Vancouver is one of the most important cities in western Canada. It is in the Lower Mainland city of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 census counted 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. In 2021, there were 2.6 million people living in the Greater Vancouver area. This made it the third-largest population in Canada. Together, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley make up the Lower Mainland, which has a population of over 3 million. With more than 5,700 people per square kilometre, Vancouver has the most people of any population in Canada and the fourth most people of any city in North America (after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City).
Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada. 49.3% of its residents don’t speak English as their first language, 47.8% don’t speak either English or French as their first language, and 54.5 % of its residents are from visible minority groups. It has been named one of the best places to live in Canada and the world over and over again. Vancouver is also one of the most expensive places to live in both Canada and the rest of the world. Vancouver wants to become the world’s greenest city. Vancouverism is the way the city plans and designs its buildings.
People from the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) tribes were the first to live in Vancouver more than 10,000 years ago. The modern city, which was first called Gastown, grew up around the site of a makeshift tavern that was built on July 1, 1867, on the western edge of Hastings Mill and was owned by Gassy Jack. The Gastown steam clock shows where the first building was. Then, Gastown became an official townsite called Granville, Burrard Inlet. In 1886, the Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to change the name of the city to “Vancouver” (CPR). By 1887, the Canadian Pacific transcontinental railroad had been built all the way to the city. The city’s large natural seaport on the Pacific Ocean became an important link in trade between Asia-Pacific, East Asia, Europe, and Eastern Canada.
Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, such as the 1954 Commonwealth Games, UN Habitat I, Expo 86, APEC Canada 1997, the World Police and Fire Games in 1989 and 2009, and several matches of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, including the finals, at BC Place in Downtown Vancouver. The 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics were held in Vancouver and Whistler, a resort town 125 km (78 mi) north of the city. Vancouver was the place where Greenpeace began in 1969. In 2014, TED conferences moved to the city and will stay there from now on.
As of 2016, the Port of Vancouver is the fourth-largest port in the Americas by tonnage, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diverse port in North America. Even though forestry is still its largest industry, Vancouver is known for being a city in the middle of nature, so tourism is its second-largest industry. Major film studios in Vancouver and nearby Burnaby have made Greater Vancouver and nearby areas one of the largest film production centres in North America, giving it the nickname “Hollywood North.”
Downtown Vancouver, Gastown, East Vancouver, Yaletown, Kitsilano, Chinatown, Downtown Eastside, Granville Island, West End, Coal Harbour, Mount Pleasant, Kerrisdale, West Point Grey, Riley Park–Little Mountain, Shaughnessy, Davie Village, Hastings-Sunrise, Champlain Heights, South Vancouver, Arbutus Ridge, Grandview-Woodland, South Granville, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Renfrew-Collingwood, Punjabi Market, Musqueam First Nation, Strathcona, Dunbar-Southlands, South Cambie, Japantown, Kits Point, Central Vancouver, Oakridge, Renfrew Heights, Greektown, Vancouver, Granville, Victoria-Fraserview, Sunset, South Main, Fairview, Southlands, Knight, West Side, Dickens, Financial District, Killarney
Stanley Park | Capilano Suspension Bridge Park | Granville Island |
Vancouver Aquarium | Vancouver Art Gallery | Museum of Anthropology at UBC |
Queen Elizabeth Park | VanDusen Botanical Garden | Science World |
Island trip | Sea-to-Sky drive | North Shore skiing |