Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 10,000 years ago and included theSquamish,Musqueam, andTsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples. The beginnings of the modern city, which was originally namedGastown, grew around the site of a makeshift tavern on the western edges ofHastings Mill that was built on July 1, 1867, and owned by proprietorGassy Jack. The Gastown steam clock marks the original site. Gastown then formally registered as atownsite dubbedGranville,Burrard Inlet. The city was renamed "Vancouver" in 1886 through a deal with theCanadian Pacific Railway. The Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway was extended to the city by 1887. The city's large natural seaport on thePacific Ocean became a vital link in the trade betweenAsia-Pacific,East Asia,Europe, andEastern Canada.[13][14]
As of 2016[update], thePort of Vancouver is the fourth-largest port by tonnage in the Americas,[17] the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America.[18][19] While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, makingtourism its second-largest industry.[20] Major film production studios in Vancouver and nearbyBurnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largestfilm production centres in North America,[21][22] earning it the nickname "Hollywood North".[23][24][25]
Etymology
The city takes its name fromGeorge Vancouver, who explored the inner harbour ofBurrard Inlet in 1792 and gave various places British names.[26] The family name "Vancouver" itself originates from the Dutch "van Coevorden", denoting somebody from the city ofCoevorden, Netherlands. The explorer's ancestors came to England "from Coevorden", which is the origin of the name that eventually became "Vancouver".[27][28]
The indigenousSquamish people who reside in a region that encompasses southwestern British Columbia including this city gave the nameK'emk'emeláy̓ which means "place of manymaple trees"; this was originally the name of a village inhabited by said people where asawmill was established byEdward Stamp as part of the foundations to the British settlement later becoming part of Vancouver.[29]
In hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem) spoken by theMusqueam, there is no specific term for Vancouver.[b] Rather there existed names for specific villages and landscape features that the people knew intimately in the area in which Vancouver exists currently, as opposed to larger geographic features.[30] The region where Vancouver is currently located was referred to by theStó꞉lō in the UpriverHalkomelem dialect asLhq’á:lets,[31][32] meaning "wide at the bottom/end". Speakers of the Island dialect of Halkomelem referred to the region of Vancouver assqwx̌wam̓ush[33] orskwóm̓esh, referring to the Squamish,[34] or asPankúpe7, a transliteration of the English word "Vancouver".[34]
The explorer andNorth West Company traderSimon Fraser and his crew became the first-known Europeans to set foot on the site of the present-day city. In 1808, they travelled from the east down the Fraser River, perhaps as far as Point Grey.[41]
Early growth
View ofGastown from Carrall andWater Street in 1886. Gastown was a settlement that quickly became a centre for trade and commerce on Burrard Inlet.
TheFraser Gold Rush of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly fromCalifornia, to nearbyNew Westminster (founded February 14, 1859) on the Fraser River, on their way to theFraser Canyon, bypassing what would become Vancouver.[42][43][44] Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities;[45] the first European settlement in what is now Vancouver was not until 1862 at McCleery's Farm on the Fraser River, just east of the ancient village ofMusqueam in what is nowMarpole. A sawmill was established at Moodyville (now theCity of North Vancouver) in 1863, beginning the city's long relationship with logging. It was quickly followed by mills owned by Captain Edward Stamp on the south shore of the inlet. Stamp, who had begun logging in thePort Alberni area, first attempted to run a mill atBrockton Point, but difficult currents and reefs forced the relocation of the operation in 1867 to a point near the foot of Dunlevy Street. This mill, known as theHastings Mill, became the nucleus around which Vancouver formed. The mill's central role in the city waned after the arrival of theCanadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s. It nevertheless remained important to the local economy until it closed in the 1920s.[46] The settlement, which came to be calledGastown, proliferated around the original makeshift tavern established byGassy Jack in 1867 on the edge of the Hastings Mill property.[45][47]
In 1870, thecolonial government surveyed the settlement and laid out atownsite, renamed "Granville" in honour of the then–BritishSecretary of State for the Colonies,Lord Granville. This site, with its natural harbour, was selected in 1884[48] as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the disappointment ofPort Moody, New Westminster andVictoria, all of which had vied to be the railhead. A railway was among the inducements for British Columbia to join theConfederation in 1871, but thePacific Scandal and arguments over the use of Chinese labour delayed construction until the 1880s.[49]
The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR presidentWilliam Van Horne arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended byHenry John Cambie and gave the city its name in honour ofGeorge Vancouver.[45] TheGreat Vancouver Fire on June 13, 1886, razed the entire city. TheVancouver Fire Department was established that year and the city quickly rebuilt.[46] Vancouver's population grew from a settlement of 1,000 people in 1881 to over 20,000 by the turn of the century and 100,000 by 1911.[50]
Vancouver merchants outfitted prospectors bound for theKlondike Gold Rush in 1898.[42] One of those merchants, Charles Woodward, had opened the firstWoodward's store at Abbott and Cordova Streets in 1892 and, along withSpencer's and theHudson's Bay department stores, formed the core of the city's retail sector for decades.[51]
The economy of early Vancouver was dominated by large companies such as the CPR, which fuelled economic activity and led to the rapid development of the new city;[52] in fact, the CPR was the main real estate owner and housing developer in the city. While some manufacturing did develop, including the establishment of the British Columbia Sugar Refinery byBenjamin Tingley Rogers in 1890,[53] natural resources became the basis for Vancouver's economy. The resource sector was initially based on logging and later on exports moving through the seaport, where commercial traffic constituted the largest economic sector in Vancouver by the 1930s.[54]
