluminum to build the town of Kitimat with an aluminum smelter and the large Kemano Hydro Project.[47] Johnson achieved popularity for flood relief efforts during the 1948 flooding of the Fraser Valley, which was a major blow to that region and to the province's economy.




With the election of the Social Credit Party, British Columbia embarked on a phase of rapid economic development. Bennett and his party governed the province for the next twenty years, during which time the government initiated an ambitious programme of infrastructure development, fuelled by a sustained economic boom in the forestry, mining, and energy sectors.

During these two decades, the government nationalized British Columbia Electric and the British Columbia Power Company, as well as smaller electric companies, renaming the entity BC Hydro. West Kootenay Power and Light remained independent of BC Hydro, being owned and operated by Cominco, though tied into the regional power grid. By the end of the 1960s, several major dams had been begun or completed in - among others - the Peace, Columbia, and Nechako River watersheds (the Nechako Diversion to Kemano, was to supply power to the Alcan Inc. aluminum smelter at Kitimat, and was not part of the provincial power grid but privately owned). Major transmission deals were concluded, most notably the Columbia River Treaty between Canada and the United States. The province's economy was also boosted by unprecedented growth in the forest sector, as well as oil and gas development in the province's northeast.

The 1950s and 1960s were also marked by development in the province's transportation infrastructure. In 1960, the government established BC Ferries as a crown corporation, to provide a marine extension of the provincial highway system, also supported by federal grants as being part of the Trans-Canada Highway system. That system was improved and expanded through the construction of new highways and bridges, and paving of existing highways and provincial roads.

Vancouver and Victoria became cultural centres as poets, authors, artists, musicians, as well as dancers, actors, and haute cuisine chefs flocked to the beautiful scenery and warmer temperatures, with the cultural and entrepreneurial community notably bolstered by many Draft dodgers from the United States. Similarly, these cities have either attracted or given rise to their own noteworthy academics, commentators, and creative thinkers.[citation needed] Tourism also began to play an important role in the economy. The rise of Japan and other Pacific economies was a great boost to British Columbia's economy, primarily because of massive exports of lumber products and unprocessed coal and trees.


1970s and 1980s




Also during the "MiniWac" regime (a reference to his father's acronym, WAC) certain money-losing Crown-owned assets were "privatized" in a mass giveaway of shares in the British Columbia Resources Investment Corporation, "BCRIC", with the "Brick shares" soon becoming near-worthless. Towards the end of his tenure in power, Bennett oversaw the completion of several megaprojects meant to stimulate the economy and win votes - unlike most right-wing parties, British Columbia's Social Credit actively practised government stimulation of the economy. Most notable of these was the winning of a world's fair for Vancouver, which came in the form of Expo 86, to which was tied the construction of the Coquihalla Highway and Vancouver's SkyTrain system. The Coquihalla Highway project became the subject of a scandal after revelations the premier's brother bought large tracts of land needed for the project before it was announced to the public, and also because of graft investigations of the huge cost overruns on the project. Both investigations were derailed in the media by a still further scandal, the Doman Scandal, in which the Premier and millionaire backer Herb Doman were investigated for insider-trading and securities fraud. Nonetheless, the Socreds were re-elected in 1979 under Bennett, who led the party until 1986.







In 1988, David Lam was appointed as British Columbia's twenty-fifth Lieutenant-Governor, and was the Province's first Lieutenant-Governor of Chinese origin.

1990s to present

Johnston lost the 1991 general election to the NDP, under the leadership of Mike Harcourt, a former mayor of Vancouver. The NDP's unprecedented creation of new parkland and protected areas was popular and helped boost the province's growing tourism sector. However, the economy continued to struggle against the backdrop of a weak resource economy. Housing starts and an expanded service sector saw growth overall through the decade, despite political turmoil. Harcourt ended up resigning over "Bingogate" - a political scandal involving the funnelling of charity bingo receipts into party coffers in certain ridings. Harcourt was not implicated, but he resigned nonetheless in respect of constitutional conventions calling for leaders under suspicion to step aside. Glen Clark, a former president of the BC Federation of Labour, was chosen the new leader of the NDP, which won a second term in 1996. More scandals dogged the party, most notably the Fast Ferry Scandal involving the province trying to develop the shipbuilding industry in British Columbia. An allegation (never substantiated) that the Premier had received a favour in return for granting a gaming licence led to Clark's resignation as Premier. He was succeeded on an interim basis by Dan Miller who was in turn followed by Ujjal Dosanjh following a leadership convention.

