As of 2024, British Columbia has 161 municipalities, [1] out of which 53 are classified as cities. [2] According to the 2021 Canadian census, British Columbia is the third most populous province in Canada, with 5,000,879 inhabitants, and the second largest province by land area, covering 920,686.55 square kilometres (355,479.06 square miles). [3]
Cities, towns, district municipalities and villages in British Columbia are referred to as municipalities and all are included in local governments in the province, which may be incorporated under the Local Government Act of 2015. In order for a municipality in British Columbia to be classified as a city, it must have a minimum population of 5,000. [4] [5] Although the populations of Enderby, Grand Forks, Greenwood and Rossland fall below this threshold, they are still classified as cities. [3]
The largest city by population in British Columbia is Vancouver, with 662,248 residents, and the smallest is Greenwood, with 702 residents. The largest city by land area is Abbotsford, which spans 375.55 square kilometres (145.00 square miles), while the smallest is Duncan, at 2.07 square kilometres (0.80 square miles). [2] The first municipality to incorporate as a city was New Westminster on July 16, 1860, [6] while the province's newest city is Mission, a district municipality that was reclassified as a city on March 29, 2021. [7] Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia. [8]
Name | Regional district [6] | Incorporation date [6] | Population (2021) [9] | Population (2016) [2] | Change (%) [2] | Area (km2) [2] | Population density [2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abbotsford | Fraser Valley | December 12, 1995 | 153,524 | 141,397 | 8.6% | 375.33 km2 | 409.0 |
Armstrong | North Okanagan | March 31, 1913 | 5,323 | 5,114 | 4.1% | 5.22 km2 | 1020.0 |
Burnaby | Metro Vancouver | September 22, 1892 | 249,125 | 232,755 | 7.0% | 90.57 km2 | 2750.7 |
Campbell River | Strathcona | June 24, 1947 | 35,519 | 32,588 | 7.6% | 144.38 km2 | 246.0 |
Castlegar | Central Kootenay | January 1, 1974 | 8,338 | 8,039 | 3.7% | 19.67 km2 | 419.6 |
Chilliwack | Fraser Valley | April 26, 1873 | 93,203 | 83,788 | 11.2% | 261.34 km2 | 356.6 |
Colwood | Capital | June 24, 1985 | 18,961 | 16,859 | 12.5% | 17.66 km2 | 1073.6 |
Coquitlam | Metro Vancouver | July 25, 1891 | 148,625 | 139,284 | 6.7% | 122.15 km2 | 1216.7 |
Courtenay | Comox Valley | January 1, 1915 | 28,420 | 25,599 | 10.8% | 32.42 km2 | 876.7 |
Cranbrook | East Kootenay | November 1, 1905 | 20,499 | 20,047 | 2.3% | 31.97 km2 | 641.2 |
Dawson Creek | Peace River | May 26, 1936 | 12,323 | 12,178 | 1.2% | 26.72 km2 | 461.1 |
Delta | Metro Vancouver | September 22, 2017 [10] | 108,455 | 102,238 | 6.1% | 179.66 km2 | 603.7 |
Duncan | Cowichan Valley | March 4, 1912 | 5,047 | 4,944 | 2.1% | 2.06 km2 | 2444.5 |
Enderby | North Okanagan | March 1, 1905 | 3,028 | 2,964 | 2.2% | 4.26 km2 | 710.4 |
Fernie | East Kootenay | July 28, 1904 | 6,320 | 5,249 | 17.1% | 15.11 km2 | 418.3 |
Fort St. John | Peace River | December 31, 1947 | 21,465 | 20,155 | 5.9% | 32.67 km2 | 656.9 |
Grand Forks | Kootenay Boundary | April 15, 1897 | 4,112 | 4,049 | 1.6% | 10.37 km2 | 396.4 |
Greenwood | Kootenay Boundary | July 12, 1897 | 702 | 665 | 5.6% | 2.42 km2 | 290.2 |
Kamloops | Thompson-Nicola | October 17, 1967 | 97,902 | 90,280 | 8.4% | 297.93 km2 | 328.6 |