The dominance of the economy by big business was accompanied by an often militantlabour movement. The first major sympathy strike was in 1903 when railway employees struck against the CPR for union recognition. Labour leader Frank Rogers was killed by CPR police while picketing at the docks, becoming the movement's first martyr in British Columbia.[55][56]: 39–41 The rise of industrial tensions throughout the province led to Canada's first general strike in 1918, at theCumberland coal mines onVancouver Island.[56]: 71–74 Following a lull in the 1920s, the strike wave peaked in 1935 when unemployed men flooded the city to protest conditions in the relief camps run by the military in remote areas throughout the province.[57][58] After two tense months of daily and disruptive protesting, therelief camp strikers decided to take their grievances to the federal government and embarked on theOn-to-Ottawa Trek,[58] but their protest was put down by force. The workers were arrested nearMission and interned in work camps for the duration of the Depression.[59]
Other social movements, such as thefirst-wave feminist, moral reform, andtemperance movements, were also instrumental in Vancouver's development.Mary Ellen Smith, a Vancouversuffragist andprohibitionist, became the first woman elected to aprovincial legislature in Canada in 1918.[60]: 172 Alcohol prohibition began in the First World War and lasted until 1921 when the provincial government established control over alcohol sales, a practice still in place today.[60]: 187–188 Canada's firstdrug law came about following an inquiry conducted by the federalminister of Labour and future prime minister,William Lyon Mackenzie King. King was sent to investigate damages claims resulting from a riot when theAsiatic Exclusion League led a rampage throughChinatown andJapantown. Two of the claimants wereopium manufacturers, and after further investigation, King found that white women were reportedly frequentingopium dens as well asChinese men. A federal law banning the manufacture, sale, and importation of opium for non-medicinal purposes was soon passed based on these revelations.[61] These riots, and the formation of the Asiatic Exclusion League, also act as signs of a growing fear and mistrust towards the Japanese living in Vancouver and throughout BC. These fears were exacerbated by theattack on Pearl Harbor leading to the eventualinternment or deportation of all Japanese-Canadians living in the city and the province.[62] After the war, these Japanese-Canadian men and women were not allowed to return to cities like Vancouver causing areas, like the aforementionedJapantown, to cease to be ethnically Japanese areas as the communities never revived.[63]
Amalgamation with Point Grey and South Vancouver gave the city its final boundaries not long before it became the third-largest metropolis in the country. As of January 1, 1929, the population of the enlarged Vancouver was 228,193.[64]
Until the city's naming in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island, and it remains a common misconception that the city is located on the island.[66][67] The island and the city are both named after Royal Navy CaptainGeorge Vancouver (as is the city ofVancouver, Washington, in the United States).
Vancouver has one of the largest urban parks in North America,Stanley Park, which covers 404.9 ha (1,001 acres).[68] TheNorth Shore Mountains dominate the cityscape, and on a clear day, scenic vistas include the snow-capped volcanoMount Baker in the state of Washington to the southeast, Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia to the west and southwest, andBowen Island to the northwest.[69]
Ecology
The vegetation in the Vancouver area was originallytemperate rainforest, consisting ofconifers with scattered pockets of maple and alder and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage).[70] The conifers were a typical coastal British Columbia mix ofDouglas fir,western red cedar andwestern hemlock.[71] The area is thought to have had the largest trees of these species on theBritish Columbia Coast. Only inElliott Bay,Seattle, did the size of trees rival those of Burrard Inlet andEnglish Bay. The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in theGastown area, where the first logging occurred and on the southern slopes ofFalse Creek and English Bay, especially aroundJericho Beach. The forest in Stanley Park was logged between the 1860s and 1880s, and evidence of old-fashioned logging techniques such asspringboard notches can still be seen there.[72]
Many plants and trees growing throughout Vancouver and theLower Mainland were imported from other parts of the continent and points across the Pacific. Examples include themonkey puzzle tree, theJapanese maple and various flowering exotics, such asmagnolias,azaleas andrhododendrons. Some species imported from harsher climates in Eastern Canada or Europe have grown to immense sizes. The nativeDouglas maple can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties ofJapanese cherry trees donated from the 1930s onward by the government of Japan. These flower for several weeks in early spring each year, an occasion celebrated by theVancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. Other streets are lined with flowering chestnut,horse chestnut and other decorative shade trees.[73]
Vancouver's climate, one of the mildest and most temperate climates in Canada, is classified as anoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb) bordering on a warm-summerMediterranean climate (Köppen:Csb). While the city has the coolest summer average high of all major Canadian metropolitan areas, winters in Greater Vancouver are the fourth-mildest of Canadian cities, after nearbyVictoria,Nanaimo andDuncan, all on Vancouver Island.[74]
Vancouver is one of the wettest Canadian cities. However, precipitation varies throughout the metropolitan area. Annual precipitation as measured atVancouver International Airport inRichmond averages 1,189 mm (46.8 in), compared with 1,588 mm (62.5 in) in the downtown area and 2,044 mm (80.5 in) in North Vancouver.[75][76] The daily maximum averages 22 °C (72 °F) in July and August, with highs rarely reaching 30 °C (86 °F).[77] The summer months are typically dry, with only one in five days receiving precipitation during July and August. In contrast, most days from November through March record some precipitation.[78]
The highest temperature ever recorded at the airport was 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) set on July 30, 2009,[79] and the highest temperature ever recorded within the city of Vancouver was 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) occurring first on July 31, 1965,[80] again on August 8, 1981,[81] and also on May 29, 1983.[82] The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on January 14, 1950[83] and again on December 29, 1968.[84]
On average, snow falls nine days per year, with three days receiving 5 cm (2.0 in) or more. Average yearly snowfall is 38.1 cm (15.0 in) but typically does not remain on the ground for long.[77]
Vancouver'sgrowing season averages 237 days, from March 18 until November 10.[77] Vancouver's 1981–2010 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone ranges from 8a to 9a depending on elevation and proximity to water.[85]
Aerial view ofDowntown Vancouver. Urban development in Vancouver is characterized by a large residential population living in the city centre with mixed-use developments.
