Port Coquitlam (/koʊˈkwɪtləm/koh-KWIT-ləm) is a city inBritish Columbia, Canada. It is one of 21 municipalities comprisingMetro Vancouver. Located 27 km (17 mi) east ofVancouver, it is on the north bank of the confluence of theFraser River and thePitt River.Coquitlam borders it to the north and west.Pitt Meadows lies across the Pitt River from it. Port Coquitlam is bisected byLougheed Highway and theCanadian Pacific Kansas City railway. Port Coquitlam is often referred to as "PoCo".^[1] It isCanada's 93rd-largest municipality by population.

Port Coquitlam
City
City of Port Coquitlam
Railway yard in Port Coquitlam
Flag Coat of arms Logo
Nickname:  "PoCo"[1]
Motto:  "Working Together For The Future"
Location of Port Coquitlam inMetro Vancouver
Coordinates:49°15′45″N122°46′52″W / 49.26250°N 122.78111°W /49.26250; -122.78111
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional district	Metro Vancouver
Incorporated	March 7, 1913; 112 years ago (March 7, 1913)
Government [2]
• Type	Mayor-council government
• Body	Port Coquitlam City Council
• Mayor	Brad West
• Councillors	Steve Darling Paige Petriw Darrell Penner Glenn Pollock Dean Washington Nancy McCurrach
• MP	Ron McKinnon (Liberal)
• MLA	Mike Farnworth (BC NDP)
Area [3]
• Land	29.16 km2 (11.26 sq mi)
Elevation	30 m (100 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	61,498
• Estimate  (2023)[4]	67,151
• Rank	93rd in Canada
• Density	2,108.7/km2 (5,462/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (Pacific Daylight Time)
Forward sortation area	V3B - V3C
Area codes	604,778, 236, 672
Website	portcoquitlam.ca

The area was long inhabited byindigenous peoples, most recently by theCoast Salish people, including theKwikwetl'em. The first European settlers began farming beside thePitt River in 1859. A major impetus to the creation of a municipality was when the Canadian Pacific Railway moved its freight terminus from Vancouver to "Westminster Junction", building a spur line to the Fraser River port of New Westminster in 1911. Port Coquitlam was first incorporated as a municipality on March 7, 1913.

Port Coquitlam was originally developed mostly as farmland. Given the expansion and increasing density of Vancouver, it has now been developed for suburban housing, especially in the northern and southwestern areas of the city. The economy is diversified, with a variety ofindustrial andcommercial developments, including metal fabrication, high technology industries, and transportation.

In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Port Coquitlam had a population of 61,498 living in 22,884 of its 23,671 total private dwellings, a change of4.9% from its 2016 population of 58,612. With a land area of 29.16 km² (11.26 sq mi), it had a population density of2,109.0/km² (5,462.2/sq mi) in 2021.^[3]

During the second half of the 1990s, the population grew at a rate of 9.8%, spurred by numerous immigrants. By 2001 they comprised 25% of the population. English was the first language for 76% of the inhabitants.

In 2009, Port Coquitlam was rated 85th for its murder rate (for Canadian cities with a population over 50K).^[5]

• Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

The 2021 census^[16] found that English was spoken as mother tongue by 62.4% of the population.Chinese languages made up the next largest first language category. Chinese languages were the mother tongues of 8.2% of residents, including 4.5%Cantonese and 3.4%Mandarin. Other common first languages werePersian (3.0%),Korean (2.6%), andTagalog (2.4%). As a single response,French was the first language of 0.9% of the population. 3.5% of residents listed both English and a non-official language as mother tongues, while 0.4% listed both English and French.

According to the2021 census, religious groups in Port Coquitlam include:^[11]

• Irreligion (29,825 persons or 49.4%)
• Christianity (23,980 persons or 39.7%)
• Islam (2,590 persons or 4.3%)
• Sikhism (1,335 persons or 2.2%)
• Buddhism (855 persons or 1.4%)
• Hinduism (755 persons or 1.3%)
• Judaism (300 persons or 0.5%)
• Indigenous Spirituality (45 persons or 0.1%)

Being primarily suburban, Port Coquitlam relies heavily on its vehicular roads to move people and goods. For example, two of its major arterial roads, Shaughnessy Street andLougheed Highway bisect Port Coquitlam north to south and east to west, respectively.

