102-494: The seawall in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada, is a stone wall that was constructed around the perimeter of Stanley Park to prevent erosion of the park's foreshore and is the world's longest uninterrupted waterfront path. Colloquially, the term also denotes the pedestrian, bicycle, and rollerblading pathway on the seawall , one which has been extended far outside the boundaries of Stanley Park and which has become one of
204-894: A Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in criminal justice at the University of the Fraser Valley . In 2015, he completed the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) Executive Global Studies Program, during which he studied international approaches to cybercrime. In 2019, Deputy Chief Rankin completed the Leadership in Counter Terrorism Program, a joint senior executive leadership program that exposes participants to case studies, literature and discussions on terrorism from international experts, academics, and practitioners. In 2018, Deputy Chief Rankin
306-510: A change of 4.9% from its 2016 population of 631,486, making it the eighth-largest among Canadian cities . More specifically, Vancouver is the fourth-largest in Western Canada after Calgary , Edmonton and Winnipeg . With a land area of 115.18 km (44.47 sq mi), it had a population density of 5,749.7/km (14,891.6/sq mi) in 2021, the most densely populated Canadian municipality with more than 5,000 residents. At
408-549: A day-to-day basis with the supervision from paid staffs. Each year, the VPD audits all the CPCs and then reports to the city council on budgeting. Each CPC is assigned a neighbourhood police officer (NPO) who provides resources and guidance for the operation of the CPC. Each CPC offers different programs based on budget and neighbourhood needs. For example: However, CPCs do not offer any of
510-598: A leading force in the city's society and economy until the rise of anti-German sentiment with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Today the Chinese are the largest visible ethnic group in Vancouver; the city has a diverse Chinese-speaking community with speakers of several dialects, notably Cantonese and Mandarin . Neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic commercial areas include Chinatown , Punjabi Market , Little Italy , Greektown , and (formerly) Japantown . Since
612-431: A master stonemason, dedicated his life to the construction of the seawall from 1931 until his retirement. Even after he retired, Cunningham continued to return to monitor the wall's progress, until his death at 85. Cunningham continued supervising construction into his last days despite being ill and, on at least one occasion, went to check the seawall's progress still wearing pajamas. He died on 29 September 1963, long before
714-613: A population density of 918.0/km (2,377.6/sq mi) in 2021. Approximately 75 percent of the people living in Metro Vancouver live outside Vancouver itself. The larger Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region (which includes also the Squamish-Lillooet , Fraser Valley , and Sunshine Coast Regional District ) has a population of over 3.04 million. The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 274,365 persons or 42.2% of
816-610: A typical coastal British Columbia mix of Douglas fir , western red cedar and western hemlock . The area is thought to have had the largest trees of these species on the British Columbia Coast . Only in Elliott Bay , Seattle , did the size of trees rival those of Burrard Inlet and English Bay . The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in the Gastown area, where the first logging occurred and on
918-695: A warm-summer Mediterranean ( Köppen: Csb ). While the city has the coolest summer average high of all major Canadian metropolitan areas, winters in Greater Vancouver are the fourth-mildest of Canadian cities, after nearby Victoria , Nanaimo and Duncan , all on Vancouver Island. Vancouver is one of the wettest Canadian cities. However, precipitation varies throughout the metropolitan area. Annual precipitation as measured at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond averages 1,189 mm (46.8 in), compared with 1,588 mm (62.5 in) in
1020-568: Is 38.1 cm (15.0 in) but typically does not remain on the ground for long. Vancouver's growing season averages 237 days, from March 18 until November 10. Vancouver's 1981–2010 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone ranges from 8a to 9a depending on elevation and proximity to water. As of 2021, Vancouver is the most densely populated city in Canada. 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
1122-592: Is a modernist high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominium. Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the MacMillan Bloedel building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection. A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame Canada Place (designed by Zeidler Roberts Partnership Partnership, MCMP & DA Architects ), the former Canada Pavilion from
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#17327869581791224-731: Is currently located was referred to by the Stó꞉lō in the Upriver Halkomelem dialect as Lhq’á:lets , meaning "wide at the bottom/end". Speakers of the Island dialect of Halkomelem referred to the region of Vancouver as sqwx̌wam̓ush or skwóm̓esh , referring to the Squamish, or as Pankúpe7 , a transliteration of the English word "Vancouver". Archaeological records indicate that Aboriginal people were already living in