As of 2021,[update] Vancouver is the most densely populated city in Canada.[6] Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an alternative tosprawl.[103] As part of the largerMetro Vancouver region, it is influenced by the policy direction of livability as illustrated in Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy.
Vancouver ranked high on theGlobal Liveability Ranking and stood at number 1 on the list for several years until 2011.[104] In recent years, it has dropped, ranking as low as 16 in 2021. As of 2022[update], Vancouver was ranked as having the fifth-highest quality of living of any city on Earth.[105] According toForbes, Vancouver had the fourth-most expensive real estate market in the world in 2019.[106] Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities in which to live. Sales in February 2016 were 56.3 percent higher than the 10-year average for the month.[107][108][109]Forbes also ranked Vancouver as the tenth-cleanest city in the world in 2007.[110]
Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage the building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver'sWest End,[111] subject to strict requirements for setbacks and open space to protect sight lines and preserve green space. The success of these dense but livable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s. The result is a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its "high amenity and 'livable' development".[112] In 2006, the city launched a planning initiative entitledEcoDensity, with the stated goal of exploring ways in which "density, design, and land use can contribute to environmental sustainability, affordability, and livability".[113]
The originalBC Hydro headquarters building (designed byRon Thom and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets is amodernist high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominium.[115] Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of theMacMillan Bloedel building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection.
A collection ofEdwardian buildings in the city's old downtown core were, in their day, the tallest commercial buildings in theBritish Empire. These were, in succession, the Carter-Cotton Building (former home ofThe Province newspaper), theDominion Building (1907) and theSun Tower (1911), the former two at Cambie andHastings Streets and the latter at Beatty and Pender Streets.The Sun Tower'scupola was finally exceeded as the Empire's tallest commercial building by the elaborateArt DecoMarine Building in the 1920s.[117]: 22, 24, 78 The Marine Building is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which make it a favourite location for movie shoots.[118] Topping the list of tallest buildings in Vancouver isLiving Shangri-La, the tallest building in BC at 201 m (659 ft)[119] and 62 storeys. The second-tallest building in Vancouver is theParadox Hotel Vancouver at 188 m (617 ft), followed by the Private Residences atHotel Georgia, at 156 m (512 ft). The fourth-tallest isOne Wall Centre at 150 m (490 ft)[120] and 48 storeys, followed closely by theShaw Tower at 149 m (489 ft).[120]
In the2021 Canadian census conducted byStatistics Canada, Vancouver had a population of 662,248 living in 305,336 of its 328,347 total private dwellings, a change of4.9% from its 2016 population of 631,486, making it theeighth-largest among Canadian cities. More specifically, Vancouver is the fourth-largest inWestern Canada afterCalgary,Edmonton andWinnipeg. With a land area of 115.18 km2 (44.47 sq mi), it had a population density of5,749.7/km2 (14,891.6/sq mi) in 2021,[2] the most densely populated Canadian municipality with more than 5,000 residents.[6]
At thecensus metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, themetropolitan area referred to asGreater Vancouver had a population of 2,642,825 living in 1,043,319 of its 1,104,532 total private dwellings, a change of7.3% from its 2016 population of 2,463,431, thethird-most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous inWestern Canada. With a land area of 2,878.93 km2 (1,111.56 sq mi), it had a population density of918.0/km2 (2,377.6/sq mi) in 2021.[4] Approximately 75 percent of the people living in Metro Vancouver live outside Vancouver itself.
The 2021 census reported thatimmigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 274,365 persons or 42.2% of the total population of Vancouver. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were mainland China (63,275 persons or 23.1%), Philippines (29,930 persons or 10.9%), Hong Kong (25,480 persons or 9.3%), India (14,640 persons or 5.3%), United Kingdom (12,895 persons or 4.7%), Vietnam (12,120 persons or 4.4%), Taiwan (9,870 persons or 3.6%), United States of America (9,790 persons or 3.6%), Iran (8,775 persons or 3.2%), and South Korea (6,495 persons or 2.4%).[122]
Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods".[123][124] Each neighbourhood in Vancouver has a distinct character and ethnic mix.[125] People of English, Scottish, and Irish origins were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city,[126] and elements of British society and culture are still visible in some areas, particularlySouth Granville andKerrisdale.Germans are the next-largest European ethnic group in Vancouver and were a leading force in the city's society and economy until the rise of anti-German sentiment with the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914.[14] Today,Chinese are the largest visible ethnic group in Vancouver; the city has a diverseChinese-speaking community with speakers of several dialects, notablyCantonese andMandarin.[46][127] Neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic commercial areas includeChinatown,Punjabi Market,Little Italy,Greektown, and (formerly)Japantown.