In the 2001 general election Gordon Campbell's BC Liberals defeated the NDP, gaining 77 out of 79 total seats in the provincial legislature. Campbell instituted various reforms and removed some of the NDP's policies including scrapping the "fast ferries" project, lowering income taxes, and the controversial sale of BC Rail to CN Rail. Campbell was also the subject of criticism after he was arrested for driving under the influence during a vacation in Hawaii. However, Campbell still managed to lead his party to victory in the 2005 general election, against a substantially strengthened NDP opposition. Campbell won a third term in the British Columbia general election, 2009, marking the first time in 23 years a premier has been elected to a third term.


After the Olympic joy had faded, Campbell's popularity started to fall. His management style, the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) against election promises and the cancelling of the BC Rail corruption trial lead to low approval ratings and loss of caucus support. He would resign in November 2010 and call on the party to elect a new leader.[51]

Christy Clark was Premier of British Columbia from 2011 until 2017

In early 2011, Christy Clark, former Deputy Premier, would become leader of the Liberal Party. Though she was not a sitting MLA, she would go on to win the seat left vacant by Campbell and form a government. For the next two years she would attempt to distance herself from the unpopularity of Campbell and forge an image for the upcoming election. Among her early accomplishments she raised the minimum wage, created the new holiday of Family Day and pushed the development of BC's liquified natural gas. In the 2013 election, the Liberals lagged behind the NDP with a double-digit gap in the polls, but were able to come to a surprise victory on election night with a majority, making Clark the first elected female premier in BC history.[52] While Clark lost her seat to NDP candidate David Eby, she later won a by-election in the riding of Westside-Kelowna. Her government would go on to balance the budget, implement changes to liquor laws and continue with the question of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines.

Then, in the 2017 election, the NDP would form a minority government with the support from the Green Party, with just a slight edge over the Liberal Party, 44-43 in the legislature. Then, on July 18, the leader of the BC NDP, John Horgan, would officially be sworn in as premier of British Columbia, with BC Green Party leader Andrew Weaver by his side.

John Horgan has been Premier of British Columbia since 2017


The net number of people coming to BC from other provinces has grown almost four times larger since 2012. BC was the largest net recipient of interprovincial migrants in Canada in the first quarter of 2016 with half of the 5,000 people coming from Alberta.[53]


Year Population Five year
% change
Ten year
% change
Rank among
1851 55,000 n/a n/a 6
1861 51,524 n/a −6.3 6
1871 36,247 n/a −35.3 7
1881 49,459 n/a 36.4 8
1891 98,173 n/a 98.5 8
1901 178,657 n/a 82.0 0
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 26.8 17.8 4
1951 1,165,210 21.7 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
2006 4,113,487 5.3 10.4 3
2011 4,400,057 6.9 12.6 3
2016 4,648,055 4.5 9.6 3


1991 BC % 2001 BC % 2001 Canada % BC 2001 number
Total population 100% 100% 100% 3,868,875
No religious affiliation 30.0% 35.1% 16.5% 1,388,300 includes agnostic, atheist, humanist, and no religion, and other responses, such as Darwinism, and so on
Protestant 41.9% 31.4% 29.2% 1,213,295
Eastern Orthodox 0.7% 0.9% 1.6% 35,655 includes Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox
Christian n. i. e. 2.7% 5.2% 2.6% 200,345 Includes mostly answers of "Christian", not identified elsewhere
Sikh 2.3% 3.5% 0.9% 135,310
Buddhist 1.1% 2.2% 1% 85,540
Muslim 0.8% 1.5% 2% 56,220
Hindu 0.6% 0.8% 1% 31,500
Jewish 0.5% 0.5% 1.1% 21,230
Other religions 0.4% 0.2% 16,205 includes Aboriginal spirituality, pagan, wicca, unity - new thought - pantheist, Scientology, Rastafarian, new age, gnostic, and so on



