As of 2024, British Columbia has 161 municipalities,[1] out of which 53 are categorized 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 fourth 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 categorized 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 categorized 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]
Cities
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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:
- ^ 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.
- ^ Victoria is British Columbia's capital. The Victoria CMA includes the cities of Colwood, Langford and Victoria.
Former cities
editName | Held city status |
---|---|
Kaslo | 1893–1959[13] |
Phoenix | 1900–1919[14] |
Sandon | 1898–1920[15] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Affairs, Ministry of Municipal. "Regional districts in B.C. - Province of British Columbia". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2021 and 2016 censuses (British Columbia)". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ^ a b "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ Affairs, Ministry of Municipal. "Municipalities in B.C. - Province of British Columbia". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ^ "Local Government Act: Part 2 — Incorporation of Municipalities". Government of British Columbia. December 16, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address". Government of British Columbia. Archived from the original (XLS) on July 13, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
- ^ a b "Order in Council 0187-2021". Government of British Columbia. March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ McGillivray, Brett (September 5, 2024). "Victoria". Britannica. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ^ "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population, 2021 census (British Columbia)". Statistics Canada. October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ "Order in Council No. 362". Province of British Columbia. September 22, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ "Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council: Order in Council No. 513" (PDF). Province of British Columbia. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
- ^ "Order in Council No. 357". Province of British Columbia. June 26, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ "City of Kaslo Fonds". MemoryBC. The British Columbia Archival Information Network. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "Name Details: Phoenix (Abandoned Locality)". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ "From Boom to Bust in 20 Years: Sandon's History as an Incorporated City". Sandon Museum. Retrieved June 26, 2013.