Since the 1980s,immigration increased substantially, making the city moreethnically and linguistically diverse; 49 percent of Vancouver's residents do not speakEnglish as their first language.[8] Over 25 percent of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage.[7] In the 1980s, an influx of immigrants fromHong Kong in anticipation ofthe transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China, combined with an increase in immigrants frommainland China and previous immigrants fromTaiwan, established in Vancouver one of the highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese residents in North America.[128] Another significantAsian ethnic group in Vancouver includesSouth Asians, forming approximately 7 percent of the city's inhabitants; while a small community had existed in the city since 1897,[129] larger waves of migration began in the 1950s and 1960s,[130] prompting newPunjabi immigrants to establish aLittle India (known asPunjabi Market) and preside[clarification needed] over much of the mass construction of theVancouver Special across the southeastern quadrant of the city,[131][132] notably within theSunset neighbourhood prior to thesuburbanization of the community to outer suburbs such as Surrey or Delta.[133][134][135]
Other Asian-origin groups that reside in Vancouver includeFilipinos (5.9%),Japanese (1.7%),Korean (1.7%),West Asians (1.9%), as well as sizable communities ofVietnamese,Indonesians, andCambodians.[7] Despite increases inLatin American immigration to Vancouver in the 1980s and 1990s, recent immigration has been comparatively low. However, growth in the Latino population – which largely consists ofMexicans andSalvadorans – rose in the late 2010s and early 2020s. African immigration has been similarly stagnant (3.6% and 3.3% of total immigrant population, respectively).[136] Theblack population of Vancouver is small in comparison to other Canadian major cities, making up 1.3 percent of the city.Hogan's Alley, a small area adjacent to Chinatown, just off Main Street at Prior, was once home to a significant black community. The Black population consists ofSomalis, Jamaicans/Caribbeans, and other groups, including those who descended from African Americans. The neighbourhood ofStrathcona was the core of the city'sJewish community.[137][138] In 1981, approximately 24 percent of the city population belonged to avisible minority group;[139]: 127 at the same time, this proportion was roughly 14 percent for the entiremetropolitan area.[140][141] By 2016, the proportion in the city had grown to 52 percent.[142]
Prior to the Hong Kong diaspora of the 1990s, the largest non-British ethnic groups in the city wereIrish andGerman, followed byScandinavian,Italian,Ukrainian, Chinese, andPunjabi. From the mid-1950s until the 1980s, manyPortuguese immigrants came to Vancouver, and the city had the third-largest Portuguese population in Canada in 2001.[143] Eastern Europeans, includingRussians,Czechs,Poles,Romanians andHungarians began immigrating after the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe afterWorld War II.[14]Greek immigration increased in the late 1960s and early '70s, with most settling in theKitsilano area. Vancouver also has a significantaboriginal community of about 15,000 people.[144][7]
Sexual orientation and gender identity
Vancouver has a largeLGBT community,[145] with a recognizedgay male enclave focused in the West End neighbourhood of the downtown core, particularly along Davie Street, officially designated asDavie Village,[146] though the gay community is omnipresent throughout West End and Yaletown areas. Vancouver is host to one of the country's largest annualpride parades.[147]
Furthermore, the 2021 census stated 332,135 persons or 50.7% of Vancouver's population haveEnglish as amother tongue; Cantonese is the mother tongue of 77,435 persons or 11.8% of the population, followed by Mandarin (41,695 or 6.4%), Tagalog (18,675 or 2.9%), Spanish (16,735 or 2.6%), Punjabi (13,305 or 2.0%), Vietnamese (11,870 or 1.8%), Persian languages (10,315 or 1.6%), Korean (8,605 or 1.3%), Japanese (7,150 or 1.1%), Portuguese (6,740 or 1.0%), Russian (5,155 or 0.8%), German (4,725 or 0.7%), Hindi (4,355 or 0.7%), and Italian (4,000 or 0.6%).[122]
Religion
While most British Columbians are secular or non-religious, Vancouver's Asian population has been noted for its Christian faith.[148][149] As of the2021 Canadian census, religious groups in Vancouver include:[122]
Homelessness is a significant and persistent issue in Vancouver. A 2019 count found that at least 2,223 people in the city were experiencing homelessness, the highest number recorded since counts began in 2005. Of those surveyed, 28 percent reported having no physical shelter. Indigenous people accounted for 39 percent of all respondents. Three-fifths of respondents said at least two health concerns, and 67 percent said an addiction to at least one substance.[153]
ThePort of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the third-largest port in the Americas (by tonnage).
Conversely, since the onset of the globalCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020, multiple media organizations and economists have continued to warn of a severe long-term economicdoom loop impending for Vancouver, similar to the decline noted inSan Francisco, California.[158]
Vancouver's scenic location makes it a major tourist destination. Over 10.3million people visited Vancouver in 2017. Annually, tourism contributes approximately $4.8billion to the Metro Vancouver economy and supports over 70,000 jobs.[159] Many visit to see the city's gardens,Stanley Park,Queen Elizabeth Park,VanDusen Botanical Garden and the mountains, ocean, forest and parklands which surround the city. Each year over a million people pass through Vancouver oncruise ship vacations, often bound forAlaska.[155]
Vancouver is the most stressed city in the spectrum ofaffordability of housing in Canada.[160] In 2012, Vancouver was ranked by Demographia as the second-most unaffordable city in the world, rated as even more severely unaffordable in 2012 than in 2011.[161][162][163][164] The city has adopted various strategies to reduce housing costs, includingcooperative housing, legalizedsecondary suites, increased density andsmart growth. As of April 2010, the average two-level home in Vancouver sold for a record high of $987,500, compared with the Canadian average of $365,141.[165] A factor explaining the high property prices may be policies by the Canadian government which permitsnow washing, which allows foreigners to buy property in Canada while shielding their identities from tax authorities, making real estate transactions an effective way to conductmoney laundering.[166]
Since the 1990s, the development of high-risecondominiums in the downtown peninsula has been financed, in part, by an inflow of capital from Hong Kong immigrants due to the former colony's 1997 handover to China.[167] Such development has clustered in theYaletown andCoal Harbour districts and around many of theSkyTrain stations to the east of the downtown.[155] The city's selection to co-host the2010 Winter Olympics was also a major influence on economic development. Concern was expressed that Vancouver's increasinghomelessness problem would be exacerbated by the Olympics because owners of single-room occupancy hotels, which house many of the city's lowest-income residents, converted their properties to attract higher-income residents and tourists.[168] Another significant international event held in Vancouver, the1986 World Exposition, received over 20million visitors and added $3.7billion to the Canadian economy.[169] Some still-standing Vancouver landmarks, including theSkyTrain public transit system andCanada Place, were built as part of the exposition.[169]
Map of the 22 official neighbourhoods of Vancouver
Vancouver, unlike other British Columbia municipalities, isincorporated under theVancouver Charter.[170] The legislation, passed in 1953, supersedes theVancouver Incorporation Act, 1921 and grants the city more and different powers than other communities possess under British Columbia'sMunicipalities Act.