Ethnic groups and languages


Ethnic origin Population Percent
English 1,207,245 29.6%
Scottish 828,145 20.3%
Canadian 720,200 17.7%
Irish 618,120 15.2%
German 561,570 13.8%
Chinese 432,435 10.6%
French 361,215 8.9%
East Indian 232,370 5.7%
Ukrainian 197,265 4.8%
Dutch (Netherlands) 196,420 4.8%
North American Indian 193,060 4.7%
Italian 143,155 3.5%
Norwegian 129,420 3.2%
Polish 128,360 3.2%
Russian 114,105 2.8%
Welsh 104,275 2.6%
Swedish 104,025 2.6%
Filipino 94,255 2.3%
British 74,145 1.8%
American (US) 66,765 1.6%
Ethnic origin Population Percent
Métis 62,570 1.5%
Danish 56,125 1.4%
Spanish 52,640 1.3%
Korean 51,860 1.3%
Hungarian 49,870 1.2%
Austrian 46,620 1.1%
Japanese 41,585 1.0%
Portuguese 34,660 0.9%
Vietnamese 30,835 0.8%
Jewish 30,830 0.8%
Finnish 29,875 0.7%
Iranian 29,265 0.7%
Swiss 28,240 0.7%
Romanian 25,670 0.6%
Icelandic 22,110 0.5%
Greek 21,770 0.5%
Czech 21,150 0.5%
Croatian 18,815 0.5%
Punjabi 18,525 0.5%
Belgian 17,510 0.4%

Though just 1.8% refer to their origins as being "British", a majority (57.3%) of the population of British Columbia claim their ethnic origin as being from one of the three main British nations (England, Scotland or Wales). Migration was primarily from Scotland, Wales and Northern England, especially North East England - out of the 54 of Metro Vancouver's 100 most common names that are British in origin, 29 are of Scottish or Northern English origin, 9 are Welsh, and only four are native to England's south.[60][61] Another 15.2% refer to their ethnicity as "Irish", though not distinguishing between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Of the provinces, British Columbia had the highest proportion of visible minorities, representing 24.8% of its population.[62]Asians at 20.2% of the total population, are by far the largest visible minority demographic, with many of the Lower Mainland's large cities having sizeable Chinese, South Asian, Japanese, Filipino, and Korean communities.

Also present in large numbers relative to other regions of 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, Italians and Spaniards. Third-generation Europeans are generally of mixed lineage, and traditionally intermarried with other European-derived[citation needed] ethnic groups 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.


Language Number of
native speakers
Percentage of
singular responses
English 2,875,770 71.5%
Chinese 342,920 8.5%
Punjabi 158,750 4.0%
German 86,690 2.2%
French 54,745 1.4%
Tagalog (Filipino) 50,425 1.3%
Korean 46,500 1.2%
Spanish 34,075 0.9%
Persian 28,150 0.7%
Italian 27,020 0.7%
Dutch 26,355 0.7%
Vietnamese 24,560 0.7%
Hindi 23,240 0.6%
Japanese 20,040 0.5%
Russian 19,320 0.5%
Polish 17,565 0.4%
Portuguese 14,385 0.4%
Ukrainian 12,285 0.3%
Hungarian 10,670 0.3%
Croatian 8,505 0.2%
Language Number of
native speakers
Percentage of
singular responses
Arabic 8,440 0.2%
Urdu 7,025 0.2%
Danish 6,720 0.2%
Greek 6,620 0.2%
Gujarati 6,565 0.2%
Romanian 6,335 0.2%
Serbian 6,180 0.2%
Czech 6,000 0.1%
Finnish 4,770 0.1%
Athabaskan languages 3,500 0.1%
Slovak 3,490 0.1%
Norwegian 3,275 0.1%
Tamil 3,200 0.1%
Salish languages 3,190 0.1%
Ilocano 3,100 0.1%
Malay 3,100 0.1%
Bisayan languages 3,035 0.1%
Swedish 2,875 0.1%
Turkish 2,255 0.1%
Tsimshianic languages 2,125 0.1%



Vancouver Skyline

Half of all British Columbians live in the Metro Vancouver area, which includes Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, 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, with adjacent unincorporated areas (including the University Endowment Lands) represented in the regional district as the electoral area known as Greater Vancouver Electoral Area A. The metropolitan area has seventeen Indian reserves, but they are outside of the regional district's jurisdiction and are not represented in its government.


Canada 2006 Census Population % of total population
European 2,869,455 70.4%
Visible minority group
Chinese 407,225 10%
South Asian 262,290 6.4%
Black 28,315 0.7%
Filipino 88,075 2.2%
Latin American 28,965 0.7%
Southeast Asian 40,685 1%
Arab 8,635 0.2%
West Asian 29,810 0.7%
Korean 50,490 1.2%
Japanese 35,060 0.9%
Other visible minority 3,880 0.1%
Mixed visible minority 25,420 0.6%
Total visible minority population 1,008,855 24.8%
Aboriginal group
First Nations 129,575 3.2%
Métis 59,445 1.5%
Inuit 795 0%
Total Aboriginal population 196,070 4.8%
Total population 4,074,380 100%


A view of Vancouver's downtown core. Vancouver is the business capital of British Columbia.

