British Columbia
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British Columbia

NameBritish Columbia
AlternateNameColombie-Britannique
EntityAdjectiveProvincial
FlagFlag of British Columbia.svg
CoatOfArmsCoat of Arms of British Columbia.png
Motto 
( )
OfficialLangEnglish
DemonymBritish Columbian
Sloganbeautiful British Columbia
FlowerPacific Dogwood
TreeWestern Red Cedar
BirdSteller's Jay
AnimalSpirit Bear
CapitalVictoria
LargestCityVancouver
LargestMetroMetro Vancouver
PremierGordon Campbell
PremierPartyBC Liberal
ViceroySteven Point
ViceroyTypeLieutenant-Governor
PostalAbbreviationBC
PostalCodePrefixV
AreaRank5th
TotalArea Km2944735
LandArea Km2925186
WaterArea Km219549
PercentWater2.1
PopulationRank3rd
Population4,510,858 (est.)
PopulationYear2010
DensityRank7th
Density Km24.7
GDP Year2006
GDP TotalC$179.701 billion
GDP Rank4th
GDP Per CapitaC$41,689
GDP Per Capita Rank7th
LandBordersCanada: Alberta, Northwest Territories, Yukon. U.S.A: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington
AdmittanceOrder6th province
AdmittanceDate20 July 1871
TimeZoneUTC−8 & −7
HouseSeats36
SenateSeats6
ISOCodeCA-BC
Websitewww.gov.bc.ca

     Home | State | British Columbia



British Columbia c-enEn-ca-BritishColumbia.oggˌbrɪtɪʃ_kəˈlʌmbɪə (BC) ( , C.-B.) is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ("Splendour without Diminishment"). Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858. In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.

The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the fifteenth largest metropolitan region in Canada. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada and the second-largest in the Pacific Northwest. In 2009, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,419,974 (about two million of whom were in Metro Vancouver). The province is currently governed by Premier Gordon Campbell.

British Columbia's economy is largely resource-based. It is the endpoint of transcontinental highways and railways and the site of major Pacific ports, which enable international trade. Because of its mild weather, the province is agriculturally rich, particularly in the Okanagan Valley. Its climate also creates an environment for cultural and recreational opportunities. British Columbia hosted the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

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BC got details of Ontario HST deal before provincial vote - Globe and Mail Tweet this news
Globe and Mail--Minister Colin Hansen tabling the provincial budget at the -BC- Legislature in Victoria, -BC-, on Tuesday March 2, 2010. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press Victoria ... - Date : Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:24:13 GMT+00:00
Today's letters: Study of BC salmon has the wrong focus - National Post Tweet this news
National Post---...- in part: “Whereas the decline in sockeye salmon stocks in the Fraser River in -British Columbia- has necessitated the closure of the fishery for a third ... - Date : Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:02:24 GMT+00:00
Closing BC schools 'difficult:' minister - CBC.ca Tweet this news
CBC.ca---BC- Education Minister says it's inefficient to keep schools open when they're less than half full. (CBC) -British Columbia's- education minister says closing ... - Date : Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:55:28 GMT+00:00
Internal documents warned HST would hurt BC's economy for years - Winnipeg Free Press Tweet this news
Winnipeg Free Press--VICTORIA - The -British Columbia- government sold its switch to the harmonized sales tax as one of the best moves it could make to improve the province's ... - Date : Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:44:21 GMT+00:00
Ball to shutter Canadian can factory - Denver Business Journal Tweet this news
Denver Business Journal--Ball Corp. said Wednesday it will shut down its steel-can plant near Vancouver, -British Columbia-, in early 2011. The Broomfield-based packaging and ... - Date : Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:50:37 GMT+00:00
Reprieve spares lives of bears at Canada marijuana compound - AFP Tweet this news
AFP--Police encountered the bears in August at Christina Lake in a remote part of -British Columbia-. Officials in Canada's westernmost province, who told AFP the ... - Date : Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:15:42 GMT+00:00
BC Arts Council gets $7 million, but some question the funding - Victoria Times Colonist Tweet this news
Victoria Times Colonist--Victoria, -BC- - The -British Columbia- Arts Council will administer $7 million in funding through ... - Date : Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:34:57 GMT+00:00
BC court order puts Sikh temple election in limbo - CTV.ca Tweet this news
CTV.ca--Thousands of memberships at one of -British Columbia's- oldest Sikh temples have been cancelled and an upcoming election has been put in limbo after a court ... - Date : Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:31:00 GMT+00:00
Sierra Geothermal shareholders back takeover - BrighterEnergy.org Tweet this news
BrighterEnergy.org--However, it does still require the consent of the Supreme Court of -British Columbia-. In a statement issued today, Sierra's President, CEO and Director, ... - Date : Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:01:28 GMT+00:00
NCAA welcomes Simon Fraser, first Canadian member school - USA Today Tweet this news
USA Today---British Columbia--based Simon Fraser will become the first Canadian school to compete as an NCAA member when its men's and women's soccer and women's ... - Date : Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:46:23 GMT+00:00

