A city is a classification of municipalities used in the Canadian province of British Columbia. British Columbia's Lieutenant Governor in Council may incorporate a community as a city by letters patent, under the recommendation of the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development, if its population is greater than 5,000 and the outcome of a vote involving affected residents was that greater than 50% voted in favour of the proposed incorporation.[1]
British Columbia has 52 cities[2][3][4] that had a cumulative population of 3,327,824 and an average population of 63,997 in the 2016 census.[5] British Columbia's largest and smallest cities are Vancouver and Greenwood with populations of 631,486 and 665 respectively.[5] The largest city by land area is Abbotsford, which spans 375.55 km2 (145.00 sq mi), while the smallest is Duncan, at 2.07 km2 (0.80 sq mi).[5]
The first community to incorporate as a city was New Westminster on July 16, 1860,[2] while the province's newest city is Mission, which was redesignated from a district municipality to a city on March 29, 2021.[6]
List
| Name | Corporate name[2] | Regional district[2] | Incorporation date[2] | Population (2021)[7] | Population (2016)[5] | Change (%)[5] | Area (km2)[5] | Population density[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford | Abbotsford, City of | Fraser Valley | December 12, 1995 | 153,524 | 141,397 | 8.6 | 375.33 | 409.0 |
| Armstrong | Armstrong, City of | North Okanagan | March 31, 1913 | 5,323 | 5,114 | 4.1 | 5.22 | 1020.0 |
| Burnaby | Burnaby, City of | Metro Vancouver | September 22, 1892 | 249,125 | 232,755 | 7.0 | 90.57 | 2750.7 |
| Campbell River | Campbell River, City of | Strathcona | June 24, 1947 | 35,519 | 32,588 | 7.6 | 144.38 | 246.0 |
| Castlegar | Castlegar, City of | Central Kootenay | January 1, 1974 | 8,338 | 8,039 | 3.7 | 19.67 | 419.6 |
| Chilliwack | Chilliwack, City of | Fraser Valley | April 26, 1873 | 93,203 | 83,788 | 11.2 | 261.34 | 356.6 |
| Colwood | Colwood, City of | Capital | June 24, 1985 | 18,961 | 16,859 | 12.5 | 17.66 | 1073.6 |
| Coquitlam | Coquitlam, City of | Metro Vancouver | July 25, 1891 | 148,625 | 139,284 | 6.7 | 122.15 | 1216.7 |
| Courtenay | Courtenay, The Corporation of the City of | Comox Valley | January 1, 1915 | 28,420 | 25,599 | 10.8 | 32.42 | 876.7 |
| Cranbrook | Cranbrook, The Corporation of the City of | East Kootenay | November 1, 1905 | 20,499 | 20,047 | 2.3 | 31.97 | 641.2 |
| Dawson Creek | Dawson Creek, The Corporation of the City of | Peace River | May 26, 1936 | 12,323 | 12,178 | 1.2 | 26.72 | 461.1 |
| Delta | Delta, City of | Metro Vancouver | September 22, 2017[4] | 108,455 | 102,238 | 6.1 | 179.66 | 603.7 |
| Duncan | Duncan, The Corporation of the City of | Cowichan Valley | March 4, 1912 | 5,047 | 4,944 | 2.1 | 2.06 | 2444.5 |
| Enderby | Enderby, The Corporation of the City of | North Okanagan | March 1, 1905 | 3,028 | 2,964 | 2.2 | 4.26 | 710.4 |
| Fernie | Fernie, The Corporation of the City of | East Kootenay | July 28, 1904 | 6,320 | 5,249 | 17.1 | 15.11 | 418.3 |
| Fort St. John | Fort St. John, City of | Peace River | December 31, 1947 | 21,465 | 20,155 | 5.9 | 32.67 | 656.9 |
| Grand Forks | Grand Forks, The Corporation of the City of | Kootenay Boundary | April 15, 1897 | 4,112 | 4,049 | 1.6 | 10.37 | 396.4 |
| Greenwood | Greenwood, The Corporation of the City of | Kootenay Boundary | July 12, 1897 | 702 | 665 | 5.6 | 2.42 | 290.2 |
| Kamloops | Kamloops, City of | Thompson-Nicola | October 17, 1967 | 97,902 | 90,280 | 8.4 | 297.93 | 328.6 |
| Kelowna | Kelowna, City of | Central Okanagan | May 4, 1905 | 144,576 | 127,380 | 13.5 | 211.85 | 682.4 |
| Kimberley | Kimberley, City of | East Kootenay | March 29, 1944 | 8,115 | 7,425 | 9.3 | 60.51 | 134.1 |
| Langford | Langford, City of | Capital | December 8, 1992 | 46,584 | 35,342 | 31.8 | 41.43 | 1124.4 |
| Langley | Langley, City of | Metro Vancouver | March 15, 1955 | 28,963 | 25,888 | 11.9 | 10.18 | 2845.2 |
| Maple Ridge | Maple Ridge, City of | Metro Vancouver | September 12, 2014[8] | 90,990 | 82,256 | 10.6 | 267.82 | 339.7 |
