[155] This was reaffirmed with the results of the 2005 provincial election and the 2006 federal election. A mix of the charming, modern, and tried and true. Small passenger ferries operating in False Creek provide commuter service to Granville Island, Downtown Vancouver and Kitsilano. [126][127] In 1981, less than 7% of the population belonged to a visible minority group. The Strait of Georgia, to the west, is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island. The Grouse Grind is a 2.9-kilometre (1.8 mi) climb up Grouse Mountain open throughout the summer and fall months, including the annual Grouse Grind Mountain Run. Vancouver also is home to other professional sports teams, including the Whitecaps (football [soccer]), the BC Lions (Canadian gridiron football) and the Vancouver Canadians (minor league baseball). Vancouver’s picturesque natural setting and cultural amenities helped land the city the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games, with about half the events scheduled at the winter sports area in Whistler, about 80 miles (130 km) north of the city. There are five public universities in the Greater Vancouver area, the largest being the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU), with a combined enrolment of more than 90,000 undergraduates, graduates, and professional students in 2008. Stanley Park, with its gardens and large public aquarium, occupies some 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of the downtown peninsula at the harbour entrance and is surrounded by a scenic 5.5-mile (8.8-km) seawall that is popular with strollers, joggers, and inline skaters. Photograph by Alexandre Deslongchamps, Getty Images Get involved in this annual artist-led sacred event to honour the dead. Each neighbourhood in Vancouver has a distinct character and ethnic mix. Vancouver students from kindergarten to grade 12 are invited to enter this upcycled art challenge and express their views on the impact of waste. We're creating a city of communities that cares about its people, environment, and opportunities to live, work, and prosper. [156] In the 2018 Vancouver municipal election, independent Kennedy Stewart was elected mayor of Vancouver.[157]. 39 Vancouver", Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britanique, "Times Higher Education's The World University Rankings 2010", "Message from the President of Vancouver Film School, James Griffin", "Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company to close", "Groundbreaking cop series takes final bow", "Did you know These 20 TV Shows were filmed in Vancouver? Besides the Scottish, who were very influential in Vancouver’s early years, Americans had a notable impact on the city. In recent years, Vancouver has become a centre for software development, biotechnology, aerospace, video game development, animation studios and television production and film industry. [163] The police work in conjunction with civilian and volunteer run Community Police Centres. It was incorporated as a city in April 1886 (just before it became the western terminus of the first trans-Canada railway, the Canadian Pacific) and was renamed to honour the English navigator George Vancouver, of the Royal Navy, who had explored and surveyed the coast in 1792. Here are our top 10 escapes from the city. The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in the Gastown area, where the first logging occurred and on the southern slopes of False Creek and English Bay, especially around Jericho Beach. Can't-miss spots to dine, drink, and feast. Both also maintain campuses in Downtown Vancouver and Surrey. [111] The Marine Building is known for its elaborate ceramic tile facings and brass-gilt doors and elevators, which make it a favourite location for movie shoots. NDP candidate Nathan Cullen said B.C. Vancouver has a citywide network of bicycle lanes and routes, which supports an active population of cyclists year-round. [245] The city began work the same year on decreasing the amount of single-use items distributed in the city, and has stated its intention to ban these items in 2021 if businesses don't meet reduction targets. Ethnic Chinese—most are locally born but many came to the area from Hong Kong when rule there was returned to China—constitute more than one-third of the population of the suburb of Richmond, which of all Canada’s municipalities in the first years of the 21st century had the highest proportion of foreign-born residents, more than half. Cycling has become Vancouver's fastest-growing mode of transportation. Historically, in all levels of government, the more affluent west side of Vancouver has voted along conservative or liberal lines while the eastern side of the city has voted along left-wing lines. It has a fine natural harbor on a superb site facing the sea and mountains. [164] In 2006, the police department established its own Counter Terrorism Unit. [43] The settlement, which came to be called Gastown, grew quickly around the original makeshift tavern established by "Gassy" Jack Deighton in 1867 on the edge of the Hastings Mill property. Vancouver is consistently named as one of the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life,[11][12][13] and the Economist Intelligence Unit acknowledged it as the first city ranked among the top ten of the world's most well-living cities[14] for ten consecutive years. [39][40][41] Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities;[42] 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. For park commissioner, four spots went to Vision Vancouver, one to the Green Party, one to COPE, and one to NPA. The success of these dense but liveable neighbourhoods led to the redevelopment of urban industrial sites, such as North False Creek and Coal Harbour, beginning in the mid-1980s. