Kelowna
Kelowna, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1905, population 127,380 (2016 census), 117,312 (2011 census). The city of Kelowna is located in south-central British Columbia on the east shore of Okanagan Lake.
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Create AccountKelowna, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1905, population 127,380 (2016 census), 117,312 (2011 census). The city of Kelowna is located in south-central British Columbia on the east shore of Okanagan Lake.
Squamish, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1964, population 19,512 (2016 census) 17,158 (2011 census). The district of Squamish is located 70 km north of Vancouver at the head of Howe Sound. The municipality is governed by a mayor and six councillors. It is the service centre for a richly endowed recreational area, with road, rail and water access to Vancouver.
The Commonwealth is a loose, voluntary association of Britain and most of its former colonies.
Surrey, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1993, population 517,887 (2016 census), 468, 251 (2011 census). The city of Surrey is the second-largest municipality by population in British Columbia, after Vancouver. Part of Metro Vancouver, it is bounded by the Fraser River on the north and Washington state on the south. The municipalities of Langley and Delta lie to the east and west.
Slocan, British Columbia, incorporated as a village in 1958, population 272 (2016 census), 296 (2011 census). The village of Slocan is located 70 km by road northwest of Nelson, at the south end of Slocan Lake. Slocan is an Okanagan word meaning “pierce or strike on the head,” referring to the salmon-fishing practice of the Okanagan (see Interior Salish). The community was also known as Slocan City when it was an incorporated city (1901-1958).
Smithers, British Columbia, incorporated as a town in 1967, population 5,401 (2016 census), 5,404 (2011 census). The town of Smithers is located on the Bulkley River in central BC, on Highway 16. The town is 334 km west of Prince George and 371 km east of Prince Rupert.
Coquitlam, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1992, population 139,284 (2016 census), 126,804 (2011 census). The city of Coquitlam is located on the north bank of the Fraser River between Burnaby and New Westminster to the west and Port Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows to the east. Northwest and northeast Coquitlam include the lower slopes of the Eagle and Burke Mountains, with peaks up to 1,600 m high.
Chilliwack, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1999, population 83,788 (2016 census), 77,936 (2011 census). The city of Chilliwack is located 100 km east of Vancouver on the south shore of the Fraser River. It is governed by a mayor and six councillors elected for four-year terms. The name is derived from the word Ts’elxwéyeqw. According to elder Albert Louie, in Halq’eméylem, the traditional language of the Stó:lō, the word means “going as far as you can go upriver” by canoe on the Chilliwack River.
New Westminster, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1860, population 70,996 (2016census), 65,976 (2011 census). The city of New Westminster is located on the north bank of the Fraser River, 20 km east of Vancouver. Governor James Douglas established New Westminster in 1859 as the capital of British Columbia. The Royal Engineers surveyed the city and Queen Victoria named it. As a result, New Westminster’s nickname is “The Royal City.” New Westminster is western Canada’s oldest city.
Invermere, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1983, population 3,391 (2016 census), 2,955 (2011 census). The District of Invermere is located on the northwestern shore of Windermere Lake in the Rocky Mountain Trench. Invermere is 130 km north of Cranbrook and 120 km southeast of Golden.
Elkford, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1981, population 2,499 (2016 census), 2,523 (2011 census). The District of Elkford is situated on the west side of the Elk River. The Elk River is a tributary to the Kootenay River, in the East Kootenay district of southeastern British Columbia. The district is 35 km north of Sparwood. It’s located among the Rocky Mountains, near the old coal-mining communities of Crowsnest Pass, and on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people. At 1,300 m elevation, Elkford is the highest community in British Columbia.
Fernie, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1904, population 5,249 (2016 census), 4,448 (2011 census). The city of Fernie lies in the narrow valley of the Elk River, amidst the Rocky Mountains. It is located on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people.
Sparwood, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1966, population 3,784 (2016 census), 3,667 (2011 census). The District of Sparwood is located 32 km northeast of Fernie in the Elk River Valley, and on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people.
Nakusp, British Columbia, incorporated as a village in 1964, population 1,605 (2016 census), 1,569 (2011 census). The village of Nakusp is located on the east shore of Upper Arrow Lake at the foot of the Selkirk Mountains. It is in the West Kootenay district of south-eastern British Columbia. Nakusp is located on the traditional territory of the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, Secwepemc and Okanagan peoples. (See also Interior Salish.) The name is derived from a Sinixt word, though its meaning is debated. One interpretation is that the name Nakusp comes from a word meaning “the bay behind the long point,” another is that it means, “closed-in” or “safe.”
Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, incorporated as a town in 1887 and as a city in 1912, population 73,368 (2016 census), 75,141 (2011 census). The city of Sault Ste Marie is located adjacent to the rapids of the St Marys River between lakes Superior and Huron. Across the river is the American city of the same name. Sault Ste Marie sits on the traditional territory of the Ojibwe, who called the site Bawating (“place of the rapids”) and valued it for its access to the upper Great Lakes and as a source of abundant whitefish and maple sugar. It is popularly called “the Sault,” or “Soo.”
The RCMP is Canada’s national police force – providing an array of services from municipal policing, to national security intelligence gathering, to the legendary Musical Ride. Despite a series of scandals in recent decades, the RCMP remains one of Canada's most iconic national institutions.
Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear), Plains Cree chief (born near Fort Carlton, SK; died 17 January 1888 on the Little Pine Reserve, SK). Mistahimaskwa is best known for his refusal to sign Treaty 6 in 1876 and for his band’s involvement in violent conflicts associated with the 1885 North-West Rebellion.
Peter (or Pierre) Bostonais Pangman, Métis leader, bison hunter (born 20 October 1791 in the North Saskatchewan River Valley area, present-day AB; died 4 March 1850 in St. François Xavier, present-day MB). Peter Bostonais Pangman was a skilled hunter who helped provide much-needed bison meat to the Red River Colony. He was actively involved in the Pemmican Wars and events surrounding the Battle of Seven Oaks. As part of the Pembina fur trade, Pangman was a key figure who rallied and inspired the Red River Valley Métis to see and express themselves with an identity separate from surrounding Indigenous peoples. The name Bostonais is variously spelled Bastonnais and Bostonnais.
Gabriel Dumont, Métis leader (born December 1837 at Red River Settlement; died 19 May 1906 at Bellevue, SK). Dumont rose to political prominence in an age of declining buffalo herds. He fought for decades for the economic prosperity and political independence of his people. Dumont was a prominent hunt chief and warrior, but is best known for his role in the 1885 North-West Resistance as a key Métis military commander and ally of Louis Riel. Dumont remains a popular Métis folk hero, remembered for his selflessness and bravery during the conflict of 1885 and for his unrivaled skill as a Métis hunt chief.
In 1887, a Vancouver newsman noted the concentration of Chinese residences and businesses at the south end of Carrall Street at Dupont — now Pender Street — near the edge of False Creek . The development of “China-town,” as he called it, was recent, but Chinese had been Vancouver pioneers from the start.