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
British Columbia Columbia's GDP is the fourth largest in Canada at C$219.99 billion in 2012. GDP per capita was $45,430. British Columbia's debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 15.8% in fiscal year 2019–2020. The Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, Janet Austin, is the Queen of Canada's representative in the Province of British Columbia. During the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor, the Governor General in Council may appoint an administrator to execute the duties of the office. In practice, this is usually the Chief Justice of British Columbia. British Columbia has an 87-member elected Legislative Assembly, elected by the plurality voting system, though in recent