Biodiversity :
Type of organism Red-listed species in BC Total number of species in BC
Freshwater fish 24 80
Amphibians 5 19
Reptiles 6 16
Birds 34 465
Terrestrial mammals 11 104
Marine mammals 3 29
Plants 257 2333
Butterflies 12 187
Dragonflies 9 87

1990s to present : Ecozones
Year Population Five Year
% change		 Ten Year
% change		 Rank Among
Provinces
1851 55,000 n/a n/a 6
1861 51,524 n/a −6.3 6
1871 36,247 n/a −35.3 7
1881 49,459 n/a 36.4 8
1891 98,173 n/a 98.5 8
1901 178,657 n/a 82.0 6
1911 392,480 n/a 119.7 6
1921 524,582 n/a 33.7 6
1931 694,263 n/a 32.3 6
1941 817,861 n/a 17.8 6
1951 1,165,210 n/a 42.5 3
1956 1,398,464 20.0 n/a 3
1961 1,629,082 16.5 39.8 3
1966 1,873,674 15.0 34.0 3
1971 2,184,620 16.6 34.1 3
1976 2,466,610 12.9 31.6 3
1981 2,744,467 11.3 25.6 3
1986 2,883,370 5.1 16.9 3
1991 3,282,061 13.8 19.6 3
1996 3,724,500 13.5 29.2 3
2001 3,907,738 4.9 19.1 3
2006 4,113,487 5.3 10.4 3

1990s to present : Ecozones
align=top|Religious groups in BC (1991 & 2001) & Canada (2001)
1991 BC % 2001 BC % 2001 Canada % BC 2001 number
Total population 100% 100% 100% 3,868,875
No religious affiliation 30.0% 35.1% 17% 1,388,300 includes Agnostic, Atheist, Humanist, and No religion, and other responses, such as Darwinism, etc.
Protestant 41.9% 31.4% 29% 1,213,295
Catholic 18.3% 17.2% 44% 675,320 includes Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic .
Christian Orthodox 0.7% 0.9% 2% 35,655
Christian n. i. e. 2.7% 5.2% 3% 200,345 Includes mostly answers of 'Christian', not otherwise stated
Sikh 2.3% 3.5% 1% 135,310
Buddhist 1.1% 2.2% 1% 85,540
Muslim 0.8% 1.5% 2% 56,220
Hindu 0.6% 0.8% 1% 31,500
Jewish 0.5% 0.5% 1% 21,230
Eastern religions 0.3% 0.1% 9,970 includes Baha'i, Eckankar, Jains, Shinto, Taoist, Zoroastrian and Eastern religions, not identified elsewhere
Other religions 0.4% 0.2% 16,205 includes Aboriginal spirituality, Pagan, Wicca, Unity – New Thought – Pantheist, Scientology, Rastafarian, New Age, Gnostic, Satanist, etc.

Ethnic groups and languages :
Ethnic Origin Population Percent
English 1,207,245 29.6%
Scottish 828,145 20.3%
Canadian 720,200 17.7%
Irish 618,120 15.2%
German 561,570 13.8%
Chinese 432,435 10.6%
French 361,215 8.9%
East Indian 232,370 5.7%
Ukrainian 197,265 4.8%
Dutch (Netherlands) 196,420 4.8%
North American Indian 193,060 4.7%
Italian 143,155 3.5%
Norwegian 129,420 3.2%
Polish 128,360 3.2%
Russian 114,105 2.8%
Welsh 104,275 2.6%
Swedish 104,025 2.6%
Filipino 94,255 2.3%
British 74,145 1.8%
American (USA) 66,765 1.6%

Ethnic groups and languages :
Ethnic Origin Population Percent
Métis 62,570 1.5%
Danish 56,125 1.4%
Spanish 52,640 1.3%
Korean 51,860 1.3%
Hungarian 49,870 1.2%
Austrian 46,620 1.1%
Japanese 41,585 1.0%
Portuguese 34,660 0.9%
Vietnamese 30,835 0.8%
Jewish 30,830 0.8%
Finnish 29,875 0.7%
Iranian 29,265 0.7%
Swiss 28,240 0.7%
Romanian 25,670 0.6%
Icelandic 22,110 0.5%
Greek 21,770 0.5%
Czech 21,150 0.5%
Croatian 18,815 0.5%
Punjabi 18,525 0.5%
Belgian 17,510 0.4%

Ethnic groups and languages :
Language Number of
native speakers		 Percentage of
singular responses
English 2,875,770 71.5%
Chinese languages 342,920 8.5%
Punjabi 158,750 4.0%
German 86,690 2.2%
French 54,745 1.4%
Tagalog (Filipino) 50,425 1.3%
Korean 46,500 1.2%
Spanish 34,075 0.9%
Persian 28,150 0.7%
Italian 27,020 0.7%
Dutch 26,355 0.7%
Vietnamese 24,560 0.7%
Hindi 23,240 0.6%
Japanese 20,040 0.5%
Russian 19,320 0.5%
Polish 17,565 0.4%
Portuguese 14,385 0.4%
Ukrainian 12,285 0.3%
Hungarian 10,670 0.3%
Croatian 8,505 0.2%