1326-532: Is dedicated to the Vancouver Police Department members who died in the First and Second world wars and lists the Vancouver Police Department members killed in the line of duty in Vancouver. In 1935, under Chief Constable W. W. Foster , the Vancouver Police Department was complemented with hundreds of special constables because of a waterfront strike led by communists , which culminated in
1428-665: Is the Paradox Hotel Vancouver at 188 m (617 ft), followed by the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia , at 156 m (512 ft). The fourth-tallest is One Wall Centre at 150 m (490 ft) and 48 storeys, followed closely by the Shaw Tower at 149 m (489 ft). 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,
1530-514: Is the most used feature within the park. The original idea for the seawall is attributed to park board superintendent, W. S. Rawlings, who conveyed his vision in 1918: It is not difficult to imagine what the realization of such an undertaking would mean to the attractions of the park and personally I doubt if there exists anywhere on this continent such possibilities of a combined park and marine walk as we have in Stanley Park. The proposal
1632-413: Is the origin of the name that eventually became "Vancouver". The indigenous Squamish people who reside in a region that encompasses southwestern British Columbia including this city gave the name K'emk'emeláy̓ 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
1734-611: The 1986 World Exposition , which includes part of the Convention Centre , the Pan-Pacific Hotel , and a cruise ship terminal. Two modern buildings that define the southern skyline away from the downtown area are City Hall and the Centennial Pavilion of Vancouver General Hospital , both designed by Townley and Matheson in 1936 and 1958, respectively. A collection of Edwardian buildings in
1836-454: The 2021 census Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods." Each neighbourhood in Vancouver has a distinct character and ethnic mix. People of English, Scottish, and Irish origins were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city, and elements of British society and culture are still visible in some areas, particularly South Granville and Kerrisdale . Germans are the next-largest European ethnic group in Vancouver and were
1938-558: The Battle of Ballantyne Pier , a riot that broke out when demonstrators attempted to march to the docks to confront strikebreakers . Also that year, nearly 2,000 unemployed men from the federal relief camps scattered throughout the province flocked to Vancouver to protest camp conditions. After two months of incessant demonstrations, the camp strikers left Vancouver and began the On-to-Ottawa Trek . The Vancouver Police were at
2040-686: The Battle of Cambrai in France in the First World War . McBeath's killer, Fred Deal, was initially sentenced to death, but won an appeal reducing it to life in prison because he had been beaten while in custody. The marine squad's boat, the R.G. McBeath VC , was commissioned in 1995 and named in honour of McBeath. Plans for a new police building at 312 Main Street began in 1953. The Oakridge police station opened in 1961. A police memorial at 325 Main St.
2142-632: The British Columbia Parliament Buildings and the Empress Hotel in Victoria, and the lavishly decorated second Hotel Vancouver. The 556-room Hotel Vancouver , opened in 1939 and the third by that name, is across the street with its copper roof. The Gothic-style Christ Church Cathedral , across from the hotel, opened in 1894 and was declared a heritage building in 1976. There are several modern buildings in
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#17327869581792244-578: The Burrard Street Bridge , through Vanier Park, and finishes at Kitsilano Beach Park. 49°18′48″N 123°08′44″W / 49.313398°N 123.145634°W / 49.313398; -123.145634 Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada , located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia . As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in
2346-563: The Canadian Pacific Railway . The Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway was extended to the city by 1887. The city's large natural seaport on the Pacific Ocean became a vital link in the trade between Asia-Pacific , East Asia , Europe , and Eastern Canada . Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 Commonwealth Games , UN Habitat I , Expo 86 , APEC Canada 1997 ,
2448-475: The Cumberland coal mines on Vancouver Island . Following a lull in the 1920s, the strike wave peaked in 1935 when unemployed men flooded the city to protest conditions in the relief camps run by the military in remote areas throughout the province. After two tense months of daily and disruptive protesting, the relief camp strikers decided to take their grievances to the federal government and embarked on
2550-545: The Great Depression , and seamen from HMCS Discovery on Deadman's Island facing punishment detail in the 1950s. Also in that decade, stone sets from the recently dismantled BC Electric Railway streetcar system were incorporated into the seawall. The original Stanley Park section of the 22 kilometres (14 mi) Vancouver Seawall is approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from Coal Harbour / Vancouver Rowing Club to Second Beach. James "Jimmy" Cunningham,
2652-540: The Kitsilano area. Vancouver also has a significant aboriginal community of about 15,000 people. Vancouver Police Department The Vancouver Police Department ( VPD ) ( French : Service de police de Vancouver ) is the police force in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in