The civic government was dominated by the centre-rightNon-Partisan Association (NPA) sinceWorld War II, albeit with some significant centre-left interludes until 2008.[46] The NPA fractured over the issue ofdrug policy in 2002, facilitating a landslide victory for theCoalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) on aharm reduction platform. Subsequently, North America's only legal safe injection site at the time,Insite, was opened for the significant number of intravenous heroin users in the city.[171]
Vancouver is governed by the eleven-memberVancouver City Council, a nine-memberSchool Board, and a seven-memberPark Board, all of whom serve four-year terms. Unusually for a city of Vancouver's size, all municipal elections are on anat-large basis. Historically, in all levels of government, the more affluent west side of Vancouver has voted alongconservative orliberal lines. In contrast, the city's eastern side has voted alongleft-wing lines.[172] This was reaffirmed with the results of the2005 provincial election and the2006 federal election.
Though polarized, a politicalconsensus has emerged in Vancouver around several issues. Protection of urban parks, a focus on the development ofrapid transit as opposed to a freeway system, a harm-reduction approach to illegal drug use, and a general concern about community-based development are examples of policies that have come to have broad support across thepolitical spectrum in Vancouver.[173]
In the2008 municipal election campaign, NPA incumbent mayorSam Sullivan was ousted as mayoral candidate by the party in a close vote, which instated Peter Ladner as the new mayoral candidate for the NPA.Gregor Robertson, a former MLA forVancouver-Fairview and head ofHappy Planet, was the mayoral candidate for Vision Vancouver, the other main contender. Vision Vancouver candidate Gregor Robertson defeated Ladner by a considerable margin, nearing 20,000 votes. The balance of power was significantly shifted to Vision Vancouver, which held seven of the ten spots for councillor. Of the remaining three, COPE received two and the NPA one. For park commissioner, four seats went to Vision Vancouver, one to the Green Party, one to COPE, and one to NPA. For school trustees, there were four Vision Vancouver seats, three COPE seats, and two NPA seats.[174] In the2018 Vancouver municipal election, independentKennedy Stewart was electedmayor of Vancouver.[175] Stewart was later defeated as mayor in the2022 Vancouver municipal election byKen Sim, the runner-up in the 2018 election.[176]
Vancouver's budget consists of a capital and an operating component. In 2023, the operating budget was $1.97billion, with a 5-year financial plan, developed in 2022, that projected the budget would increase to $2.46billion by 2027. The 2023 capital budget was $580million, with a 2023 to 2026 Capital Plan that anticipates $3.5billion in expenditures in those four years.[177] Budget increases are primarily funded through increases in property taxes and community amenity contributions imposed in exchange for increases in allowable density as part of the construction permitting process. Utility and other user fees have also been increased but represent a small portion of Vancouver's overall budget.
Along with 20 other municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation,[178] Vancouver is a member municipality ofMetro Vancouver, the regional government whose seat is inBurnaby. While each member of Metro Vancouver has its own separate local governing body, Metro Vancouver oversees standard services and planning functions within the area, such as providing drinking water; operating sewage and solid waste handling; maintaining regional parks; managing air quality,greenhouse gases and ecological health; and providing a strategy for regional growth and land use.
Vancouver operates theVancouver Police Department, with 1,327 sworn members and an operating budget of $316.5million in 2018.[179][180] Over 19 percent of the city's budget was spent on police protection in 2018 and by 2023 that has increased to 20.2 percent.[180][181]
The Vancouver Police Department's operational divisions include abicycle squad, amarine squad, and adog squad. It also has amounted squad, used primarily to patrol Stanley Park and for crowd control.[182] The police work in conjunction with civilian and volunteer-run Community Police Centres.[183] In 2006, the police department established its owncounterterrorism unit. In 2005, a new transit police force, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service (now theMetro Vancouver Transit Police), was established with full police powers.