Ethnic groups and languages :
Language Number of
native speakers		 Percentage of
singular responses
Arabic 8,440 0.2%
Urdu 7,025 0.2%
Danish 6,720 0.2%
Greek 6,620 0.2%
Gujarati 6,565 0.2%
Romanian 6,335 0.2%
Serbian 6,180 0.2%
Czech 6,000 0.1%
Finnish 4,770 0.1%
Athabaskan languages 3,500 0.1%
Slovak 3,490 0.1%
Norwegian 3,275 0.1%
Tamil 3,200 0.1%
Salish languages 3,190 0.1%
Ilocano 3,100 0.1%
Malay 3,100 0.1%
Bisayan languages 3,035 0.1%
Swedish 2,875 0.1%
Turkish 2,255 0.1%
Tsimshianic languages 2,125 0.1%

Cities :
Ten Largest Metropolitan Areas in BC by Population
Community (includes metro areas) 2006 1996
Vancouver 2,215,200 1,831,665
Victoria 330,088 304,287
Kelowna 162,276 136,349
Abbotsford 159,020 136,480
Kamloops 92,882 85,407
Nanaimo 92,361 82,691
Prince George 83,225 87,731
Chilliwack 80,892 66,254
Vernon 55,418 49,701
Courtenay 49,214 46,297

Cities :
Ten Largest Municipalities in BC by Population
Municipality 2006 1996
Vancouver 578,041 514,008
Surrey (Metro Vancouver) 394,976 304,477
Burnaby (Metro Vancouver) 202,799 179,209
Richmond (Metro Vancouver) 174,461 148,867
Abbotsford 123,864 104,403
Coquitlam (Metro Vancouver) 114,565 101,820
Saanich (Metro Victoria) 108,265 101,388
Kelowna 106,707 89,422
Delta (Metro Vancouver) 96,723 95,411
Langley Township (Metro Vancouver) 93,726 80,179


Topics on British Columbia

HistoryFur trade * Heritage sites
PoliticsPolitical parties * Elections * Government * Lieutenant Governor * Cabinet * Premiers (current) * Legislature * Monarchy * Leader of the Opposition
GeographyDemographics * Mountains * Natural history * Provincial parks * Rivers * Volcanoes
CommunitiesCensus divisions * Regional Districts * Settlements
EconomyCompanies * Highways * Airports
CultureEducation * First Nations * Law * Music * Sports * People * Symbols * Flag * Coat of arms * Universities * Visitor attractions

Provinces and territories of Canada

ProvincesAlberta * British Columbia * Manitoba * New Brunswick * Newfoundland and Labrador * Nova Scotia * Ontario * Prince Edward Island * Quebec * Saskatchewan
TerritoriesNorthwest Territories * Nunavut * Yukon

Canada topics

History
TimelineAboriginals * New France (to 1763) * Under British Control (1763-1867) * Post-Confederation (1867-1914) * World Wars and Interwar Years (1914-1945) * 1945-1960 * 1960-1981 * 1982-1992 * since 1992
TopicsConstitutional * Crown & Aboriginals * Economic * Former colonies & territories * Immigration
Military * Monarchical * Persons of significance * Territorial evolution
Government
Law * Constitution * The Crown * Governor General * Parliament (Senate * House of Commons) * Prime Minister (List) * Courts (Supreme Court) * Military * Local Government * Foreign relations * Law enforcement
Politics
Elections * Gun politics * LGBT rights
Geography
Regions
(west to east)		Coast Mountains * Interior Plateau * Columbia Mountains * Rocky Mountains * Prairies * Western Canada * Northern Canada * Canadian Shield * Great Lakes * Central Canada * Saint Lawrence Lowlands * Appalachian Mountains * Arctic Cordillera * Atlantic Canada * Maritimes
Topics Animals * Cities * Extreme communities * Historic sites * Islands * Mountains * National parks * Plants * Regions * Rivers * Volcanoes
Economy
Agriculture * Banking * Bank of Canada * Canadian dollar * Communications * Companies * Energy * Fishing * Oil * Stock Exchange * Taxation * Tourism * Transportation * Social programs * Poverty
Society
Education * Health care * Crime * Obesity
Demographics
TopicsImmigration * Languages * Religion * 1996 Census * 2001 Census * 2006 Census * Population by year
Top 100sMetro areas * Urban areas * Municipalities
Culture
Architecture * Art * Cinema * Cuisine * People * Holidays * Identity * Literature * Music * Nationalism * Protection of * Sport * Theatre * Visitor attractions
Symbols
Coat of Arms * Flags * National Flag * Provincial and territorial * Regional tartans * Royal symbols * Heraldry |



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