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List of cities in British Columbia

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Map of British Columbia with its notable cities

A city is a classification of municipalities used in the Canadian province of British Columbia. British Columbia's Lieutenant Governor in Council may incorporate a community as a city by letters patent, under the recommendation of the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development, if its population is greater than 5,000 and the outcome of a vote involving affected residents was that greater than 50% voted in favour of the proposed incorporation.[1]

British Columbia has 53 cities[2] that had a cumulative population of 3,630,140 and an average population of 68,493 in the 2021 census.[3] British Columbia's largest and smallest cities are Vancouver and Greenwood with populations of 662,248 and 702 respectively.[3] The largest city by land area is Abbotsford, which spans 375.33 km2 (144.92 sq mi), while the smallest is Duncan, at 2.06 km2 (0.80 sq mi).[3]

The first community to incorporate as a city was New Westminster on July 16, 1860,[4] while the province's newest city is Mission, which was redesignated from a district municipality to a city on March 29, 2021.[5]

Cities in British Columbia
Name Regional district[4] Incorporation date[4] Population (2021)[3] Population (2016)[6] Change (%)[6] Area (km2)[6] Population density[6]
Abbotsford Fraser ValleyDecember 12, 1995153,524141,3978.6%375.33 km2409.0
Armstrong North OkanaganMarch 31, 19135,3235,1144.1%5.22 km21020.0
Burnaby Metro VancouverSeptember 22, 1892249,125232,7557.0%90.57 km22750.7
Campbell River StrathconaJune 24, 194735,51933,0077.6%144.38 km2246.0
Castlegar Central KootenayJanuary 1, 19748,3388,0393.7%19.87 km2419.6
Chilliwack Fraser ValleyApril 26, 187393,20383,78811.2%261.34 km2356.6
Colwood CapitalJune 24, 198518,96116,85912.5%17.66 km21073.6
Coquitlam Metro VancouverJuly 25, 1891148,625139,2846.7%122.15 km21216.7
Courtenay Comox ValleyJanuary 1, 191528,42025,63910.8%32.42 km2876.7
Cranbrook East KootenayNovember 1, 190520,49920,0472.3%31.97 km2641.2
Dawson Creek Peace RiverMay 26, 193612,32312,1781.2%26.72 km2461.1
Delta Metro VancouverSeptember 22, 2017[7]108,455102,2386.1%179.66 km2603.7
Duncan Cowichan ValleyMarch 4, 19125,0474,9442.1%2.06 km22444.5
Enderby North OkanaganMarch 1, 19053,0282,9642.2%4.26 km2710.4
Fernie East KootenayJuly 28, 19046,3205,39617.1%15.11 km2418.3
Fort St. John Peace RiverDecember 31, 194721,46520,2605.9%32.67 km2656.9
Grand Forks Kootenay BoundaryApril 15, 18974,1124,0491.6%10.37 km2396.4
Greenwood Kootenay BoundaryJuly 12, 18977026655.6%2.42 km2290.2
Kamloops Thompson-NicolaOctober 17, 196797,90290,2808.4%297.93 km2328.6
Kelowna Central OkanaganMay 4, 1905144,576127,39013.5%211.85 km2682.4
Kimberley East KootenayMarch 29, 19448,1157,4259.3%60.51 km2134.1
Langford CapitalDecember 8, 199246,58435,34231.8%41.43 km21124.4
Langley Metro VancouverMarch 15, 195528,96325,88811.9%10.18 km22845.2
Maple Ridge Metro VancouverSeptember 12, 2014[8]90,99082,25610.6%267.82 km2339.7
Merritt Thompson-NicolaApril 1, 19117,0517,139-1.2%26.04 km2270.7
Mission Fraser ValleyMarch 29, 2021[5]41,51938,5547.7%226.98 km2182.9
Nanaimo NanaimoDecember 24, 187499,86390,50410.3%90.45 km21104.1
Nelson Central KootenayMarch 18, 189711,10610,5725.1%11.93 km2930.6
New Westminster Metro VancouverJuly 16, 186078,91670,99611.2%15.62 km25052.4
North Vancouver Metro VancouverAugust 10, 189158,12052,8989.9%11.83 km24913.0
Parksville NanaimoJune 19, 194513,64212,4539.5%14.52 km2939.5
Penticton Okanagan-SimilkameenJanuary 1, 190936,88533,7619.3%43.03 km2857.3
Pitt Meadows Metro VancouverApril 25, 191419,14618,5733.1%86.34 km2221.7
Port Alberni Alberni-ClayoquotOctober 28, 196718,25917,6783.3%19.66 km2928.9
Port Coquitlam Metro VancouverMarch 7, 191361,49858,6124.9%29.16 km22108.7
Port Moody Metro VancouverMarch 11, 191333,53533,5510.0%25.85 km21297.3
Powell River Powell RiverOctober 15, 195513,94313,1576.0%28.91 km2482.4
Prince George Fraser-Fort GeorgeMarch 6, 191576,70874,0033.7%316.74 km2242.2
Prince Rupert North CoastMarch 10, 191012,30012,2200.7%66.00 km2186.4
Quesnel CaribooMarch 21, 19289,8899,8790.1%35.35 km2279.8
Revelstoke Columbia ShuswapMarch 1, 18998,2757,5629.4%41.28 km2200.5
Richmond Metro VancouverNovember 10, 1879209,937198,3095.9%128.87 km21629.0
Rossland Kootenay BoundaryMarch 18, 18974,1403,72911.0%59.72 km269.3
Salmon Arm Columbia ShuswapMay 15, 190519,43217,7069.7%155.19 km2125.2
Surrey Metro VancouverNovember 10, 1879568,322517,8879.7%316.11 km21797.9
Terrace Kitimat–StikineDecember 31, 192712,01711,6433.2%57.33 km2209.6
Trail Kootenay BoundaryJune 14, 19017,9207,7092.7%34.90 km2226.9
Vancouver Metro VancouverApril 6, 1886662,248631,4864.9%115.18 km25749.9
Vernon North OkanaganDecember 30, 189244,51940,11611.0%96.43 km2461.7
Victoria CapitalAugust 2, 186291,86785,7927.1%19.45 km24722.3
West Kelowna Central OkanaganJune 26, 2015[9]36,07832,65510.5%122.09 km2295.5
White Rock Metro VancouverApril 15, 195721,93919,95210.0%5.17 km24240.6
Williams Lake CaribooMarch 15, 192910,94710,7531.8%33.12 km2330.5
Total cities — — 3,630,140 3,367,053 7.8% 4497.15 807.2