British Columbia has a history of being a resource dominated economy, centred on the forestry industry but also with fluctuating importance in mining. Employment in the resource sector has fallen steadily as a percentage of employment, and new jobs are mostly in the construction and retail/service sectors. It now has the highest percentage of service industry jobs in the west, comprising 72% of industry (compared to 60% Western Canadian average).[68] The largest section of this employment is in finance, insurance, real estate and corporate management. Many areas outside of metropolitan areas, however, are still heavily reliant on resource extraction. With its film industry known as Hollywood North, the Vancouver region is the third-largest feature film production location in North America, after Los Angeles and New York City.[69]


British Columbia's GDP is the fourth largest in Canada at C9.99 billion in 2012. GDP per capita was ,430.[71] British Columbia's debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 15.8% in fiscal year 2019-2020.[72]

Government and politics

The British Columbia Legislature Buildings in Victoria


British Columbia has an 87-member elected Legislative Assembly, elected by the plurality voting system, though in recent years there has been significant debate about switching to a single transferable vote system. The government of the day appoints ministers for various portfolios, what are officially part of the Executive Council of British Columbia (cabinet), of whom the premier is chair.

The province is governed by the British Columbia New Democratic Party (BC NDP) under Premier-designate John Horgan. The 2017 provincial election saw the Liberal Party take 43 seats, the NDP take 41, and the British Columbia Green Party take 3. No party met the minimum of 44 seats for a majority, therefore leading to the first minority government since 1953. Following the election, the Greens entered into negotiations with both the Liberals and NDP, eventually announcing they would support the current NDP minority. Previously, the right-of-centre British Columbia Liberal Party governed the province for sixteen years between 2001 and 2017, and won the largest landslide election in British Columbia history in 2001, with 77 of 79 seats. The legislature became more evenly divided, however, between the Liberals and NDP following the 2005 (46 Liberal seats of 79) and 2009 (49 Liberal seats of 85) provincial elections. The NDP and its predecessor the CCF have been the main opposition force to right-wing parties since the 1930s and have ruled with majority governments in 1972-1975 and 1991-2001. The Green Party plays a larger role in the politics of British Columbia than Green parties do in most other jurisdictions in Canada. After a breakthrough election in 2001 (12.39%), the party's vote share declined (2005 - 9.17%, 2009 - 8.09%, 2013 - 8.13%) before increasing again to a record high of 16.84% at the 2017 election.



The meeting chamber of the provincial legislative assembly


British Columbia's political history is typified by scandal and a cast of colourful characters, beginning with various colonial-era land scandals and abuses of power by early officials (such as those that led to McGowan's War in 1858-59). Notable scandals in Social Credit years included the Robert Bonner Affair and the Fantasy Gardens scandal which forced Premier Bill Vander Zalm to resign and ended the Social Credit era. NDP scandals included Bingogate, which brought down NDP Premier Mike Harcourt, and the alleged scandal named Casinogate which drove NDP Premier Glen Clark to resign. A variety of scandals plagued the 2001-2017 Liberal government, including Premier Gordon Campbell's arrest for drunk driving in Maui and the resignation of various cabinet ministers because of conflict-of-interest allegations. A Christmas Eve[which?]raid on the Parliament Buildings in Victoria, including the Premier's Office, has resulted in charges only for ministerial aides, although key cabinet members from the time have since resigned. The case, currently in preliminary hearings in the courts and relating to the sale of BC Rail to CN Rail, may not reach trial because of the mass of evidence and various procedural problems.[citation needed] Campbell eventually resigned in late 2010 due to opposition to his government's plan to introduce a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and was replaced by Christy Clark as Premier in a 2011 BC Liberal leadership election.

British Columbia is underrepresented in the Senate of Canada, leading Premier Christy Clark to refuse to cooperate with the federal government's new reforms for senate appointments to be made based on the recommendations of a new advisory board that would use non-partisan criteria. Hours after that plan was unveiled in Ottawa on December 3, 2015, Clark issued a statement that it did "not address what's been wrong with the Senate since the beginning".[74]

The imbalance in representation in that House is apparent when considering population size. The six senators from BC constitute only one for every 775,000 people vs. one for every 75,000 in P.E.I. which has four senators. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have much smaller populations than BC, yet each has ten Senators according to a Global News summary.[75] Correcting this imbalance would require a constitutional amendment, but that is unlikely to be supported by the Atlantic Provinces.[75]

The flower of the Pacific dogwood is often associated with British Columbia.