Before the legalization of marijuana, Vancouver police generally did not arrest people for possessing small amounts ofmarijuana.[184] In 2000, the Vancouver Police Department established a specialized drug squad, "Growbusters", to carry out an aggressive campaign against the city's estimated 4,000hydroponic marijuana growing operations (or grow-ops) in residential areas.[185] As with other law enforcement campaigns targeting marijuana this initiative has been sharply criticized.[186]
Since 1982, when Vancouver's homicide rate peaked at around 9.6 per 100,000 people with a total of 40 murders, the city's overall crime rate has declined, with a few notable exceptions, one being in 1991, when the city surpassed its homicide record with 41 being reported, giving the city a slightly lower homicide rate of 8.7 per 100,000 residents than its peak. However, in 2013, Vancouver reached a record low 6 murders, resulting in a homicide rate of 1 per 100,000 residents.[187][188] As of 2018[update], Vancouver had the ninth-highestcrime rate, dropping five spots since 2005, among Canada's 35 census metropolitan areas.[189] As with other Canadian cities, the overall crime rate has been falling "dramatically".[when?][190] The rate of firearm related violence dropped from 45.3 per 100,000 in 2006, the highest of any major metropolitan region in Canada at that time, to 16.2 in 2017.[191][192] A series of gang-related incidents in early 2009 escalated into what police dubbed agang war.
To reduce the public health risk from discarded hypodermic needles commonly found on downtown and the adjacentDowntown Eastside streets, the city runs a continuous collection effort, recovering approximately 1000 needles per day from public spaces.[195][196] According toVancouver Coastal Health, the regional health authority and a distributor of clean needles to intravenous drug users, there has never been a documented case of disease transmission from an accidental needlestick.[197]
There are five public universities in the Greater Vancouver area, the largest and most prestigious being theUniversity of British Columbia (UBC) andSimon Fraser University (SFU), with a combined enrolment of more than 90,000undergraduates, graduates, and professional students in 2008.[207][208] UBC often ranks among the top 40 best universities in the world and is ranked among the 20 best public universities in Canada.[209][210][211] SFU consistently ranks as the top comprehensive university in Canada and is among the 350 best universities in the world.[212][213] UBC'smain campus is located on the tip of Burrard Peninsula, on thePoint Grey campus lands just west of theUniversity Endowment Lands with the city-proper adjacent to the east. SFU's main campus is inBurnaby. Both also maintain campuses in Downtown Vancouver and the southeastern suburban city ofSurrey.
International students andEnglish as a second language (ESL) students have been significant in the enrolment of these public and private institutions. For the 2008–2009 school year, 53 percent of Vancouver School Board's students spoke a language other than English at home.[203]
The Scotiabank Dance Centre, a converted bank building on the corner of Davie and Granville, functions as a gathering place and performance venue for Vancouver-based dancers and choreographers. Dances for a Small Stage is a semi-annual dance festival.
TheVancouver International Film Festival, which runs for two weeks each September, shows over 350 films and is one of North America's most prominent film festivals. TheVIFF Centre venue, the Vancity Theatre, runs independent non-commercial films throughout the rest of the year, as dothe Cinematheque and theRio theatres.
Libraries in Vancouver include theVancouver Public Library, with its main branch at Library Square, designed byMoshe Safdie. The central branch contains 1.5million volumes. Altogether, twenty-two branches contain 2.25million volumes.[224] TheVancouver Tool Library is Canada's original tool lending library.
TheVancouver Art Gallery has a permanent collection of nearly 10,000 items and is the home of a significant number of works byEmily Carr.[225] However, little or none of the permanent collection is ever on view. Downtown is also home to theContemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver), which showcases temporary exhibitions by up-and-coming Vancouver artists. TheMorris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, with a small collection of contemporary works, is part of the University of British Columbia.
Vancouver is home to 13 of the 190Artist Run Centres in Canada.[226][227] Artwork and cultural artifacts from nations Indigenous to the land on which Vancouver is located are available to view at theMuseum of Anthropology at UBC, largely because these artifacts were stolen as part of colonization.[228]
Vancouver has a vibrant nightlife scene, whether food and dining or bars and nightclubs. TheGranville Entertainment District has the city's highest concentration of bars and nightclubs with closing times of 3am, in addition to various after-hours clubs open until late morning on weekends. The street can attract large crowds on weekends and is closed to traffic on such nights.Gastown is also a popular area for nightlife with many upscale restaurants and nightclubs, as well as theDavie Village, which is the centre of the city'sLGBT community.
Vancouver is a centre for film and television production. NicknamedHollywood North, a distinction it shares with Toronto,[231][232][233] the city has been used as a film making location for nearly a century, beginning with theEdison Manufacturing Company.[234] In 2021, $3.6billion was spent on film production in Vancouver. This ranks Vancouver as the largest production hub in Canada and the 3rd largest in North America, behindLos Angeles andNew York City.[235]
A wide mix of local, national, and international newspapers are distributed in the city. The two majorEnglish-language daily newspapers are theVancouver Sun andThe Province. Also, there are two national newspapers distributed in the city, includingThe Globe and Mail, which began publication of a "national edition" in BC in 1983 and recently[when?] expanded to include a three-page BC news section, and theNational Post, which centres on national news. Other local newspapers have included24H (a local free daily), the Vancouver franchise of the national free dailyMetro, the twice-a-weekVancouver Courier, and the independent newspaperThe Georgia Straight. Three Chinese-language daily newspapers – Ming Pao,Sing Tao andWorld Journal – cater to the city's large Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking population. Several other local and international papers serve other multicultural groups in the Lower Mainland.
Media dominance is a frequently discussed issue in Vancouver as newspapers theVancouver Sun,The Province, theVancouver Courier and other local newspapers such as theSurrey Now, theBurnaby Now and theRichmond News, are all owned byPostmedia Network.[237] Theconcentration of media ownership has spurred alternatives, making Vancouver a centre for independent online media includingThe Tyee,The Vancouver Observer, andNowPublic,[238] as well ashyperlocal online media, likeDaily Hive andVancouver Is Awesome,[239] which provide coverage of community events and local arts and culture.
