British Columbia

British Columbia
Colombie-Britannique (French)[1][2][3]
Province
Flag of British Columbia
Flag
Coat of arms of British Columbia
Coat of arms
Motto: 
Splendor sine occasu (Latin for 'splendour without diminishment')
Coordinates: 54°N 125°W / 54°N 125°W / 54; -125[4]
CountryCanada
Before confederationUnited Colony of British Columbia
ConfederationJuly 20, 1871 (7th)
CapitalVictoria
Largest cityVancouver
Largest metroGreater Vancouver
Government
 • TypeParliamentary constitutional monarchy
 • Lieutenant governorJanet Austin
 • PremierDavid Eby
LegislatureLegislative Assembly of British Columbia
Federal representationParliament of Canada
House seats42 of 338 (12.4%)
Senate seats6 of 105 (5.7%)
Area
 • Total
944,735 km2 (364,764 sq mi)
 • Land925,186 km2 (357,216 sq mi)
 • Water19,548.9 km2 (7,547.9 sq mi)  2.1%
 • Rank5th
 9.5% of Canada
Population
 (2021)
 • Total
5,000,879[5]
 • Estimate 
(Q3 2024)
5,698,430[6]
 • Rank3rd
 • Density5.41/km2 (14.0/sq mi)
DemonymBritish Columbian[a]
Official languagesEnglish (de facto)
GDP
 • Rank4th
 • Total (2015)CA$249.981 billion[7]
 • Per capitaCA$53,267 (8th)
HDI
 • HDI (2021)0.944[8] — Very high (2nd)
Time zones
Most of province[b]UTC−08:00 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−07:00 (Pacific DST)
SoutheasternUTC−07:00 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (Mountain DST)
EasternUTC−07:00 (Mountain [no DST])
Canadian postal abbr.
BC
Postal code prefix
V
ISO 3166 codeCA-BC
FlowerPacific dogwood
TreeWestern red cedar
BirdSteller's jay
Rankings include all provinces and territories

British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains.[9] British Columbia borders the province of Alberta to the east; the territories of Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north; the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho and Montana to the south, and Alaska to the northwest. With an estimated population of over 5.6 million as of 2024, it is Canada's third-most populous province. The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, while the province's largest city is Vancouver. Vancouver and its suburbs together make up the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, with the 2021 census recording 2.6 million people in Metro Vancouver.[10] British Columbia is Canada's third-largest province in terms of total area, after Quebec and Ontario.[11]

The first known human inhabitants of the area settled in British Columbia at least 10,000 years ago. Such groups include the Coast Salish, Tsilhqotʼin, and Haida peoples, among many others. One of the earliest British settlements in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, which gave rise to the city of Victoria, the capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island. The Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) was subsequently founded by Richard Clement Moody,[12] and by the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Moody selected the site for and founded the mainland colony's capital New Westminster.[13][14][15] The colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were incorporated in 1866, subsequent to which Victoria became the united colony's capital. In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as the sixth province of Canada, in enactment of the British Columbia Terms of Union.

British Columbia is a diverse and cosmopolitan province, drawing on a plethora of cultural influences from its British Canadian, European, and Asian diasporas, as well as the Indigenous population. Though the province's ethnic majority originates from the British Isles, many British Columbians also trace their ancestors to continental Europe, East Asia, and South Asia.[16] Indigenous Canadians constitute about 6 percent of the province's total population.[17] Christianity is the largest religion in the region, though the majority of the population is non-religious.[18][19] English is the common language of the province, although Punjabi, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese also have a large presence in the Metro Vancouver region. The Franco-Columbian community is an officially recognized linguistic minority, and around one percent of British Columbians claim French as their mother tongue.[20] British Columbia is home to at least 34 distinct Indigenous languages.[21]

Major sectors of British Columbia's economy include forestry, mining, filmmaking and video production, tourism, real estate, construction, wholesale, and retail. Its main exports include lumber and timber, pulp and paper products, copper, coal, and natural gas.[22] British Columbia exhibits high property values and is a significant centre for maritime trade:[23] the Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the most diversified port in North America.[24] Although less than 5 percent of the province's territory is arable land, significant agriculture exists in the Fraser Valley and Okanagan due to the warmer climate.[25] British Columbia is home to 45% of all publicly listed companies in Canada.[26]

  1. ^ "Place names – British Columbia / Colombie-Britannique". www4.rncan.gc.ca. Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "BC Geographical Names". apps.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "Ministère de la Justice – Province de la Colombie-Britannique – Texte no 4". www.justice.gc.ca. Department of Justice, Government of Canada. November 3, 1999. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  4. ^ "British Columbia". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  5. ^ "Data table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – British Columbia [Province]". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Population estimates, quarterly". Statistics Canada. October 3, 2024. Archived from the original on October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory (2015)". Statistics Canada. November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  8. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Global Data Lab". globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  9. ^ "WelcomeBC / Geography of BC - WelcomeBC". Welcomebc.ca. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  10. ^ "Data table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Vancouver [Census metropolitan area], British Columbia". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  11. ^ "Table 15.7 Land and freshwater area, by province and territory". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Moody, Richard Clement (1887), "Obituary", Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, vol. 90, pp. 453–455, retrieved October 30, 2022
  13. ^ Mallandaine, Edward (1887). The British Columbia Directory, containing a General Directory of Business Men and Householders…. E. Mallandaine and R. T. Williams, Broad Street, Victoria, British Columbia. p. 215 in New Westminster District Directory.
  14. ^ Tatham, David. "Moody, Richard Clement". Dictionary of Falklands Biography. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  15. ^ Vetch (1894), p. 332
  16. ^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census - British Columbia [Province] and Canada [Country]". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  17. ^ "Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts". Statistics Canada. September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  18. ^ "Religious affiliation of Canadian residents of British Columbia 2011". Statista. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  19. ^ "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023.
  20. ^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census - British Columbia [Province] and Canada [Country]". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  21. ^ "Minister's statement on National Indigenous Languages Day | BC Gov News" (Press release). Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. March 28, 2019. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  22. ^ "British Columbia". OEC. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  23. ^ Robinson, J. Lewis (November 18, 2010). "British Columbia". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  24. ^ "Cargo and terminals". Port of Vancouver. March 18, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  25. ^ "Ministry of Agriculture". Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  26. ^ Bennett, Nelson (July 21, 2022). "B.C.'s capital market hit record high in 2021". Business in Vancouver.


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