Official symbols

The government of British Columbia has designated several official symbols:[76]

The flag of British Columbia is not protected and is in the public domain.[77] However, the coat of arms of British Columbia is protected by law; no one may "without the permission of the minister, assume, display or use the Coat of Arms of British Columbia or a design so closely resembling it as to be likely to deceive."[76]

Civil rights

British Columbia was the second Canadian jurisdiction (after Ontario) to legalize same-sex marriage.[78]

Social issues

Housing affordability

Housing affordability is of concern to British Columbians.[79]

Fentanyl crisis

In April 2016 the government of British Columbia declared a public health emergency due to overdoses on the illicit opioid Fentanyl. As of November 2016, there had been 755 cases of Fentanyl overdose.[80]




Roads and highways

Alex Fraser Bridge on Highway 91 between Richmond and Delta


A British Columbia welcome sign on the Klondike Highway



Public transit


Public transit in British Columbia consists mainly of diesel buses, although Vancouver is also serviced by a fleet of trolleybuses. Several experimental buses are being tested such as hybrid buses that have both gasoline and electric engines. Additionally, there are CNG-fueled buses being tested and used in Nanaimo and Kamloops systems.[82] British Columbia also tested a fleet of Hydrogen-fueled buses for the Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics in 2010.[83] TransLink operates SkyTrain, an automated metro system serving the cities of Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, North Surrey and Richmond. In 2009, the Canada Line SkyTrain was completed, linking Vancouver International Airport and the city of Richmond to downtown Vancouver bringing the total to three operating metro lines.

A new line to Coquitlam and Port Moody (the Evergreen Line) was completed in December 2016. There is planning for an extension of the Millennium Line through Vancouver City to the University of British Columbia. Turnstiles have been added to all existing stations in the system. In the past, SkyTrain used a proof of payment honour system. In the capital city of Victoria BC Transit and the provincial government's infrastructure ministry are working together to create a bus rapid transit from the Westshore communities to downtown Victoria.[84] In Kamloops there is a rapid transit/ bus GPS trail underway to see how bus rapid transit effects smaller cities, rather than larger (Victoria and Vancouver).


CPR train traversing the Stoney Creek Bridge

Rail development expanded greatly in the decades after the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, in 1885, and was the chief mode of long-distance surface transportation until the expansion and improvement of the provincial highways system began in the 1950s. Two major routes through the Yellowhead Pass competed with the Canadian Pacific Railway - the Grand Trunk Pacific, terminating at Prince Rupert, and the Canadian Northern Railway, terminating at Vancouver.


Amtrak runs international passenger service between Vancouver and Seattle.

The White Pass and Yukon Route runs between Alaska and the Yukon, via British Columbia.



Commercial ocean transport is of vital importance. Major ports are at Vancouver, Roberts Bank (near Tsawwassen), Prince Rupert, and Victoria.[85][86] Of these, the Port of Vancouver is the most important, being the largest in Canada and the most diversified in North America.



There are over 200 airports throughout British Columbia, the major ones being the Vancouver International Airport, the Victoria International Airport, the Kelowna International Airport, and the Abbotsford International Airport, the first three of which each served over 1,000,000 passengers in 2005. As of 2017, Vancouver International Airport is the 2nd busiest airport in the country and the second biggest International Gateway on the west coast (after Los Angeles) with an estimated 17.9 million travellers passing through in 2008.


Outdoor life

Ice sailing in Whistler




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 the more robust mountain bike, trails in more rugged and wild places have been developed for them. A 2016 poll on global biking website Pinkbike rated BC as the top destination mountain bikers would like to ride.[87] Some of the province's retired rail beds have been converted and maintained for hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. Longboarding is also a popular activity because of the hilly geography of the region.