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. There are several modern buildings in the downtown area, including the Harbour Centre, the Vancouver Law Courts and surrounding plaza known as Robson Square (designed by Arthur Erickson) and the Vancouver Library Square (designed by Moshe Safdie and DA Architects), reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome, and the recently completed Woodward's building Redevelopment (designed by Henriquez Partners Architects). officials say step back from social interactions, as 223 cases announced, Colby Zuback's son needs heart surgery but is trapped in 90-day waiting period for MSP, COVID-19 update for Oct. 23: Another 223 cases announced Friday. Around 160 staff and students at École de l'Anse-au-sable in Kelowna ordered to quarantine. for Oct. 22, 2020. [150] Such development has clustered in the Yaletown and Coal Harbour districts and around many of the SkyTrain stations to the east of the downtown. [224] Residents have been more inclined to live in areas closer to their interests, or use more energy-efficient means of travel, such as mass transit and cycling. As part of the plan, a ban on plastic straws, polystyrene food packaging and free shopping bags will go into effect during mid-2019. The business and financial district adjoins the port facilities along Burrard Inlet. The Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League play at the Pacific Coliseum. Place Stadium (1983) is the city’s main venue for major sporting events and concerts, in addition to being a popular site for consumer shows and special events. The city recovered, however, to become a prosperous port, aided in part by the opening of the Panama Canal (1914), which made it economically feasible to export grain and lumber from Vancouver to the east coast of the United States and to Europe. In addition, a commuter rail line connects downtown Vancouver with points eastward to the city of Mission. We have reviews of the best places to see in Vancouver. The native Douglas maple can also attain a tremendous size. Vancouver's streetcar system began on June 28, 1890, and ran from the (first) Granville Street Bridge to Westminster Avenue (now Main Street and Kingsway). Vancouver operates the Vancouver Police Department, with 1,327 sworn members and an operating budget of $316.5 million in 2018. Downtown is also home to the Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver), which showcases temporary exhibitions by up-and-coming Vancouver artists. Its climate is marked by mild wet winters and moderately warm summers. Many past and current TV shows have been filmed and set in Vancouver. Get building permits and guidelines to keep your building and renovation projects up to code and on track. The contest is open until 5pm on November 6. [62], Located on the Burrard Peninsula, Vancouver lies between Burrard Inlet to the north and the Fraser River to the south. [59] These riots, and the formation of the Asiatic Exclusion League, also act as signs of a growing fear and mistrust towards the Japanese living in Vancouver and throughout BC. [123] Other significant Asian ethnic groups in Vancouver include South Asians (6.0%), Filipinos (5.9%), Japanese (1.7%), Korean (1.5%), West Asians (1.4%), as well as sizeable communities of Vietnamese, Indonesians, and Cambodians. [105] 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".[106]. Television shows produced[197] (but not set) in Vancouver (that have been produced by American and Canadian studios alike) include 21 Jump Street, The 100, The 4400, Airwolf, Almost Human, Arrow, Backstrom, Caprica, Cedar Cove, Chesapeake Shores, The Commish, Dark Angel, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The Flash, The Good Doctor, Haters Back Off, Hellcats, Intelligence, iZombie, The Killing, The L Word, Life Unexpected, The Man in the High Castle, Once Upon a Time, Psych, Reaper, Riverdale, Rogue, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, Supergirl, Supernatural, The Tomorrow People, The Magicians, Tru Calling, Van Helsing, Witches of East End, and The X-Files. It provides bus service, including the RapidBus express service, a foot passenger and bicycle ferry service (known as SeaBus), an automated rapid transit service called SkyTrain, and West Coast Express commuter rail. [190] UBC's main campus is located on the tip of Burrard Peninsula, just west of the University Endowment Lands with the city-proper adjacent to the east. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. More specifically, Vancouver is the fourth-largest in Western Canada after Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. View listing photos, review sales history, and use our detailed real estate filters to find the perfect place. By the 1930s Vancouver was Canada’s major Pacific coast port. Vancouver is host to one of the country's largest annual LGBT pride parades. [75] Vancouver's 1981–2010 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone ranges from 8A to 9A depending on elevation and proximity to water.[83]. The city has long been a popular destination for immigrants both from other parts of Canada and from overseas. [149], Since the 1990s, development of high-rise condominia in the downtown peninsula has been financed, in part, by an inflow of capital from Hong Kong immigrants due to the former colony's 1997 handover to China. Subsequently, North America's only legal safe injection site was opened for the significant number of intravenous heroin users in the city.[154]. [236], In 2009, Metro Vancouver hosted the World Police and Fire Games. area, 2,463,431. Places to see, ways to wander, and signature experiences.