Former cities

[change | change source]

Kaslo held city status between 1893 and 1959.[10] Sandon held city status between 1898 and 1920.[11] Phoenix held city status between 1900 and 1919.[12]

City status eligibility

[change | change source]

As of the 2021 census, nine towns – Comox, Creston, Ladysmith, Oliver, Osoyoos, Qualicum Beach, Sidney, Smithers and View Royal – meet the requirement of having populations greater than 5,000 to incorporate as a city. Also, 21 district municipalities meet the minimum population requirements to incorporate as a city.

References

[change | change source]
  1. ↑ "Local Government Act: Part 2 — Incorporation of Municipalities". Government of British Columbia Queen's Printer. November 12, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Local Government Legal Names & Incorporation Dates" (PDF). gov.bc.ca. October 24, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population, 2021 census (British Columbia)". Statistics Canada. October 30, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "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.
  5. 1 2 "Order in Council 0187-2021". Government of British Columbia. March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "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.
  7. ↑ "Order in Council No. 362". Province of British Columbia. September 22, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council: Order in Council No. 513" (PDF). Province of British Columbia. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Order in Council No. 357". Province of British Columbia. June 26, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  10. ↑ City of Kaslo Fonds. The British Columbia Archival Information Network. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  11. ↑ "From Boom to Bust in 20 Years: Sandon's History as an Incorporated City". Sandon Museum. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Name Details: Phoenix (Abandoned Locality)". GeoBC. Retrieved June 27, 2013.


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