Aerial view of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia

Public universities include:

In September 2014 there were 11,000 international students in BC public K-12 schools and about 3,000 international students in other BC K-12 schools.[89] As of 2006 there were 59 school districts. As of the same year, 44 of them offered French immersion programs. Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, established in 1995, operates French-language public schools throughout the entire province.[90]

See also


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Further reading

External links


La ĉi-suba teksto estas la originala artikolo Brita Kolumbio el la Esperanto-Vikipedio, prenita de GramTrans 2015-04-13 05:08:57. Eblaj ŝanĝoj en la originalo estos kaptitaj per regulaj ĝisdatigoj.
Brita Kolumbio
Alternativa nomo British Columbia / Colombie-Britannique
 Flago de Brita Kolumbio  Blazono de Brita Kolumbio 
Devizo: Splendor Sine Occasu (latina =: Pompo sen reduktiĝo)
Mapo de Kanado kun Brita Kolumbio ruĝa
Oficialaj lingvoj neniu difinita leĝe, angla uziĝas kvazaŭ oficiala
Floro Pacifika kornuso
Arbo Giganta tujo
Birdo Garolo de Steller
Ĉefurbo Viktorio
Plej granda urbo Vankuvero
Leŭtenanta Guberniestro Judith Guichon
Ĉefministro Christy Clark (Liberala)
Reprezentiĝo en la Parlamento
 - Deputitoj
 - Senatanoj

 - Tero
 - Akvo  (% de tuto) 
5-a rango
944.735 km²
925.186 km²
19.549 km² (2,1{%)
 - Tuto (2006)
 - Loĝdenso
3-a rango
4,34 po km²
MEP (2005)
 - Tuto
 - Popersone

$168.011 miliardoj (4-a)
$39.490 (7-a)
Aliĝo al Konfederacio 20-a de julio 1871 (7-a)
Tempozono UTC−8 k −7
 - Poŝta
 - ISO 3166-2
 - Poŝtkoda(j) prefikso(j)

Ĉiu rangigo inkluzivas la teritoriojn
v  d  r
Information icon.svg

La kanada provinco Brita Kolumbio (angle British Columbia [ˈbrɪt.ɪʃ kəˈlʌə], france Colombie Britannique [kɔ.lɔ̃.bi bʁi.ta.nik]) situas inter la Rok-Montaro kaj Alberto oriente kaj la Pacifiko kaj Alasko okcidente. Norde estas Jukonio, kaj sude Usono (Vaŝingtonio, Idaho, kaj Montano). Ĝi estas la plej okcidenta el la dek kanadaj provincoj.

La brita Reĝino Viktorino nomis la provincon. Antaŭ ol Brita Kolumbio aliĝis al la Kanada Konfederiĝo (la 20-an de julio, 1871) ĝi estis sendependa brita kolonio formita en 1867 per la kunigo de la du kolonioj de Vankuvera Insulo (ĉef-urbo: Viktorio) kaj Brita Kolumbio (ĉef-urbo: Nov-Vestminstro).

Plej grandaj komunumoj de BK (StatsCan)
Komunumo (inkluzive tiujn en aglomeraĵoj) 2001 1996
Vankuvero 1,986,965 1,831,665
Viktorio 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
Plej grandaj municipoj de BK laŭ nombro de loĝantoj
Municipo 2001 1996
Vankuvero 545,671 514,008
Surrey 347,825 304,477
Burnaby 193,954 179,209
Richmond 164,345 148,867
Abbotsford 115,463 104,403
Coquitlam 112,890 101,820
Saanich 103,654 101,388
Delta 96,950 95,411
Kelowna 96,288 89,422
Langley (distrikto) 86,896 80,179


En 1774, Juan Pérez komercis kun la indianoj en la Insuloj de Reĝino Charlotte (Hodiaŭ oficiale Haida Gwaii), kaj pretendis la landon por Hispanio. En 1778, James Cook atingis la landon, kaj pretendis la landon por Britio, sed la hispanoj havis fortikaĵon ĉe Nutka Fjordo ĉe Vankuvera Insulo de 1789 ĝis 1795. Inter 1805 kaj 1808, Simon Fraser esploris la teritorion. Fraser kaj David THOMPSON fondis fortikaĵojn. En 1846, laŭ la Traktato de Oregono, Britio ekposedis la terenon norde de la 49a paralelo, kaj la tuton de Vankuvera Insulo.

Je la 7a novembro, 1885, la fervojo (Canadian Pacific) inter Brita Kolumbio kaj la orientaj provincoj kompletiĝis, kaj Kanado etendis 5.514 km de la Atlantiko ĝis la Pacifiko.

Lingvaj malplimultoj

Estas 53.040 homoj en Brita Kolumbio, kiuj parolas la francan kiel gepatra lingvo.

Eminentuloj de Brita Kolumbio

En Brita Kolumbio mortis George W. Bullen en 1912.

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