Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal city and major seaport on the mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city has a population of over 630,000 and is the largest city in British Columbia. Metro Vancouver has a population of over 2 million people.[5] That makes it the third largest metropolitan area in Canada. Vancouver has a mix of people from different cultures. Fifty-two percent of city residents have a first language that is not English.[6][7]

City of Vancouver
Vancouver Montage 2020.jpg
Coat of arms of Vancouver
 
 
Location within Metro Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada
Location within Metro Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates: 49°15′N 123°6′W / 49.250°N 123.100°W / 49.250; -123.100Coordinates: 49°15′N 123°6′W / 49.250°N 123.100°W / 49.250; -123.100
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
RegionLower Mainland
IncorporatedApril 6, 1886
Named forCaptain George Vancouver R.N., (1757-1798), explored 1792 for British Royal Navy
Government
 • MayorKennedy Stewart
 • City Council
 • MPs (Fed.)
 • MLAs (Prov.)
Area
 • City114.97 km2 (44.39 sq mi)
 • Metro
2,878.52 km2 (1,111.40 sq mi)
Elevation
0–152 m (0–501 ft)
Population
 • City631,486 (8th)
 • Density5,492.6/km2 (14,226/sq mi)
 • Urban
2,264,823[1]
 • Metro
2,463,431 (3rd)
Time zoneUTC−8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
Forward sortation area
NTS Map092G03
GNBC CodeJBRIK
Highways
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GDPUS$ 109.8 billion[4]
GDP per capitaUS$44,337[4]
WebsiteCity of Vancouver

History

Native People began living in this area around 10,000-8,000 years ago. These people were part of three main groups: the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh.[8][9]

Vancouver was founded in 1886, and is named after British naval captain George Vancouver. Captain Vancouver explored the area around Vancouver and Vancouver Island in the 1790s.

Buildings and information

The University of British Columbia is in Vancouver.

Vancouver also has Stanley Park which has beaches and totem poles. Nearby is Grouse Mountain which has good skiing and has a 2.9 km (1.8 mi.) hiking trail which is known as the Grouse Grind. Grouse Mountain also has an animal sanctuary, including wolves and bears.

The Lions Gate Bridge is also in Stanley Park, Vancouver.

Sports

 
Rogers Arena is the home of the Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver has two ice hockey teams, the Vancouver Canucks (who play for the National Hockey League) and the Vancouver Giants (who play for the Western Hockey League).

The BC Lions of the Canadian Football League are based in Vancouver. The team has won 6 Grey Cups.

In soccer, Vancouver is home to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. They play in the Major League Soccer (MLS).

The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver and it was the first time Canada won a gold medal on Canadian soil.

Geography

Vancouver is on a peninsula on the West Coast of Canada, less than a one-hour drive north of the Canada-U.S. border. Between Vancouver and the Pacific Ocean to the west is a large island called Vancouver Island. Until the city was named in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island. Some people mistakenly think that the city is on Vancouver Island. On the south shore of Vancouver is the Fraser River, which flows west into the Strait of Georgia. The water along the north shore is called Burrard Inlet. The city has an area of 114 square kilometres (44 sq mi). The larger metropolitan area is 2,878 square kilometres (1,111 sq mi). As with most of British Columbia, Vancouver is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8).

Climate

Vancouver has an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification). The average precipitation per year is 1189 mm, mostly from October to April. High temperatures in the summer average 22 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded was 34.4 °C on July 30, 2009. On average, snow falls on only 11 days per year. The snow is usually wet, not very deep, and melts in the rain. On average, on only 4.5 days a year does the temperature not rise above freezing.

Housing in Vancouver

Vancouver has had a housing affordability crisis for many years.[27] It came in as the second-least affordable housing market compared with 90 other metropolitan areas in different countries. The only place considered less affordable was Hong Kong.[28]

Vancouver has been criticized for saying that it provides many social housing units to residents. However social housing can refer to small apartments renting for $1,700 per month. There are people with household incomes of up to $120,000 living in social housing in Vancouver.[29]

The government has been attempting to address the housing crisis situation by imposing a series of taxes such as the Foreign-buyers tax and Empty Homes Tax in 2016 and Speculation tax in 2018.

Rents in Vancouver were very high, and apartment vacancies were very low in 2019.[30]

Media

Notable people

Notes

  1. 1981–2010 normals are for Vancouver International Airport, while extreme high and low temperatures are from Vancouver PMO (October 1898 to May 1945),[10] and Vancouver International Airport (January 1937 to present).[11]

References

  1. Census Profile, 2016 Census
  2. "Population size and growth in Canada: Key results from the 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. May 10, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  3. Census Profile, 2016 Census - Vancouver, City Census subdivision, British Columbia Province
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Global city GDP 2014". Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  5. "Province of British Columbia and Greater Vancouver Transit Authority (TransLink) Facts 2008" (PDF). Government of Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  6. "2006 Census: Population by mother tongue - cities". Archived from the original on 2008-01-26. Retrieved 2007-12-17.
  7. "City Facts 2004" (PDF). City of Vancouver. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-02-06. Retrieved 2006-11-11.
  8. Thom, Brian (1996). "Stó:lo Culture - Ideas of Prehistory and Changing Cultural Relationships to the Land and Environment". Archived from the original on 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
  9. Carlson, Keith Thor (ed.) (2001). A Stó:lō-Coast Salish Historical Atlas. Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre. pp. 6–18. ISBN 1-5505-4812-3. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  10. "Daily Data Report for October 1898". Environment Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  11. "Monthly Data Report for 1937". Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  12. "1981 to 2010 Canadian Climate Normals". Environment Canada. 2015-09-22. Climate ID: 1108447. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  13. "Daily Data Report for March 1941". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  14. "Daily Data Report for April 1934". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  15. "Daily Data Report for June 1925". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  16. "Daily Data Report for September 1944". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  17. "Daily Data Report for October 1934". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  18. "Daily Data Report for December 1939". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  19. "Daily Data Report for June 1901". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  20. "Daily Data Report for July 1909". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  21. "Daily Data Report for August 1910". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  22. "Daily Data Report for September 1908". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  23. "Daily Data Report for October 1935". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  24. "Calculation Information". Environment Canada. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  25. "Daily Data Report for November 2016". Canadian Climate Data. Environment Canada. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  26. d.o.o, Yu Media Group. "Vancouver, Canada - Detailed climate information and monthly weather forecast". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  27. Douglas Todd: Vancouver's housing crisis four decades in the making
  28. Why Ottawa’s attempts to help young Canadians afford housing simply won’t work
  29. Dan Fumano: 'Call it what it is' — Most Vancouver 'social housing' geared to $50,000+ incomes
  30. A desperate housing situation calls for desperate measures

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