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
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Port Coquitlam’s "Mary Hill" after his wife Mary. Port Moody is named after him. This colony of British Columbia was amalgamated with the Colony of Vancouver Island to form the Colony of British Columbia (1866–71), which was succeeded by the present-day province of British Columbia following the Canadian Confederation of 1871, when the present office of Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia came into being. Since 1871, 28 lieutenant governors have served the province, amongst whom were notable firsts, such as David Lam—the first Asian-Canadian lieutenant governor in Canada—and Iona Campagnolo—the first female Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. The shortest mandate