The BC Film Commission at Creative BC, is an agency established by the provincial government that promotes film and television in British Columbia including Metro Vancouver. Creative BC integrates the growth and development efforts of the province's creative industries including Motion Picture, Music and Sound Recording, Interactive and Digital Media, and Book and Magazine Publishing. [1]
The BC Film Commission fell under the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. [2] It was founded in 1978 by then-Minister of Tourism Grace McCarthy and film consultant (later commissioner, and producer) Justis Greene, launching with the 1979 film Prophecy . [3]
They operated under a budget of $948,000 for 2010-11. The BC Film Commission and BC Film and Media were merged in April 2013 to become Creative BC. The services of both legacy organizations are offered by Creative BC. www.creativebc.com [4] The BC Film Commission oversees eight regional commissions including Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism, Columbia Shuswap Film Commission, the Greater Victoria Film Commission, Kootenay Film Commission, Northern B.C. Tourism, Okanagan Film Commission, Thompson-Nicola Film Commission and the Vancouver Island North Film Commission. [5] [6] The BC Film Commission was involved in promoting the nickname Hollywood North for Vancouver. [7]
British Columbia 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. 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. British Columbia is Canada's third-largest province in terms of total area, after Quebec and Ontario.
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Metro Vancouver area had a population of 2.6 million in 2021, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Greater Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley, comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3 million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,700 inhabitants per square kilometre (15,000/sq mi), and the fourth highest in North America.
Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island, between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adjacent Sea Island and several other smaller islands and uninhabited islets to its north and south, the suburb neighbours Vancouver and Burnaby on the Burrard Peninsula to the north, New Westminster and Annacis Island to the east, Delta to the south, and the Strait of Georgia to the west.
Surrey (/ˈsɝɹi/) 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.
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard Inlet with its Indian Arm to the north, Port Moody and Coquitlam to the east, New Westminster and Surrey across the Fraser River to the southeast, and Richmond on Lulu Island to the southwest. It has a population of 249,125 as of the 2021 census.
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 regional districts in British Columbia. The organization was known as the Regional District of Fraser–Burrard for nearly one year upon incorporating in 1967, and as the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) from 1968 to 2017.
Telefilm Canada is a Canadian Crown corporation that supports Canada's audiovisual industry. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm Canada provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The primary mandate of the corporation is to finance and promote Canadian productions through its various funds and programs.
Hollywood North is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and/or film locations north of its namesake, Hollywood, California. The term has been applied principally to the film industry in Canada, specifically to the cities Toronto and Vancouver.
Hope is a district municipality at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon. To the east, over the Cascade Mountains, is the Interior region, beginning with the Similkameen Country on the farther side of the Allison Pass in Manning Park. Located 154 kilometres (96 mi) east of Vancouver, Hope is at the southern terminus of the Coquihalla Highway and the western terminus of the Crowsnest Highway, locally known as the Hope-Princeton, where they merge with the Trans-Canada Highway. Hope is at the eastern terminus of Highway 7. As it lies at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley in the windward Cascade foothills, the town gets very high amounts of rain and cloud cover – particularly throughout the autumn and winter.
Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" describes an area that is roughly coterminous with the region governed by the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), though it predates the 1966 creation of the regional district. It is often used to include areas beyond the boundaries of the regional district but does not generally include wilderness and agricultural areas that are included within the MVRD.
Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshine Coast. The university is named after Chief Joe Capilano, leader of the Squamish people from 1895 to 1910.
Suzanne Anton, is a Canadian politician and the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of British Columbia. Elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election, Anton represented the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview as a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party, following a career at the municipal level. She was appointed British Columbia's Attorney General and Minister of Justice on June 10, 2013.
Vancouver's economy is one of the most vibrant in Canada. The British Columbian city is Canada's official gateway to the Pacific Rim, a major port, and the main western terminus of transcontinental highway and rail routes. Vancouver has successfully transitioned from a predominantly resource-based economy to a diverse knowledge-based one, and in recent years has been the fastest growing economy in Canada. According to the Conference Board of Canada, in 2017 Vancouver's GDP was CA$137 billion, with a GDP growth rate of 4.5%, meaning that Vancouver represents approximately 7.5% of Canada's overall economy. Major economic sectors include trade, film and TV, technology, tourism, natural resources, and construction.
Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in the District Municipality of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With a maximum elevation of over 1,200m (4,100ft) at its peak, the mountain is the site of an alpine ski area, Grouse Mountain Resort, which overlooks Metro Vancouver and has four chairlifts servicing 33 runs. In the summer, Grouse Mountain Resort features lumberjack shows, the "Birds in Motion" birds of prey demonstration, a chairlift ride, disc golf, mountain biking, zip lining, tandem paragliding, helicopter tours, and guided ecowalks. Year-round operations include a 100-seat mountaintop theatre and a wildlife refuge. The mountain operates two cable cars, known officially as the Skyride. The Blue Skyride is used mainly for freight transportation, while public access to the mountain top is provided by the Swiss-built Garaventa Red Skyride, which has a maximum capacity of 101 passengers. Summer access is also provided by the 2.9 kilometre Grouse Grind hiking trail, which is open for hiking from May to October. Similar to the nearby Capilano Suspension bridge, Grouse Mountain can be accessed via a free, regular shuttle bus that runs from 'Canada Place' in downtown Vancouver.
The Ancient Forest Alliance is a grassroots environmental organization in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in January 2010, and is dedicated to protecting British Columbia's old-growth forests in areas where they are scarce, and ensuring sustainable forestry jobs in that province.
There are many nicknames for the city of Vancouver, the largest city in British Columbia and third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Some reflect the city's history, climate, geography, economy, and demographics. Others have their origins in cultural aspects of the city and its inhabitants.
The SkyTrain rapid transit system in Greater Vancouver, Canada, was conceived as a legacy project of Expo 86 and was finished in time to showcase the fair's theme: "Transportation and Communication: World in Motion – World in Touch". Construction was funded by the provincial and federal governments. Vancouver had plans as early as the 1950s to build a monorail system, with modernist architect Wells Coates pencilled in to design it; that project was abandoned. The lack of a rapid transit system was said to be the cause of traffic problems in the 1970s, and the municipal government could not fund the construction of such a system. During the same period, Urban Transportation Development Corporation, then an Ontario crown corporation, was developing a new rapid transit technology known as an "Intermediate Capacity Transit System". In 1980, the need for rapid transit was great, and Ontario needed buyers for its new technology. "Advanced Rapid Transit" was selected to be built in Vancouver to showcase the Ontario project at Expo 86.
Homelessness is a social crisis that has been rapidly accelerating in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia, over the last decade. According to the United Nations, homelessness can either be relative or absolute. Absolute homelessness describes people living in absence of proper physical shelter. Relative homelessness describes people living in poor conditions of health or security, including an absence of both personal safety and steady income despite having physical shelter to reside in. As of 2023, roughly 2,422 people in Vancouver are subject to one of these types of homelessness, or are transitioning between them.
Vancouver's LGBT community is centered on Davie Village. Commercial Drive has historically acted as a gayborhood for the Vancouver lesbian community. Historically, LGBT people have also gathered in the Chinatown and Gastown neighborhoods. Former establishments include Dino's Turkish Baths, a gay bathhouse on Hastings, and the city's first drag bar, BJ's, on Pender Street.
British Columbia (B.C.) is the third largest Canadian province by population and fourth largest provincial economy. Like other provinces in the Canadian federation, B.C. consists of both private and public institutions. However, as Canada's westernmost province, located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, B.C. has unique economic characteristics that distinguish it from much of the rest of Canada.