TransLink provides a number of bus routes throughout the city. The most used bus routes in this section of the Metro Vancouver Regional District are the 159, which connects southern Port Coquitlam toSkyTrain atBraid station. Other bus routes in the city include the 160, which links Port Coquitlam with Vancouver viaCoquitlam Central Station andMoody Centre station, and the 173/174, which runs a loop through the northern half of the city, linking it with regional buses at Coquitlam Central andPort Coquitlam station. Two major stops in the city include Port Coquitlam Centre and Port Coquitlam Station. The remainder of Port Coquitlam is served by a network of Community Shuttles.

Port Coquitlam is the only one of the Tri-Cities to not have SkyTrain. However, this may change in the future with aMillennium Line extension into the downtown area. When theEvergreen Extension was built, the first few metres of track and a track switch to allow for an eventual eastward extension to Port Coquitlam were built at Coquitlam Central station. This would create two branches where trains would alternate between going north toLafarge Lake–Douglas or east to downtown Port Coquitlam. A feasibility study was conducted, started during early 2020 and running for about six months. Both Mayor Brad West, the Port Coquitlam City Council, and the Coquitlam City Council have voiced support for the extension. However, as of 2022, no funding had been secured nor a formal plan created.^[17]

The Lougheed Highway passes through Port Coquitlam, running from Coquitlam in the west to thePitt River Bridge in the east. Although this highway has made much of Port Coquitlam a very congested area, it is one of the few major arterial highways in the area.

The Mary Hill Bypass, officially known asHighway 7B, runs adjacent to the Fraser River from the Pitt River Bridge on the east to thePort Mann Bridge on the west.

TheCanadian Pacific Kansas City has a major rail yard in the central sector of the city.

In October 2009, the new Pitt River Bridge, a new seven-lanecable-stayed bridge, opened to the public replacing the existing crossing. The previous crossing was made up of 2 swing bridges, which were removed upon completion of the new bridge. The Pitt River Bridge crosses thePitt River, connecting Port Coquitlam to neighbouring Pitt Meadows.

In March 2010, theCoast Meridian Overpass, a new four-lane cable-stayed bridge, opened to give a new option for traveling north to south over the Canadian Pacific Railway Oxford Street rail yard.

A 25.3 km (15.7 mi) hiking and biking trail, known as theTraboulay PoCo Trail, completely surrounds the city.^[18]

In August 2018, U-bicycle launched a docklessbicycle sharing system in the city.^[19]

Public schools in Port Coquitlam are part ofSchool District 43 Coquitlam and consists of several private schools as well.

Secondary schools:

• Riverside Secondary
• Terry Fox Secondary

Middle schools:

• Citadel Middle
• Kwayhquitlum Middle
• Maple Creek Middle (former Hastings Junior Secondary)
• Minnekhada Middle (former George Pearkes Junior Secondary)
• Pitt River Middle (former Mary Hill Junior Secondary)

Elementary schools:

• Birchland Elementary
• Blakeburn Elementary
• Castle Park Elementary
• Cedar Drive Elementary
• Central Elementary
• Coquitlam River Elementary
• Glen Elementary (French Immersion)
• Irvine Elementary (French Immersion)
• James Park Elementary
• Hazel Trembath Elementary
• Kilmer Elementary (French Immersion)
• Lincoln Elementary (Closed in 2007).^[20][21]
• Mary Hill Elementary (French Immersion)
• Westwood Elementary

TheConseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates one Francophone primary and secondary school:école des Pionniers-de-Maillardville.^[22]

• Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School
• Our Lady of the Assumption Elementary
• British Columbia Christian Academy (formerly Lincoln Elementary)
• Hope Lutheran Christian School
• Ecole des Pionniers de Maillardville (French)
• Sprott Shaw College (post secondary)

• Rene Tosoni, Former Major League Baseball PlayerMinnesota Twins
• Sukh Chungh, Canadian football player
• Zach Hamill, professional hockey player, drafted 8th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by theBoston Bruins
• Betty Fox, cancer research activist, mother of Terry Fox
• Terry Fox, athlete and cancer treatment activist
• Robert Pickton, convicted serial killer, alleged to be Canada's most prolific
• Ian Tracey, Leo and Gemini Award-winning actor
• Amanda Todd, bullying victim
• Tyler Shaw, singer and songwriter
• Eric Reprid, Asian-Canadian rapper-songwriter
• Sophia Reid-Gantzert, actress and dancer^[23]

• Province of British Columbia
• Metro Vancouver Regional District
• School District 43 Coquitlam
• Tri-Cities (British Columbia)

Specific

• Francis, Daniel, ed.Encyclopedia of British Columbia, Harbour Publishing Ltd, 2000

General

• Official website