| Merritt | Merritt, City of | Thompson-Nicola | April 1, 1911 | 7,051 | 7,139 | -1.2 | 26.04 | 270.7 |
| Mission | Mission, City of | Fraser Valley | March 29, 2021[6] | 41,519 | 38,833 | 7.7 | 226.98 | 182.9 |
| Nanaimo | Nanaimo, City of | Nanaimo | December 24, 1874 | 99,863 | 90,504 | 10.3 | 90.45 | 1104.1 |
| Nelson | Nelson, The Corporation of the City of | Central Kootenay | March 18, 1897 | 11,106 | 10,572 | 5.1 | 11.93 | 930.6 |
| New Westminster | New Westminster, The Corporation of the City of | Metro Vancouver | July 16, 1860 | 78,916 | 70,996 | 11.2 | 15.62 | 5052.4 |
| North Vancouver | North Vancouver, The Corporation of the City of | Metro Vancouver | August 10, 1891 | 58,120 | 52,898 | 9.9 | 11.83 | 4913.0 |
| Parksville | Parksville, City of | Nanaimo | June 19, 1945 | 13,642 | 12,514 | 9.5 | 14.52 | 939.5 |
| Penticton | Penticton, The Corporation of the City of | Okanagan-Similkameen | January 1, 1909 | 36,885 | 33,761 | 9.3 | 44.03 | 857.3 |
| Pitt Meadows | Pitt Meadows, City of | Metro Vancouver | April 25, 1914 | 19,146 | 18,573 | 3.1 | 86.34 | 221.7 |
| Port Alberni | Port Alberni, City of | Alberni-Clayoquot | October 28, 1967 | 18,259 | 17,678 | 3.3 | 19.66 | 928.9 |
| Port Coquitlam | Port Coquitlam, The Corporation of the City of | Metro Vancouver | March 7, 1913 | 61,498 | 58,612 | 4.9 | 29.16 | 2108.7 |
| Port Moody | Port Moody, City of | Metro Vancouver | March 11, 1913 | 33,535 | 33,551 | 0.0 | 25.85 | 1297.3 |
| Powell River | Powell River, The Corporation of the City of | Powell River | October 15, 1955 | 13,943 | 13,157 | 6.0 | 28.91 | 482.4 |
| Prince George | Prince George, City of | Fraser-Fort George | March 6, 1915 | 76,708 | 74,003 | 3.7 | 316.74 | 242.2 |
| Prince Rupert | Prince Rupert, City of | North Coast | March 10, 1910 | 12,300 | 12,220 | 0.7 | 66.00 | 186.4 |
| Quesnel | Quesnel, City of | Cariboo | March 21, 1928 | 9,889 | 9,879 | 0.1 | 35.35 | 279.8 |
| Revelstoke | Revelstoke, City of | Columbia Shuswap | March 1, 1899 | 8,275 | 7,547 | 9.4 | 41.28 | 200.5 |
| Richmond | Richmond, City of | Metro Vancouver | November 10, 1879 | 209,937 | 198,309 | 5.9 | 128.87 | 1629.0 |
| Rossland | Rossland, The Corporation of the City of | Kootenay Boundary | March 18, 1897 | 4,140 | 3,729 | 11.0 | 59.72 | 69.3 |
| Salmon Arm | Salmon Arm, City of | Columbia Shuswap | May 15, 1905 | 19,432 | 17,706 | 9.7 | 155.19 | 125.2 |
| Surrey | Surrey, City of | Metro Vancouver | November 10, 1879 | 568,322 | 517,887 | 9.7 | 316.11 | 1797.9 |
| Terrace | Terrace, City of | Kitimat–Stikine | December 31, 1927 | 12,017 | 11,643 | 3.2 | 57.33 | 209.6 |
| Trail | Trail, City of | Kootenay Boundary | June 14, 1901 | 7,920 | 7,709 | 2.7 | 34.90 | 226.9 |
| Vancouver[a] | Vancouver, City of | Metro Vancouver | April 6, 1886 | 662,248 | 631,486 | 4.9 | 115.18 | 5749.9 |
| Vernon | Vernon, The Corporation of the City of | North Okanagan | December 30, 1892 | 44,519 | 40,116 | 11.0 | 96.43 | 461.7 |
| Victoria[b] | Victoria, The Corporation of the City of | Capital | August 2, 1862 | 91,867 | 85,792 | 7.1 | 19.45 | 4722.3 |
| West Kelowna | West Kelowna, City of | Central Okanagan | June 26, 2015[3] | 36,078 | 32,655 | 10.5 | 122.09 | 295.5 |
| White Rock | White Rock, The Corporation of the City of | Metro Vancouver | April 15, 1957 | 21,939 | 19,952 | 10.0 | 5.17 | 4240.6 |
| Williams Lake | Williams Lake, City of | Cariboo | March 15, 1929 | 10,947 | 10,753 | 1.8 | 33.12 | 330.5 |
| Total cities | — | — | — | 3,327,824 | 3,133,081 | 4.5 | 4263.15 | 1081.81 |
Notes:
Former cities
Kaslo held city status between 1893 and 1959,[9] having been the first incorporated city in the Kootenay region. It was reincorporated to village status in 1959.[10] Sandon held city status between 1898 and 1920.[11] Phoenix held city status between 1900 and 1919.[12]
City status eligibility
As of the 2021 census, nine towns – Comox, Creston, Ladysmith, Oliver, Osoyoos, Qualicum Beach, Sidney, Smithers and View Royal – meet the requirement of having populations greater than 5,000 to incorporate as a city. Also, 21 district municipalities meet the minimum population requirements to incorporate as a city.
