Vancouver
Archaeological records indicate that Aboriginal people were already living in the Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples of the Coast Salish group had villages in various parts of present-day Vancouver, such as Stanley Park, False Creek, Kitsilano, Point Grey and near the mouth of the Fraser River. These communities thrived for millennia before any European contact occurred. Europeans became acquainted with the area when José María Narváez of Spain explored the coast of present-day Point Grey and parts of Burrard Inlet in 1791. One author contends that Francis Drake may have visited the area in 1579, though this remains debated among historians. The explorer and North West Company trader Simon Fraser and his crew became the first-known Europeans to set foot on the site of the present-day city. In 1808, they travelled from the east down the Fraser River, perhaps as far as Point Grey. The region where Vancouver is currently located was referred to by the Stó:lō in the Upriver Halkomelem dialect as xwáýxwáy, meaning wide at the bottom/end. Speakers of the Island dialect of Halkomelem referred to the region of Vancouver as səlílímatl or xelálh, referring to the Squamish, or as bCk'wúy, a transliteration of the English word Vancouver. The indigenous Squamish people who reside in a region that encompasses southwestern British Columbia including this city gave the name which means place of many maple trees; this was originally the name of a village inhabited by said people where a sawmill was established by Edward Stamp as part of the foundations to the British settlement later becoming part of Vancouver.
The first European settlement in what is now Vancouver was not until 1862 at McCleery's Farm on the Fraser River, just east of the ancient village of Musqueam in what is now Marpole. A sawmill was established at Moodyville in 1863, beginning the city's long relationship with logging. It was quickly followed by mills owned by Captain Edward Stamp on the south shore of the inlet. Stamp, who had begun logging in the Port Alberni area, first attempted to run a mill at Brockton Point, but difficult currents and reefs forced the relocation of the operation in 1867 to a point near the foot of Dunlevy Street. This mill, known as the Hastings Mill, became the nucleus around which Vancouver formed. The settlement, which came to be called Gastown, proliferated around the original makeshift tavern established by Gassy Jack in 1867 on the edge of the Hastings Mill property. In 1870, the colonial government surveyed the settlement and laid out a townsite, renamed Granville in honour of the then, British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Granville. This site, with its natural harbour, was selected in 1884 as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the disappointment of Port Moody, New Westminster and Victoria, all of which had vied to be the railhead. The City of Vancouver was incorporated on the 6th of April 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR president William Van Horne arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended by Henry John Cambie and gave the city its name in honour of George Vancouver. The Great Vancouver Fire on the 13th of June 1886, razed the entire city. The Vancouver Fire Department was established that year and the city quickly rebuilt. Vancouver's population grew from a settlement of 1,000 people in 1881 to over 20,000 by the turn of the century and 100,000 by 1911.
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Vancouver had a population of 662,248 living in 305,336 of its 328,347 total private dwellings, a change of 4.9 percent from its 2016 population of 631,486. Approximately 75 percent of the people living in Metro Vancouver live outside Vancouver itself. In the 2021 census reported that immigrants comprise 274,365 persons or 42.2% of the total population of Vancouver. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were mainland China with 63,275 persons or 23.1%, Philippines with 29,930 persons or 10.9%, Hong Kong with 25,480 persons or 9.3%, India with 14,640 persons or 5.3%, United Kingdom with 12,895 persons or 4.7%, Vietnam with 12,120 persons or 4.4%, Taiwan with 9,870 persons or 3.6%, United States of America with 9,790 persons or 3.6%, Iran with 8,775 persons or 3.2%, and South Korea with 6,495 persons or 2.4%. Since the 1980s, immigration increased substantially, making the city more ethnically and linguistically diverse; 49 percent of Vancouver's residents do not speak English as their first language. Over 25 percent of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage. In the 1980s, an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong in anticipation of the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China, combined with an increase in immigrants from mainland China and previous immigrants from Taiwan, established in Vancouver one of the highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese residents in North America. Another significant Asian ethnic group in Vancouver includes South Asians, forming approximately 7 percent of the city's inhabitants. The black population of Vancouver is small in comparison to other Canadian major cities, making up 1.3 percent of the city. Hogan's Alley, a small area adjacent to Chinatown, just off Main Street at Prior, was once home to a significant black community.
Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an alternative to sprawl. As part of the larger Metro Vancouver region, it is influenced by the policy direction of livability as illustrated in Metro Vancouver's Regional Growth Strategy. Vancouver ranked high on the Global Liveability Ranking and stood at number 1 on the list for several years until 2011. In recent years, it has dropped, ranking as low as 16 in 2021. , Vancouver was ranked as having the fifth-highest quality of living of any city on Earth. According to Forbes, Vancouver had the fourth-most expensive real estate market in the world in 2019. Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage the building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's West End, subject to strict requirements for setbacks and open space to protect sight lines and preserve green space. The success of these dense but livable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s. The result is a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its high amenity and livable development. In 2006, the city launched a planning initiative entitled EcoDensity, with the stated goal of exploring ways in which density, design, and land use can contribute to environmental sustainability, affordability, and livability.
Vancouver has become a significant film location, known as Hollywood North, as it has stood in for several U.S. cities. However, it has started to appear as itself in several feature films. Among films set in the city and its surroundings are the 1994 US thriller Intersection, starring Richard Gere and Sharon Stone; the 2007 Canadian ghost thriller They Wait, starring Terry Chen and Jaime King; and the acclaimed Canadian mockumentary Hard Core Logo, and was named the second-best Canadian film of the last 15 years, in a 2001 poll of 200 industry voters, performed by Playback. Genie Award-winning filmmaker Mina Shum has filmed and set several of her internationally released features in Vancouver, including the Sundance-screened Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity in 2002. In 2021, $3.6 billion was spent on film production in Vancouver. This ranks Vancouver as the largest production hub in Canada and the 3rd largest in North America, behind Los Angeles and New York City. The city hosts approximately 65 movies and 55 TV series annually and is the third largest film and TV production centre in North America, supporting 20,000 jobs. Port Metro Vancouver, Canada's largest and most diversified port, does more than $172 billion in trade with over 160 different trading economies annually. Port activities generate $9.7 billion in gross domestic product and $20.3 billion in economic output. Over 10.3 million people visited Vancouver in 2017. Annually, tourism contributes approximately $4.8 billion to the Metro Vancouver economy and supports over 70,000 jobs.
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Common questions
When was the City of Vancouver incorporated?
The City of Vancouver was incorporated on the 6th of April 1886. This event occurred in the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived at the location.
Who were the original inhabitants of the Vancouver area before European contact?
Aboriginal people lived in the Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples established villages in various parts of present-day Vancouver including Stanley Park and False Creek.
What is the population of Vancouver according to the 2021 Canadian census?
In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Vancouver had a population of 662,248 living in 305,336 private dwellings. Immigrants comprised 42.2% of this total population with mainland China being the top country of origin.
Why did Simon Fraser travel down the Fraser River in 1808?
Simon Fraser and his crew became the first-known Europeans to set foot on the site of the present-day city when they travelled from the east down the Fraser River in 1808. They may have reached as far as Point Grey during this expedition.
How much money was spent on film production in Vancouver in 2021?
In 2021, $3.6 billion was spent on film production in Vancouver. This expenditure ranks Vancouver as the largest production hub in Canada and the third largest in North America behind Los Angeles and New York City.