2754-458: The On-to-Ottawa Trek , but their protest was put down by force. The workers were arrested near Mission and interned in work camps for the duration of the Depression. Other social movements, such as the first-wave feminist , moral reform, and temperance movements , were also instrumental in Vancouver's development. Mary Ellen Smith , a Vancouver suffragist and prohibitionist , became
2856-768: The Pacific Maritime Ecozone . Until the city's naming in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island, and it remains a common misconception that the city is located on the island. The island and the city are both named after Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver (as is the city of Vancouver, Washington , in the United States). Vancouver has one of the largest urban parks in North America, Stanley Park , which covers 404.9 ha (1,001 acres). The North Shore Mountains dominate
2958-550: The Port of Vancouver is the fourth-largest port by tonnage in the Americas, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. Major film production studios in Vancouver and nearby Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of
3060-575: The World Police and Fire Games in 1989 and 2009; several matches of 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup including the finals at BC Place in Downtown Vancouver , and the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics which were held in Vancouver and Whistler , a resort community 125 km (78 mi) north of the city. In 1969, Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver. The city became the permanent home to TED conferences in 2014. As of 2016 ,
3162-445: The census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the metropolitan area referred to as Greater Vancouver had a population of 2,642,825 living in 1,043,319 of its 1,104,532 total private dwellings, a change of 7.3% from its 2016 population of 2,463,431, the third-most populous metropolitan area in the country and the most populous in Western Canada . With a land area of 2,878.93 km (1,111.56 sq mi), it had
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3264-550: 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. A railway
3366-466: The most livable cities in Canada and in the world. In terms of housing affordability , Vancouver is also one of the most expensive cities in Canada and in the world . Vancouverism is the city's urban planning design philosophy. Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 10,000 years ago and included the Squamish , Musqueam , and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples. The beginnings of
3468-497: The 1930s onward by the government of Japan. These flower for several weeks in early spring each year, an occasion celebrated by the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival . Other streets are lined with flowering chestnut, horse chestnut and other decorative shade trees. Vancouver's climate, one of the mildest and most temperate climates in Canada, is classified as oceanic ( Köppen: Cfb ) bordering on
3570-516: The 1980s and 1990s, recent immigration has been comparatively low. However, growth in the Latino population – which largely consists of Mexicans and Salvadorans – rose in the late 2010s and early 2020s. African immigration has been similarly stagnant (3.6% and 3.3% of total immigrant population, respectively). The black population of Vancouver is small in comparison to other Canadian major cities, making up 1.3 percent of
3672-599: 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
3774-417: The 1990s also contributed to the debate over seawall use, as well as skateboarders to a lesser extent, until users were divided into wheeled versus non-wheeled camps. It appears unlikely that a consensus will emerge over the most appropriate mode of travelling the seawall, but as long as accidents remain minimal, it is unlikely to re-emerge as a pressing park-use issue. A survey conducted for a 1992 task force on
3876-567: The British settlement later becoming part of Vancouver. In hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem) spoken by the Musqueam , there is no specific term for Vancouver. Rather there existed names for specific villages and landscape features that the people knew intimately in the area Vancouver exists in currently, as opposed to larger geographic features. The region where Vancouver
3978-563: The City Hall tent at the foot of Carrall Street. These four were replaced in 1887 by special constables sent by the provincial government in Victoria for not keeping the peace during the anti-Asian unrest of that year. The strength of the force increased from four to fourteen as a result. By 1904, the department had grown to 31 members and occupied a new police building at 200 Cordova Street. In 1912, Vancouver's first two women were taken on
4080-556: The Empire's tallest commercial building by the elaborate Art Deco Marine Building in the 1920s. 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. Topping the list of tallest buildings in Vancouver is Living Shangri-La , the tallest building in BC at 201 m (659 ft) and 62 storeys. The second-tallest building in Vancouver
4182-607: The Fraser River, on their way to the Fraser Canyon , bypassing what would become Vancouver. Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities; 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 (now the City of North Vancouver ) in 1863, beginning
