British Columbia Maps & Facts

British Columbia’s economy experienced strong growth in recent years with a total growth rate of 9.6% from 2017 to 2021, a growth rate that was second in the country. In 2020, British Columbia had the third-largest GDP in Canada, with a GDP of $309 billion and a GDP per capita of $60,090. Economic activity related to mining in particular has widely fluctuated with changes in commodity prices over time, with documented costs to community health. The economic history of British Columbia is replete with tales of dramatic upswings and downswings, and this boom and bust pattern has influenced the politics, culture and business climate of the province.

Maps of British Columbia

In the 2020 British Columbia general election, the NDP won 57 seats and formed a majority government. In the lead-up to the 2013 election, the Liberals lagged behind the NDP by a double-digit gap in the polls but were able to achieve a surprise victory, winning a majority and making Clark the first woman to lead a party to victory in BC. Early Clark government actions included raising the minimum wage, creating a new statutory holiday in February called “Family Day”, and pushing the development of BC’s liquefied natural gas industry.

• To the northwest of the province are the peoples of the Na-Dene languages, which include the Athapaskan-speaking peoples and the Tlingit, who live on the islands of southern Alaska and northern British Columbia.
• Local services are limited to two regions, with TransLink providing rapid transit and commuter services in the Lower Mainland and by the Seton Lake Indian Band South of Lillooet with the Kaoham Shuttle.
• Since the advent of the more robust mountain bike, trails in more rugged and wild places have been developed for them.
• Its main cities include Vancouver, one of the largest ports of Canada and of western North America, and Victoria, the provincial capital, located on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island.
• Preparedness guides and community resources are available to help you prepare for potential emergencies.

Fur trade and colonial era

Km, British Columbia is the 5th largest and the 3rd most populous Canadian province. In addition to these regional districts, there are a total of 51 cities, 50 district municipalities, 1 Indian government district, 1 Island municipality, 2 Mountain resort municipalities, 1 resort municipality, 14 towns, and 42 villages. The Canadian Province of British Columbia is administratively divided into 26 regional districts. Additionally, British Columbia benefits from its abundant water resources, utilizing hydroelectric power to meet its energy needs.Notable parks include Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, which protects coastal rainforests and beaches, and Yoho National Park. The province’s vast forests provide timber for the thriving forestry industry, while the mountain ranges hold valuable mineral deposits, BC Game such as gold, copper, and coal. The interior zone, with a continental climate, experiences hotter summers and colder winters, resulting in diverse vegetation, including grasslands, forests, and subalpine ecosystems.

The Columbia follows the Rocky Mountain Trench northward, bends around the northern end of the Selkirk Mountains, and turns south to flow into the Arrow Lakes and then into the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. The province reaches its highest elevation in the far northwest at Mount Fairweather (15,300 feet 4,663 metres), located in the St. Elias Mountains (a range of the Coast Mountains) on the Alaskan border. The two major ranges are the Coast Mountains, which lie in the western part of the province, and the Canadian portion of the Rocky Mountains in the eastern part. One of the last regions of the North American continent to be explored and settled, British Columbia emerged in the second half of the 20th century as one of the leading provinces of Canada in population, economic wealth, and overall growth.

The British Columbia Electric Railway provided rail services in Victoria and Vancouver between the nineteenth century and mid twentieth century. Two major routes through the Yellowhead Pass competed with the Canadian Pacific Railway – the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, terminating at Prince Rupert, and the Canadian Northern Railway, terminating at Vancouver. Rail development expanded greatly in the decades after the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, in 1885, and was the chief mode of long-distance surface transportation until the expansion and improvement of the provincial highways system began in the 1950s. A new extension to Coquitlam and Port Moody (the Evergreen Extension of the Millennium Line) was completed in December 2016. In 2009, the Canada Line SkyTrain was completed, linking Vancouver International Airport and the city of Richmond to downtown Vancouver bringing the total to three operating metro lines. Public transit in British Columbia consists mainly of diesel buses, although Vancouver is also serviced by a fleet of trolley buses.