Gibsons

Gibsons
Town of Gibsons[1]
Gibsons Harbour
Gibsons Harbour
Gibsons is located in British Columbia
Gibsons
Gibsons
Location of Gibsons in British Columbia
Coordinates: 49°24′4″N 123°30′27″W / 49.40111°N 123.50750°W / 49.40111; -123.50750
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
RegionSunshine Coast
Regional districtSunshine Coast
Founded1886
Incorporated1929
Government
 • Governing bodyGibsons Town Council
 • MayorSilas White
Area
 • Total
4.32 km2 (1.67 sq mi)
Elevation
10 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total
4,758
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-8 (PST)
Postal code
V0N 1V0 & V0N 3V0
Area code(s)604, 778
Gibsons Way / Highway 101101
WaterwaysHowe Sound
Websitewww.gibsons.ca Edit this at Wikidata

Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,758 in southwestern British Columbia, Canada on the Sunshine Coast, where the southwest bank of Howe Sound meets the Strait of Georgia.

During its early history as a European-descended settlement, the town was a local centre for forestry and commercial fishing. However, changing economics and resource availability have led Gibsons to increasingly become a bedroom community to workers in Greater Vancouver (especially remote or hybrid workers).[2] Due to its location in the Pacific Coastal Rainforest, adjacent the Salish Sea and the Coast Mountains, and its position as gateway to the rest of the Sunshine Coast, Gibsons is a regional tourist destination.[3]

In 2009, the International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom) named Gibsons the most liveable community in the world with a population under 20,000.[4]

Gibsons is perhaps best known in Canada as the setting of the popular and long-running CBC Television series The Beachcombers, which aired from 1972 to 1990. The storefront "Molly's Reach" (a former cafe now up for lease as of 2023), the restored tug Persephone, and a display about the series at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives are popular attractions. Other films that have used Gibsons as a location include Charlie St. Cloud (2010), starring Kim Basinger and Zac Efron (as a stand-in for Marblehead, Massachusetts); and Needful Things (1993), starring Max von Sydow and Ed Harris.[5]

Gibsons, like the remainder of the Sunshine Coast, is inaccessible by road directly from the rest of the lower mainland, and is primarily accessed by a BC Ferries ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.[6]

  1. ^ "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. ^ "Town of Gibsons Strategic Plan 2019 – 2022 – DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION" (PDF). gibsons.ca/. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Gibsons - Ch'ḵw'elhp". www.sunshinecoastcanada.com. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Gibsons, B.C., named world's most liveable community". www.ctv.ca. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  5. ^ "IMDb: Most Popular Titles With Location Matching "Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada"". IMDb. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  6. ^ "About – Salt & Soul of the Sunshine Coast". www.bigpacific.com. Retrieved 15 June 2018.