Vancouver'sstreetcar system began on June 28, 1890, and ran from the (first)Granville Street Bridge to Westminster Avenue (nowMain Street andKingsway). Less than a year later, the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company began operating Canada's first interurban line between the two cities (extended toChilliwack in 1910). Another line (1902), the Vancouver and Lulu Island Railway, was leased by the Canadian Pacific Railway to the British Columbia Electric Railway in 1905 and ran from the Granville Street Bridge toSteveston viaKerrisdale, which encouraged residential neighbourhoods outside the central core to develop.[240] After 1897, theBritish Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) became the operator of the urban andinterurban rail systems until 1958, when its remaining lines were dismantled in favour of tracklesselectric trolleys and gasoline or dieselbuses.[241] BCER later became the core of the newly created, publicly ownedBC Hydro, established in 1962.[242][243][244] Vancouver currently has the second-largesttrolleybus fleet in North America, afterSan Francisco.[245]
Successive city councils in the 1970s and 1980s prohibited the construction of freeways as part of a long-term plan.[246] As a result, the only major freeway within city limits isHighway 1, which passes through the north-eastern corner of the city. While the number of cars in Vancouver proper has been steadily rising with population growth, the rate of car ownership and the average distance driven by daily commuters have fallen since the early 1990s.[247][248] Vancouver is the only major Canadian city with these trends. Even though the journey time per vehicle has increased by one-third and growing traffic mass, there are 7 percent fewer cars making trips into the downtown core.[247] In 2012, Vancouver had the worst traffic congestion in Canada and the second-highest inNorth America, behindLos Angeles.[249] As of 2013[update], Vancouver had the worst traffic congestion in North America.[250] Residents have been more inclined to live in areas closer to their interests, or use more energy-efficient means of travel, such as mass transit and cycling. This is, in part, the result of a push by city planners for a solution to traffic problems and pro-environment campaigns.Transportation demand management policies have imposed restrictions on drivers, making commuting more difficult and expensive while introducing more benefits for non-drivers.[247]
Vancouver'sSkyTrain in the Grandview Cut, with downtown Vancouver in the background. The white dome-like structure is the old roof ofBC Place Stadium.
TransLink is responsible for roads and public transportation withinMetro Vancouver (in succession toBC Transit, which had taken over the transit functions of BC Hydro). It provides bus service, including theRapidBus express service, a foot passenger and bicycle ferry service (known asSeaBus), an automated rapid transit service calledSkyTrain, andWest Coast Express commuter rail. Vancouver's SkyTrain system is currently running on three lines, theMillennium Line, theExpo Line and theCanada Line[251] with a total of 53 stations as of 2017. Only 20 stations are within the City of Vancouver borders, with the remainder in the adjacent suburbs. A number of the city's biggest tourist attractions – such as English Bay, Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Museum of Anthropology, and the Kitsilano neighbourhood – are not connected by this rapid transit system.
Changes are being made to the regional transportation network as part of Translink's 10-Year Transportation Plan. TheCanada Line, opened on August 17, 2009, connectsVancouver International Airport and the neighbouring city ofRichmond with the existing SkyTrain system. TheEvergreen Extension, which opened on December 2, 2016, links the cities ofCoquitlam andPort Moody with the SkyTrain system.[252] As of January 2019, plans to extend the SkyTrain Millennium Line west toUBC as a subway underBroadway have been approved and there are plans for capacity upgrades and an extension to theExpo Line.[253] Several road projects will be completed within the next few years, as part of the Provincial Government'sGateway Program.[251]
Other modes of transport add to the diversity of options available in Vancouver. Inter-city passenger rail service is operated fromPacific Central Station byVia Rail to points east,Amtrak Cascades toSeattle andPortland, andRocky Mountaineer rail tour routes. Small passenger ferries in False Creek provide commuter service to Granville Island, Downtown Vancouver and Kitsilano. Vancouver has a citywide network of bicycle lanes and routes, supporting an active cyclist population year-round. Cycling has become Vancouver's fastest-growing mode of transportation.[254] Thebicycle-sharing systemMobi was introduced to the city in June 2016.[255]
Vancouver is served byVancouver International Airport (YVR), located onSea Island in the city of Richmond, immediately south of Vancouver. Vancouver's airport is Canada's second-busiest airport,[256] and the second-largest gateway on the west coast of North America for international passengers.[257]HeliJet andfloat plane companies operate scheduled air service from Vancouver harbour and YVR south terminal. TwoBC Ferry terminals also serve the city. One is to the northwest atHorseshoe Bay inWest Vancouver, and the other is to the south atTsawwassen inDelta.[258]
Third Beach is one of many beaches located in Vancouver. Given the city's proximity to the ocean and mountains, the area is a popular destination for outdoor recreation.
The city's mild climate and proximity to the ocean, mountains, rivers and lakes make the area a popular destination for outdoor recreation. Vancouver has over 1,298 ha (3,210 acres) of parks, of whichStanley Park, at 404 ha (1,000 acres), is the largest.[259] The city has several large beaches, many adjacent to one another, extending from the shoreline of Stanley Park around False Creek to the south side of English Bay, from Kitsilano to theUniversity Endowment Lands, (which also has beaches that are not part of the city proper). The 18 km (11 mi) of beaches include Second and Third Beaches in Stanley Park, English Bay (First Beach), Sunset,Kitsilano Beach, Jericho, Locarno,Spanish Banks, Spanish Banks Extension, Spanish Banks West, andWreck Beach. There is also a freshwater beach at Trout Lake inJohn Hendry Park. The coastline provides for many types of water sports, and the city is a popular destination for boating enthusiasts.[260]
Within a 20- to 30-minute drive from downtown Vancouver are theNorth Shore Mountains, with three ski areas:Cypress Mountain,Grouse Mountain, andMount Seymour.Mountain bikers have created world-renowned trails across the North Shore. TheCapilano River, Lynn Creek and Seymour River, also on the North Shore, provide opportunities towhitewater enthusiasts during periods of rain and spring melt. However, the canyons of those rivers are more utilized for hiking and swimming than whitewater.[261]
Vancouver is also home to notablecycling races. During most summers since 1973, theGlobal Relay Gastown Grand Prix has been held on the cobblestone streets ofGastown. This race and the UBC Grand Prix are part of BC Superweek, an annual series of professional cycling races in Metro Vancouver.