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4284-693: The Granville Downtown and Kitsilano Fairview CPCs, are run by registered societies. The Granville Downtown CPC is under the direct control of the District 1 commander whereas Kitsilano Fairview is under the District 4 commander. Each CPC receives $ 108,200 annually from the VPD, with the exception of two non-society based CPCs which have a combined budget of $ 140,000. The budget is delivered in four quarterly payments and they can be used towards staff salaries, CPC programs, costs from electricity, renting office space, etc. CPCs are run by volunteers on
4386-471: The Heatley Street entrance to Ballantyne Pier as a demonstration for more livable wages. They were led by Victoria Cross recipient Mickey O'Rourke and a contingent of World War I veterans and marched behind a Union Jack flag, to great symbolic effect. They soon encountered the Vancouver police, who partook in mass brutality. Many, including bystanders, were injured. In light of the injuries,
4488-534: The INSET-BC Surrey operation base. The 1,716 employees of the VPD have been headed by Chief Constable Adam Palmer since May 6, 2015, following the retirement of Jim Chu . Three sections or units are assigned to the office of the chief constable: The Vancouver Police Union is a trade union that represents 1,450 front-line police officers, jail guards and special constables of the Vancouver Police Department. Community policing centres (CPCs), except
4590-598: The Pacific. Examples include the monkey puzzle tree , the Japanese maple and various flowering exotics, such as magnolias , azaleas and rhododendrons . Some species imported from harsher climates in Eastern Canada or Europe have grown to immense sizes. The native Douglas maple can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties of Japanese cherry trees donated from
4692-543: The Save Our Parkland Association. City council nonetheless agreed to the plan, but conflict between user groups persisted. The issue was not resolved until 1984 when the bicycle lane of the seawall was designated one-way in a counterclockwise direction around the park, which it remains today. That resolution brought fewer accidents, but as late as 1993, proposals to ban cycling on the seawall continued to be put forth. The popularity of inline skating in
4794-461: The Stanley Park portion of the wall was built between 1917 and 1971, although the park portion was not completed until 1980. The viability of the wall continues to be under threat, as became apparent due to a king tide in January 2022. High waves together with debris destroyed part of the wall. In contrast to the continuity during Cunningham's oversight of the project, construction of the seawall
4896-529: The Ukrainian Community Centre was used as a makeshift hospital. Members of the women's auxiliary operated the centre, before the Vancouver police threw tear gas into the first-aid centre. The strike, in congruence with other, similar West Coast strikes, led to the right to collective bargaining and the creation of International Longshore and Warehouse Union . Bloody Sunday was a 1938 confrontation between peaceful sit-in strikers and
4998-485: The VPD, along with other forces. After mass unemployment across Canada, many people migrated to Vancouver for job opportunities. When unemployment persisted and workers felt no financial relief, they organized a massive peaceful demonstration, occurring in multiple locations for an entire month. Protesters occupied Hotel Georgia , the Vancouver Art Gallery (then located at 1145 West Georgia Street ), and
5100-550: The Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The Squamish , Musqueam , and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) 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 . Europeans became acquainted with the area of the future Vancouver when José María Narváez of Spain explored
5202-521: The airport was 34.4 °C (93.9 °F) set on July 30, 2009, and the highest temperature ever recorded within the city of Vancouver was 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) occurring first on July 31, 1965, again on August 8, 1981, and also on May 29, 1983. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on January 14, 1950 and again on December 29, 1968. On average, snow falls nine days per year, with three days receiving 5 cm (2.0 in) or more. Average yearly snowfall
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#17327869581795304-495: 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,
5406-536: The centre of one of the biggest scandals in the city's history in 1955. Feeling frustrated that blatant police corruption was being ignored by the local media, a reporter for the Vancouver Daily Province switched to a Toronto-based tabloid, Flash . He wrote a sensational article alleging corruption at the highest levels of the police department in Vancouver, specifically, that a pay-off system had been implemented whereby gambling operations that paid
5508-556: The chief constable of the New Westminster Police Department before taking the top job of the Vancouver force, which he occupied from 1933 to the end of 1934. Another member of the force was killed in the line of duty in 1922. Twenty-three-year-old constable, Robert McBeath , was shot by a man stopped for impaired driving. McBeath had received the Victoria Cross for "most conspicuous bravery" at
5610-552: The city its name in honour of George Vancouver . The Great Vancouver Fire on June 13, 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. Vancouver merchants outfitted prospectors bound for the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. One of those merchants, Charles Woodward, had opened
