British Columbia British Columbia British Columbia (BC; ) is the westernmost province of Canada, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. With an estimated population of 4.817 million , it is Canada's third-most populous province. 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 (1858–1866) was founded by Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Moody was Chief
Province of Canada British colony of Upper Canada, while the southern portion of modern-day Quebec belonged to Lower Canada (along with Labrador until 1809, when Labrador was transferred to the colony of Newfoundland), which was also a British colony. Upper Canada was primarily English-speaking, whereas Lower Canada was primarily French-speaking. The Province of Canada was divided into two parts: Canada East and Canada West. Canada East was what became of the former colony of Lower Canada after being united into the Province of Canada. It became the province of Quebec after Confederation. Canada West was what became of the former colony of Upper