TheBritish Columbia Derby is a nine-furlong horse race held at the Hastings Racecourse in the third week of September.[263]
In 2011, Vancouver hosted theGrey Cup, theCanadian Football League (CFL) championship game, which is awarded every year to a different city that has a CFL team. TheBC Titans of theInternational Basketball League played their inaugural season in 2009, with home games at theLangley Event Centre.[265] Vancouver is a centre for the fast-growing sport ofultimate. During the summer of 2008 Vancouver hosted the World Ultimate Championships.[266]
Vancouver is Canada's fittest major city, with an obesity rate of only 17.4%, compared to the national average of 24.8%. It is only surpassed byKelowna, British Columbia with a rate of 17% and followed byVictoria, British Columbia at 19.6%.[268] Overall, the province of British Columbia has thelowest obesity rate in Canada, followed by Quebec at 2nd and Ontario at 3rd.
Container recycling, paper recycling and garbage bins in Vancouver
The City of Vancouver is a member ofMetro Vancouver, which provides sustainable regional services[269] to theGreater Vancouver area. The city electrical grid is serviced byBC Hydro, which claims 97.8% of the energy it generates is clean owing to the extensive use ofhydroelectric power generation.[270] The City of Vancouver is the greenest city in Canada according to an independent ongoing urban ecological footprint study.[271]
TheGreenest City action plan (GCAP) is a City of Vancouver urban sustainability initiative. Its primary mission was to ensure Vancouver would become the greenest city in the world by 2020. The GCAP originated based on the 2009 work of the Greenest City Action Team, a committee co-chaired by Vancouver mayorGregor Robertson.[272] The GCAP was approved by Vancouver city council in July 2011.[273]
In May 2018, theZero Waste 2040 Strategy was passed[274] The city began work the same year on decreasing the amount of single-use items distributed in the city. It intends to ban these items by 2021 if businesses do not meet reduction targets. As part of the plan, a ban onplastic straws,polystyrene food packaging and free shopping bags was to go into effect in mid-2019.[275]
In January 2022, the city council passed a regulation mandating that businesses charge a $0.25 fee on single-use cups. This decision was criticized because the fees stayed within the business and were not re-invested in city-wide environmental efforts. On March 28, 2023, the council enacted a by-law that repealed all single-use cup fees.[276]
Twin towns – sister cities
The City of Vancouver was one of the first cities in Canada to enter into an internationalsister cities arrangement.[277] Special arrangements for cultural, social and economic benefits have been created with these sister cities.[69][278][279]
^Note Suttles' (2004) p. 412 example of "təl̓ənəcə čxʷ. təlíʔ cən [ʔə] ƛ̓ Vancouver": ‘Where are you from? I’m from Vancouver.’ and the absence of a hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ term for Vancouver.[30]
^1981–2010 normals are for Vancouver International Airport, while extreme high and low temperatures are from Vancouver PMO (October 1898 to May 1945),[86] and Vancouver International Airport (January 1937 to present).[87]
^Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
^Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on the census.
^Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on the census.
^Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on the census.
^Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under the visible minority section on the census.
^abcCranny, Michael; Jarvis, Graham; Moles, Garvin; Seney, Bruce (1999).Horizons: Canada Moves West. Scarborough, ON: Prentice Hall Ginn Canada.ISBN978-0-13-012367-1.
^abcdDavis, Chuck (1997).The Greater Vancouver Book: An Urban Encyclopaedia. Surrey, British Columbia: Linkman Press. pp. 39–47.ISBN1-896846-00-9.
^"Welcome to Gastown". Gastown Business Improvement Society. March 28, 2008. Archived fromthe original on November 25, 2009. RetrievedDecember 5, 2009.
^"BC Sugar".The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Archived fromthe original on January 4, 2015. RetrievedMay 29, 2014.The dream had become reality: B.C. Sugar was incorporated March 26, 1890. Its president, Benjamin Tingley Rogers, was 24.
^McCandless, R. C. (1974). "Vancouver's 'Red Menace' of 1935: The Waterfront Situation".BC Studies (22): 68.
^BC Labour Heritage Centre (April 16, 2018)."The Shooting of Frank Rogers".Working People Built BC.Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. RetrievedSeptember 19, 2024.
^abPhillips, Paul A. (1967).No Power Greater: A Century of Labour in British Columbia. Vancouver: BC Federation of Labour/Boag Foundation.
^Government of Canada, Statistics Canada."2001 Community Profiles".www12.statcan.gc.ca.Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. RetrievedJuly 8, 2023.
^abO'Leary, Kim Patrick (2011)."Expo 86".The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica-Dominion.Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2012.
^"Vancouver Charter". Queen's Printer. November 18, 2009.Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. RetrievedNovember 29, 2009.
^Edwards, Ian (September 22, 1997)."On set: Cold Squad".Playback. Brunico Communications.Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. RetrievedOctober 23, 2016.
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