5712-409: 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". The Vancouver Art Gallery is housed downtown in the neoclassical former courthouse built in 1906. The courthouse building was designed by Francis Rattenbury , who also designed
5814-481: The city population belonged to a visible minority group; at the same time, this proportion was roughly 14 percent for the entire metropolitan area . By 2016, the proportion in the city had grown to 52 percent. Prior to the Hong Kong diaspora of the 1990s, the largest non-British ethnic groups in the city were Irish and German , followed by Scandinavian , Italian , Ukrainian , Chinese, and Punjabi . From
5916-601: 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
6018-409: The city's old downtown core were, in their day, the tallest commercial buildings in the British Empire . These were, in succession, the Carter-Cotton Building (former home of The Province newspaper), the Dominion Building (1907) and the Sun Tower (1911), the former two at Cambie and Hastings Streets and the latter at Beatty and Pender Streets. The Sun Tower's cupola was finally exceeded as
6120-432: The city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Metro Vancouver area had a population of 2.6 million in 2021, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada . Greater Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley , comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3 million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,700 inhabitants per square kilometre (15,000/sq mi), and
6222-399: 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. The Black population consists of Somalis , Jamaicans/Caribbeans, and other groups, including those who descended from African Americans. The neighbourhood of Strathcona was the core of the city's Jewish community. In 1981, approximately 24 percent of
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#17327869581796324-425: The city. While some manufacturing did develop, including the establishment of the British Columbia Sugar Refinery by Benjamin Tingley Rogers in 1890, natural resources became the basis for Vancouver's economy. The resource sector was initially based on logging and later on exports moving through the seaport, where commercial traffic constituted the largest economic sector in Vancouver by the 1930s. The dominance of
6426-489: The cityscape, and on a clear day, scenic vistas include the snow-capped volcano Mount Baker in the state of Washington to the southeast, Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia to the west and southwest, and Bowen Island to the northwest. The vegetation in the Vancouver area was originally temperate rainforest , consisting of conifers with scattered pockets of maple and alder and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage). The conifers were
6528-554: The coast of present-day Point Grey and parts of Burrard Inlet in 1791—although one author contends that Francis Drake may have visited the area in 1579 . 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 Fraser Gold Rush of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly from California , to nearby New Westminster (founded February 14, 1859) on
6630-430: The downtown area and 2,044 mm (80.5 in) in North Vancouver. The daily maximum averages 22 °C (72 °F) in July and August, with highs rarely reaching 30 °C (86 °F). The summer months are typically dry, with only one in five days receiving precipitation during July and August. In contrast, most days from November through March record some precipitation. The highest temperature ever recorded at
6732-508: 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 ). The original BC Hydro headquarters building (designed by Ron Thom and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets
6834-444: The economy by big business was accompanied by an often militant labour movement . The first major sympathy strike was in 1903 when railway employees struck against the CPR for union recognition. Labour leader Frank Rogers was killed by CPR police while picketing at the docks, becoming the movement's first martyr in British Columbia. The rise of industrial tensions throughout the province led to Canada's first general strike in 1918, at
6936-433: The first Woodward's store at Abbott and Cordova Streets in 1892 and, along with Spencer's and the Hudson's Bay department stores, formed the core of the city's retail sector for decades. The economy of early Vancouver was dominated by large companies such as the CPR, which fuelled economic activity and led to the rapid development of the new city; in fact, the CPR was the main real estate owner and housing developer in
7038-450: The first meeting of Vancouver City Council , Vancouver's first police officer, Chief Constable John Stewart, was appointed on May 10, 1886. On June 14, 1886, the morning after the Great Fire of 1886 , Mayor McLean appointed Jackson Abray, V.W. Haywood, and John McLaren as special constables . With uniforms from Seattle and badges fashioned from American coins, this four man team became Vancouver's first police department based out of
7140-418: The first woman elected to a provincial legislature in Canada in 1918. Alcohol prohibition began in the First World War and lasted until 1921 when the provincial government established control over alcohol sales, a practice still in place today. Canada's first drug law came about following an inquiry conducted by the federal minister of Labour and future prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King . King
