Category: British Columbia

At 944,735 square kilometres/364,764 square miles, British Columbia is bigger than France and Germany combined, or almost four times the size of Great Britain. Is Vancouver bigger than England? England is 4.17 times as big as Vancouver Island (Canada) How many times does the UK fit into BC? British Columbia is the third largest and […]

Between 1850 and 1854, the colony’s governor, James Douglas, made 14 land purchases on Vancouver Island from aboriginal people who were paid with blankets and other goods. Across the water, the mainland of present-day British Columbia was known to Europeans as New Caledonia. What was British Columbia called before British Columbia? The southern part of […]

Spaniards under Juan Pérez Hernández were probably the first Europeans to see the coast of BC in 1774. They did not land, but Pérez claimed the region for Spain. Four years later James Cook took his two British ships into Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Who first explored British Columbia? The […]

The terms were passed by both the BC assembly and the federal Parliament in 1871. The colony joined Canada as the country’s sixth province on 20 July 1871. British Columbia and Confederation. Article by Jon Tattrie Updated by Eli Yarhi, Andrew McIntosh When did British Columbia become part of Canada? July 20, 1871Did You Know? […]

The southern part of the area now known as British Columbia was called “Columbia”, after the Columbia River. What does British Columbia stands for? British Columbia was named after the Columbia River, whose name, like several others in the Americas including Colombia and the District of Columbia in the U.S., is derived from the explorer. […]

GDP and per capita GDP, 2021 Province or territory GDP (In Millions) Share of national GDP (%, 2021) British Columbia 350,598 13.97 Manitoba 79,834 3.18 Newfoundland and Labrador 37,927 1.51 New Brunswick 42,608 1.70 Which province contributes the most to Canada’s economy? Ontario – C$48,971 Ottawa, the capital city of Canada is located in Ontario […]

Forestry. Forestry is the most significant of British Columbia’s resource industries. What are the main industries in British Columbia? Industry Agriculture. Construction. Film and Television. Fisheries & Aquaculture. Forestry. High Technology. Manufacturing. Mining. What is British Columbia most known for? B.C. is the western-most province in Canada, bordering the Pacific Ocean. Internationally known for its […]

Unlike Eastern Canada, where the French and English disputed control of the land, the first two countries to contest areas of British Columbia were Spain and Russia. Who originally owned British Columbia? B.C. was a British colony until 1871, when it joined Canada. In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, opening the country from […]

The first known human inhabitants of the area settled in British Columbia at least 10,000 years ago. Such groups include the Coast Salish, Tsilhqotʼin, and Haida peoples, among many others. Who were the first settlers in British Columbia? British, Spanish, Russian and American explorers began to visit the B.C. area in the 1750s. In the […]

Queen Victoria. To avoid confusion with Colombia in South America and the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean, Queen Victoria named the area British Columbia when it became a colony in 1858. Who owned British Columbia before Canada? B.C. was a British colony until 1871, when it joined Canada. In 1885, the Canadian […]