Kelowna | Central Okanagan | May 4, 1905 | 144,576 | 127,380 | 13.5% | 211.85 km2 | 682.4 |
Kimberley | East Kootenay | March 29, 1944 | 8,115 | 7,425 | 9.3% | 60.51 km2 | 134.1 |
Langford | Capital | December 8, 1992 | 46,584 | 35,342 | 31.8% | 41.43 km2 | 1124.4 |
Langley | Metro Vancouver | March 15, 1955 | 28,963 | 25,888 | 11.9% | 10.18 km2 | 2845.2 |
Maple Ridge | Metro Vancouver | September 12, 2014 [11] | 90,990 | 82,256 | 10.6% | 267.82 km2 | 339.7 |
Merritt | Thompson-Nicola | April 1, 1911 | 7,051 | 7,139 | -1.2% | 26.04 km2 | 270.7 |
Mission | Fraser Valley | March 29, 2021 [7] | 41,519 | 38,833 | 7.7% | 226.98 km2 | 182.9 |
Nanaimo | Nanaimo | December 24, 1874 | 99,863 | 90,504 | 10.3% | 90.45 km2 | 1104.1 |
Nelson | Central Kootenay | March 18, 1897 | 11,106 | 10,572 | 5.1% | 11.93 km2 | 930.6 |
New Westminster | Metro Vancouver | July 16, 1860 | 78,916 | 70,996 | 11.2% | 15.62 km2 | 5052.4 |
North Vancouver | Metro Vancouver | August 10, 1891 | 58,120 | 52,898 | 9.9% | 11.83 km2 | 4913.0 |
Parksville | Nanaimo | June 19, 1945 | 13,642 | 12,514 | 9.5% | 14.52 km2 | 939.5 |
Penticton | Okanagan-Similkameen | January 1, 1909 | 36,885 | 33,761 | 9.3% | 44.03 km2 | 857.3 |
Pitt Meadows | Metro Vancouver | April 25, 1914 | 19,146 | 18,573 | 3.1% | 86.34 km2 | 221.7 |
Port Alberni | Alberni-Clayoquot | October 28, 1967 | 18,259 | 17,678 | 3.3% | 19.66 km2 | 928.9 |
Port Coquitlam | Metro Vancouver | March 7, 1913 | 61,498 | 58,612 | 4.9% | 29.16 km2 | 2108.7 |
Port Moody | Metro Vancouver | March 11, 1913 | 33,535 | 33,551 | 0.0% | 25.85 km2 | 1297.3 |
Powell River | Powell River | October 15, 1955 | 13,943 | 13,157 | 6.0% | 28.91 km2 | 482.4 |
Prince George | Fraser-Fort George | March 6, 1915 | 76,708 | 74,003 | 3.7% | 316.74 km2 | 242.2 |
Prince Rupert | North Coast | March 10, 1910 | 12,300 | 12,220 | 0.7% | 66.00 km2 | 186.4 |
Quesnel | Cariboo | March 21, 1928 | 9,889 | 9,879 | 0.1% | 35.35 km2 | 279.8 |
Revelstoke | Columbia Shuswap | March 1, 1899 | 8,275 | 7,547 | 9.4% | 41.28 km2 | 200.5 |
Richmond | Metro Vancouver | November 10, 1879 | 209,937 | 198,309 | 5.9% | 128.87 km2 | 1629.0 |
Rossland | Kootenay Boundary | March 18, 1897 | 4,140 | 3,729 | 11.0% | 59.72 km2 | 69.3 |
Salmon Arm | Columbia Shuswap | May 15, 1905 | 19,432 | 17,706 | 9.7% | 155.19 km2 | 125.2 |
Surrey | Metro Vancouver | November 10, 1879 | 568,322 | 517,887 | 9.7% | 316.11 km2 | 1797.9 |
Terrace | Kitimat–Stikine | December 31, 1927 | 12,017 | 11,643 | 3.2% | 57.33 km2 | 209.6 |
Trail | Kootenay Boundary | June 14, 1901 | 7,920 | 7,709 | 2.7% | 34.90 km2 | 226.9 |
Vancouver [a] | Metro Vancouver | April 6, 1886 | 662,248 | 631,486 | 4.9% | 115.18 km2 | 5749.9 |
Vernon | North Okanagan | December 30, 1892 | 44,519 | 40,116 | 11.0% | 96.43 km2 | 461.7 |
Victoria [b] | Capital | August 2, 1862 | 91,867 | 85,792 | 7.1% | 19.45 km2 | 4722.3 |
West Kelowna | Central Okanagan | June 26, 2015 [12] | 36,078 | 32,655 | 10.5% | 122.09 km2 | 295.5 |
White Rock | Metro Vancouver | April 15, 1957 | 21,939 | 19,952 | 10.0% | 5.17 km2 | 4240.6 |
Williams Lake | Cariboo | March 15, 1929 | 10,947 | 10,753 | 1.8% | 33.12 km2 | 330.5 |
Total cities | — | — | 3,327,824 | 3,133,081 | 4.5% | 4263.15 | 1081.81 |
Notes:
Name | Held city status |
---|---|
Kaslo | 1893–1959 [13] |
Phoenix | 1900–1919 [14] |
Sandon | 1898–1920 [15] |
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.
