Tsawwassen

This article is about the suburban community in the municipality of Delta, British Columbia, Canada. For other uses, see Tsawwassen (disambiguation).
Tsawwassen
Neighbourhood
Tsawwassen Mills Outlet
Tsawwassen Mills Outlet
Map
Coordinates: 49°01′N 123°05′W / 49.017°N 123.083°W / 49.017; -123.083 (Tsawwassen)[1]
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
Regional districtMetro Vancouver
CityDelta
Area
[2]
 • Total
12.91 km2 (4.98 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[2][3]
 • Total
21,588
 • Density1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi)
Websitewww.delta.ca

Tsawwassen (English: /təˈwɑːsən/ ⓘ tə-WAH-sən) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsula, the community of Point Roberts, Washington, via 56th Street. It is also the location of Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, part of the BC Ferries, built in 1959 to provide foot-passenger and motor vehicle access from the Lower Mainland to the southern part of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands. Because Tsawwassen touches a shallow bank (Roberts Bank), the ferry terminal is built at the southwestern end of a 3 km (1.9 mi) causeway (part of Highway 17) that juts into the Strait of Georgia. Boundary Bay Airport, a major training hub for local and international pilots[4] which also provides local airplane and helicopter service, is ten minutes away. The Roberts Bank Superport is also nearby.

To the northwest of the community are the lands of Tsawwassen First Nation ("TFN"), a people of Coast Salish ancestry who have used this land since at least 200 B.C. Having been "stripped of their lands, rights and resources"[5] by European colonizers throughout the 19th century, and in accordance with a 2009 treaty with British Columbia, their territory now consists of approximately 724 ha (1,790 acres) of treaty settlement land,[6] bounded by the Strait of Georgia on the west, the 2600 block to the north, the 4800 block to the east, and the 1200 block to the south. While also part of TFN lands, the 92-lot residential subdivision of Stahaken was leased for use by the (then) Tsawwassen Indian Reserve to Staheken Developments Ltd. in 1989 for a 99-year term. It was then developed in a partnership between Stahaken Development Ltd. and the Municipality of Delta. As such it is commonly thought of and serviced in the same manner as other subdivisions in the community of Tsawwassen. Stahaken residents are represented by the Stahaken Homeowners Association.[7]

  1. ^ "Tsawwassen". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
  2. ^ a b Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-02-08). "Census Profile, 2016 Census – Tsawwassen [Population centre], British Columbia and British Columbia [Province]". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  3. ^ Statistics Canada (8 February 2017). "Census Profile, 2016 Census Tsawwassen [Population centre], British Columbia and British Columbia [Province]". Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Boundary Bay Regional Airport – About Us". Archived from the original on 2014-12-26. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  5. ^ "TFN History and Timeline | Tsawwassen First Nation". tsawwassenfirstnation.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  6. ^ "Tsawwassen Final Agreement: Tsawwassen Lands". www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca. Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Communications Branch. Archived from the original on 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  7. ^ "Stahaken Services and Property Taxes" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2014-12-03.