British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada. Situated 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. British Columbia borders the province of Alberta to the east, the territories of Yukon and the Northwest Territories to the north, and the US states of Washington, Idaho and Montana to the south and Alaska to the northwest. With an estimated population of over 5.5 million as of 2023, 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.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna. Established in 1908, it is the oldest university in British Columbia. With an annual research budget of $759 million, UBC funds over 8,000 projects a year.
Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surrey is the province's second-largest by population after Vancouver and the third-largest by area after Abbotsford and Prince George. Seven neighbourhoods in Surrey are designated town centres: Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey, and City Centre encompassed by Whalley.
The British Columbia Institute of Technology, is a public polytechnic institute in Burnaby, British Columbia. The technical institute has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with its main campus in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. There is also the Aerospace Technology Campus in Richmond, the Marine Campus in the City of North Vancouver, Downtown campus in Vancouver, and Annacis Island Campus in Delta. It is provincially chartered through legislation in the College and Institute Act. The school operates as a vocational and technical school, offering apprenticeships for the skilled trades and diplomas and degrees in vocational education for skilled technicians and workers in professions such as engineering, accountancy, business administration, broadcast/media communications, digital arts, nursing, computing, medicine, architecture, and law.
Douglas College is the largest public degree-granting college institution in British Columbia, Canada. Close to 17,000 credit students, 8,500 continuing education students and 4,210 international students are enrolled here. Douglas College offers bachelor's degrees and general university arts and science courses, as well as career programs in health care, human services, business and the creative arts.
Vancouver Island University is a Canadian public university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College began in 1969 and it has grown into a university which plays an important role in the educational, cultural, and economic life of the region. The main campus is located in Nanaimo; there are regional campuses in Duncan and Powell River as well as a centre in Parksville.
University Canada West (UCW) is a private, for-profit university in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 2005 by David F. Strong, the former president of the University of Victoria. UCW was purchased in 2008 by the Eminata Group and in 2014 sold to Global University Systems, its present owners. Based in downtown Vancouver, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs in business and management.
Langara College is a public degree-granting college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which serves approximately 6,500 students annually through its university, career, and continuing studies programs. At 37% in 2022-23, Langara has the highest percentage of international students of any public BC college, rising from 33% in 2021-2022. On-campus student housing availability sits at 0%. The college takes its name from the neighbourhood in which it is situated, which was named after Spanish Admiral Juan de Lángara.
Vancouver Community College (VCC) is a public community college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1965, it is the oldest community college in British Columbia, offering 91 certificate programs, 31 diploma programs, and 3 bachelor's degree programs. VCC has two campuses: Broadway and Downtown.
Vancouver Career College is a private for-profit post-secondary career college with seven campuses in British Columbia, Canada. It specializes in training students for careers in health care, business, legal administration, education and various trades. Established in 1996, the college is owned by the Eminata Group via Vancouver Career College (Burnaby) Inc. which does business as three different career colleges: Vancouver Career College, CDI College, and Vancouver College of Art and Design.
Sprott Shaw College is a private Canadian college, headquartered in British Columbia. Sprott Shaw offers programs in areas such as Healthcare and Nursing, Business, Administration, Trades, Design, Human and Social Services, and Early Childhood Education.
Corpus Christi College (CCC) is a college affiliated with and situated on the campus of University of British Columbia (UBC). The college offers classes in arts, business, and science in small class sizes with close student-faculty interaction.
Higher education in British Columbia is delivered by 25 publicly funded institutions that are composed of eleven universities, eleven colleges, and three institutes. This is in addition to three private universities, five private colleges, and six theological colleges. There are also an extensive number of private career institutes and colleges. Over 297,000 students were enrolled in post-secondary institutions in British Columbia in the 2019-2020 academic year.
The Eminata Group is a for-profit provider of post-secondary education in Canada. The corporation, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, owns and manages a number of for-profit colleges in Canada, including Vancouver Career College, and CDI College and Campus Support parent company.
Naomi Yamamoto is a Canadian politician who was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election. She was elected as a member of the BC Liberal Party in the riding of North Vancouver-Lonsdale. Yamamoto's party formed a majority government in the 39th Parliament and Premier Gordon Campbell included her in his cabinet, between June 2009 and October 2010, as Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations, and then as Minister of State for Building Code Renewal between October 2010 and March 2011. Following the 2011 BC Liberal leadership election, in which Yamamoto endorsed George Abbott, the new Premier, Christy Clark, promoted Yamamoto to Minister of Advanced Education.
Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, commonly referred to as Vancity, is a member-owned financial co-operative headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. By asset size, Vancity is the largest community credit union in Canada as of 2019, with CA$28.2 billion in assets plus assets under administration, 60 branches and more than 543,000 members.
New Image College is a PTIB-accredited private academy for film acting, makeup artistry, aesthetics, hairdressing, and nail design located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. New Image College consists of two locations: their main student campus is located at Granville and Nelson and their corporate offices at Granville and Pender.
Brighton College Canadian career college with two campus locations in Burnaby, British Columbia, Crystal Mall Campus and Metropointe Campus. Accredited by PTIB and BC EQA, the college specializes in career training in business, AutoCAD, engineering, construction, information technology, international trade, accounting, office administration and hospitality.
Kathy Kinloch is a Canadian executive who was president of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) from 2014 to 2022 and has received awards for being one of the most influential women in the province's business sector. In 2016, Kathy was named a Woman of Distinction by the YWCA Metro Vancouver and one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women awarded by WXN, the Women's Executive Network. She was also recognized in 2015 by BC Business as one of the 50 most influential women in British Columbia; by Vancouver Magazine on the top 50 Power list.