The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05 million people as of the 2021 Canadian census, the Lower Mainland contains sixteen of the province's 30 most populous municipalities and approximately 60% of the province's total population.
Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the largest municipality in the province outside metropolitan Vancouver. Abbotsford–Mission has the third-highest proportion of visible minorities among census metropolitan areas in Canada, after the Greater Toronto Area and the Greater Vancouver CMA. It is home to Tradex, the University of the Fraser Valley, and Abbotsford International Airport.
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.
Coquitlam is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metro Vancouver. The mayor is Richard Stewart.
Saanich is a district municipality on the southern end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, within the Greater Victoria area. The population was 117,735 at the 2021 census, making it the most populous municipality in the Capital Regional District and Vancouver Island, and the eighth-most populous in the province. With an area of 103.44 square kilometres (39.94 sq mi), Saanich is also the largest municipality in Greater Victoria. The district adopted its name after the Saanich First Nation, meaning "emerging land" or "emerging people".
Port Coquitlam is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of 21 municipalities comprising Metro Vancouver. Located 27 km (17 mi) east of Vancouver, it is on the north bank of the confluence of the Fraser River and the Pitt River. Coquitlam borders it to the north and west. Pitt Meadows lies across the Pitt River from it. Port Coquitlam is bisected by Lougheed Highway and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway. Port Coquitlam is often referred to as "PoCo". It is Canada's 93rd-largest municipality by population.
Mission is a city in the Lower Mainland of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was originally incorporated as a district municipality in 1892, growing to include additional villages and rural areas over the years, adding the original Town of Mission City, long an independent core of the region, in 1969. It is bordered by the city of Abbotsford to the south and the city of Maple Ridge to the west. To the east are the unincorporated areas of Hatzic and Dewdney.
The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government of their own. They exist on four levels: the top-level (first-level) divisions are Canada's provinces and territories; these are divided into second-level census divisions, which in turn are divided into third-level census subdivisions and fourth-level dissemination areas.
Filipino Canadians are Canadians of Filipino descent. Filipino Canadians are the second largest subgroup of the overseas Filipinos, surpassed only by the United States, and one of the fastest-growing groups in Canada.
Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south and by Burnaby on the west. The villages of Belcarra and Anmore, along with the rugged Coast Mountains, lie to the northwest and north, respectively. It is named for Richard Clement Moody, the first lieutenant governor of the Colony of British Columbia.
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.
The demographics of Metro Vancouver indicate a multicultural and multiracial region. Metro Vancouver is a metropolitan area, with its major urban centre being Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver census metropolitan area, as defined by Statistics Canada, encompasses roughly the same territory as the Metro Vancouver Regional District, a regional district in British Columbia. The regional district includes 23 local authorities. Figures provided here are for the Vancouver census metropolitan area and not for the City of Vancouver.
Maillardville is a community on the south slope of the city of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada–United States border namely British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The people of the region are often referred to as "Western Canadians" or "Westerners", and though diverse from province to province are largely seen as being collectively distinct from other Canadians along cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, geographic and political lines. They account for approximately 32% of Canada's total population.
Sikhism in Greater Vancouver is one of the main religions across the region, especially among the Indo-Canadian population. The Sikh community in Vancouver is the oldest, largest and most influential across Canada, having begun in the late 19th century.
{{cite book}}
: |work=
ignored (help)