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
Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) for those negotiations, in which Canada eventually agreed to shoulder the colonies' massive debt and join the territory to a transcontinental railroad, to be finalised. His efforts led to the admission of British Columbia as the sixth province of Canada on 20 July 1871. 1866 to 1869 14 members were appointed by the governor and 9 were elected by the public. 1869 to 1872 13 members appointed by the Governor, 8 elected by the public. In 1869 Supreme Courts were established on the mainland ("The Supreme Court of the Mainland of British Columbia") and on Vancouver Island ("Supreme Court of