British Columbia of British Columbia, and Victoria became the united colony's capital. In 1871, British Columbia became the sixth province of Canada. Its Latin motto is "Splendor sine occasu" ("Splendour without Diminishment"). The capital of British Columbia remains Victoria, the fifteenth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for Queen Victoria who ruled during the creation of the original colonies. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, and the second-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). The
Premier of British Columbia Premier of British Columbia The premier of British Columbia is the first minister, head of government, and "de facto" chief executive for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s the title "prime minister of British Columbia" was often used. The word "premier" is derived from the French word of the same spelling, meaning "first"; and ultimately from the Latin word "primarius", meaning "primary". Although the premier is the day-to-day leader of the provincial government, they receive the authority to govern from the Crown (represented in British Columbia by the province's lieutenant governor). Formally, in fact, the executive