List of cities in British Columbia

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Map of British Columbia with its notable cities Bcmap.png
Map of British Columbia with its notable cities

A city is a classification of municipalities used in the Canadian province of British Columbia. British Columbia's Lieutenant Governor in Council may incorporate a community as a city by letters patent, under the recommendation of the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development, if its population is greater than 5,000 and the outcome of a vote involving affected residents was that greater than 50% voted in favour of the proposed incorporation. [1]

Contents

British Columbia has 52 cities [2] [3] [4] that had a cumulative population of 3,327,824 and an average population of 63,997 in the 2016 census. [5] British Columbia's largest and smallest cities are Vancouver and Greenwood with populations of 631,486 and 665 respectively. [5] The largest city by land area is Abbotsford, which spans 375.55 km2 (145.00 sq mi), while the smallest is Duncan, at 2.07 km2 (0.80 sq mi). [5]

The first community to incorporate as a city was New Westminster on July 16, 1860, [2] while the province's newest city is Mission, which was redesignated from a district municipality to a city on March 29, 2021. [6]

List

Name Corporate name [2] Regional district [2] Incorporation date [2] Population (2021) [7] Population (2016) [5] Change (%) [5] Area (km2) [5] Population density [5]
Duncan Duncan, The Corporation of the City of Cowichan Valley March 4, 19125,0474,9442.12.062444.5
Enderby Enderby, The Corporation of the City ofNorth OkanaganMarch 1, 19053,0282,9642.24.26710.4
Fernie Fernie, The Corporation of the City ofEast KootenayJuly 28, 19046,3205,24917.115.11418.3
Fort St. John Fort St. John, City ofPeace RiverDecember 31, 194721,46520,1555.932.67656.9
Grand Forks Grand Forks, The Corporation of the City of Kootenay Boundary April 15, 18974,1124,0491.610.37396.4
Greenwood Greenwood, The Corporation of the City ofKootenay BoundaryJuly 12, 18977026655.62.42290.2
Kamloops Kamloops, City of Thompson-Nicola October 17, 196797,90290,2808.4297.93328.6
Kelowna Kelowna, City of Central Okanagan May 4, 1905144,576127,38013.5211.85682.4
Kimberley Kimberley, City ofEast KootenayMarch 29, 19448,1157,4259.360.51134.1
Langford Langford, City ofCapitalDecember 8, 199246,58435,34231.841.431124.4
Langley Langley, City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverMarch 15, 195528,96325,88811.910.182845.2
Maple Ridge Maple Ridge, City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverSeptember 12, 2014 [8] 90,99082,25610.6267.82339.7
Merritt Merritt, City ofThompson-NicolaApril 1, 19117,0517,139-1.226.04270.7
Mission Mission, City ofFraser ValleyMarch 29, 2021 [6] 41,51938,8337.7226.98182.9
Nanaimo Nanaimo, City of Nanaimo December 24, 187499,86390,50410.390.451104.1
Nelson Nelson, The Corporation of the City ofCentral KootenayMarch 18, 189711,10610,5725.111.93930.6
New Westminster New Westminster, The Corporation of the City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverJuly 16, 186078,91670,99611.215.625052.4
North Vancouver North Vancouver, The Corporation of the City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverAugust 10, 189158,12052,8989.911.834913.0
Parksville Parksville, City ofNanaimoJune 19, 194513,64212,5149.514.52939.5
Penticton Penticton, The Corporation of the City of Okanagan-Similkameen January 1, 190936,88533,7619.344.03857.3
Pitt Meadows Pitt Meadows, City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverApril 25, 191419,14618,5733.186.34221.7
Port Alberni Port Alberni, City of Alberni-Clayoquot October 28, 196718,25917,6783.319.66928.9
Port Coquitlam Port Coquitlam, The Corporation of the City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverMarch 7, 191361,49858,6124.929.162108.7
Port Moody Port Moody, City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverMarch 11, 191333,53533,5510.025.851297.3
Powell River Powell River, The Corporation of the City of Powell River October 15, 195513,94313,1576.028.91482.4
Prince George Prince George, City of Fraser-Fort George March 6, 191576,70874,0033.7316.74242.2
Prince Rupert Prince Rupert, City of North Coast March 10, 191012,30012,2200.766.00186.4
Quesnel Quesnel, City of Cariboo March 21, 19289,8899,8790.135.35279.8
Revelstoke Revelstoke, City of Columbia Shuswap March 1, 18998,2757,5479.441.28200.5
Richmond Richmond, City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverNovember 10, 1879209,937198,3095.9128.871629.0
Rossland Rossland, The Corporation of the City ofKootenay BoundaryMarch 18, 18974,1403,72911.059.7269.3
Salmon Arm Salmon Arm, City ofColumbia ShuswapMay 15, 190519,43217,7069.7155.19125.2
Surrey Surrey, City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverNovember 10, 1879568,322517,8879.7316.111797.9
Terrace Terrace, City of Kitimat–Stikine December 31, 192712,01711,6433.257.33209.6
Trail Trail, City ofKootenay BoundaryJune 14, 19017,9207,7092.734.90226.9
Vancouver [lower-alpha 1] Vancouver, City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverApril 6, 1886662,248631,4864.9115.185749.9
Vernon Vernon, The Corporation of the City ofNorth OkanaganDecember 30, 189244,51940,11611.096.43461.7
Victoria [lower-alpha 2] Victoria, The Corporation of the City ofCapitalAugust 2, 186291,86785,7927.119.454722.3
West Kelowna West Kelowna, City ofCentral OkanaganJune 26, 2015 [3] 36,07832,65510.5122.09295.5
White Rock White Rock, The Corporation of the City ofMetro Vancouver|Metro VancouverApril 15, 195721,93919,95210.05.174240.6
Williams Lake Williams Lake, City ofCaribooMarch 15, 192910,94710,7531.833.12330.5
Total cities 3,327,824 3,133,081 4.5 4263.15 1081.81

Notes:

  1. Vancouver is Canada's eighth-largest city and British Columbia's largest city by population. The Vancouver CMA includes the cities of Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver and White Rock.
  2. Victoria is British Columbia's capital. The Victoria CMA includes the cities of Colwood, Langford and Victoria.

Former cities

Kaslo held city status between 1893 and 1959, [9] having been the first incorporated city in the Kootenay region. It was reincorporated to village status in 1959. [10] Sandon held city status between 1898 and 1920. [11] Phoenix held city status between 1900 and 1919. [12]

City status eligibility

As of the 2021 census, nine townsComox, Creston, Ladysmith, Oliver, Osoyoos, Qualicum Beach, Sidney, Smithers and View Royal – meet the requirement of having populations greater than 5,000 to incorporate as a city. Also, 21 district municipalities meet the minimum population requirements to incorporate as a city.

See also

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References

  1. "Local Government Act: Part 2 — Incorporation of Municipalities". Government of British Columbia Queen's Printer. November 12, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address". British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Archived from the original (XLS) on July 13, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Order in Council No. 357". Province of British Columbia. June 26, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses (British Columbia)". Statistics Canada. February 20, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Order in Council 0187-2021". March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  6. "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population, 2021 census (British Columbia)". Statistics Canada. October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  7. "Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council: Order in Council No. 513" (PDF). Province of British Columbia. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  8. "City of Kaslo Fonds - The British Columbia Archival Information Network". MemoryBC. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  9. "Kaslo". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  10. "From Boom to Bust in 20 Years: Sandon's History as an Incorporated City". Sandon Museum. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  11. "Name Details: Phoenix (Abandoned Locality)". GeoBC. Retrieved June 27, 2013.