7242-471: The following services: The force has three operating divisions: Led by Deputy Chief Constable Howard Chow Led by Deputy Chief Constable Laurence Rankin since 2016. As an Inspector, Laurence Rankin led the Integrated Riot Investigation Team. This is a team of investigators and support personnel who investigated the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot . Deputy Chief Rankin is a provincially accredited Team Commander for major investigations. In 2014, he completed
7344-586: The force as matrons. With the amalgamation of Point Grey and South Vancouver with Vancouver in 1929, the department absorbed the two smaller police forces under the direction of Chief Constable W.J. Bingham, a former district supervisor with the Metropolitan Police in London. By the 1940s the department had grown to 570 members. In 1912, L.D. Harris and Minnie Miller were hired as the first two policewomen in Canada. In 1917, Chief Constable McLennan
7446-475: The fourth highest in North America (after New York City , San Francisco , and Mexico City ). Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada: 49.3 percent of its residents are not native English speakers, 47.8 percent are native speakers of neither English nor French, and 54.5 percent of residents belong to visible minority groups. It has been consistently ranked one of
7548-499: The fourth-most expensive real estate market in the world in 2019. Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities to live in. Sales in February 2016 were 56.3 percent higher than the 10-year average for the month. Forbes also ranked Vancouver as the tenth-cleanest city in the world in 2007. Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage
7650-450: 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; while a small community had existed in the city since 1897, larger waves of migration began in the 1950s and 1960s, prompting new Punjabi immigrants to establish a Little India (known as Punjabi Market ) and preside over much of
7752-421: The inquiry. Other scandals and public inquiries plagued the force before and since this one, dubbed the "Mulligan Affair", but none were so dramatic. An earlier inquiry into corruption in 1928 was ambiguous in its conclusions as to the extent of the problem. The last major inquiry into policing in Vancouver focused largely on police accountability. Judge Wally Oppal (later provincial attorney general ), submitted
7854-562: 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. As of 2022 , Vancouver was ranked as having the fifth-highest quality of living of any city on Earth. According to Forbes , Vancouver had
7956-510: The largest film production centres in North America, earning it the nickname " Hollywood North ". The city takes its name from George Vancouver , who explored the inner harbour of Burrard Inlet in 1792 and gave various places British names. The family name "Vancouver" itself originates from the Dutch "van Coevorden", denoting somebody from the city of Coevorden , Netherlands. The explorer's ancestors came to England "from Coevorden", which
8058-655: The main post office (now the Sinclair Centre ). Later that day, 10,000 supporters went to Oppenheimer Park in condemnation of excessive police force of the Vancouver Police Department. Also known as "The Battle of Maple Tree Square", Vancouver Police attacked a peaceful protest in the Gastown neighbourhood on August 7, 1971. The protestors opposed the use of coercive undercover police tactics. The Vancouver Police were accused of heavy-handed tactics such as indiscriminate beatings with their batons and charging on horseback at crowds of onlookers and tourists. The VPD
8160-701: The mass construction of the Vancouver Special across the southeastern quadrant of the city, notably within the Sunset neighbourhood prior to the suburbanization of the community to outer suburbs such as Surrey or Delta. Other Asian-origin groups that reside in Vancouver include Filipinos (5.9%), Japanese (1.7%), Korean (1.7%), West Asians (1.9%), as well as sizable communities of Vietnamese , Indonesians , and Cambodians . Despite increases in Latin American immigration to Vancouver in
8262-468: The mid-1950s until the 1980s, many Portuguese immigrants came to Vancouver, and the city had the third-largest Portuguese population in Canada in 2001. Eastern Europeans, including Russians , Czechs , Poles , Romanians and Hungarians began immigrating after the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe after World War II . Greek immigration increased in the late 1960s and early '70s, with most settling in
8364-403: The modern city, which was originally named Gastown , grew around the site of a makeshift tavern on the western edges of Hastings Mill that was built on July 1, 1867, and owned by proprietor Gassy Jack . The Gastown steam clock marks the original site. Gastown then formally registered as a townsite dubbed Granville , Burrard Inlet . The city was renamed "Vancouver" in 1886 through a deal with
8466-417: The most-used features of the park by both locals and tourists. While the whole path is not built upon the seawall, the total distance from CRAB park, around Stanley Park and False Creek to Spanish Banks is about 30 kilometres (19 mi). Despite perennial conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists, and inline skaters, park users consider the seawall to be the most important feature of Stanley Park and it
8568-499: The nucleus around which Vancouver formed. The mill's central role in the city waned after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the 1880s. It nevertheless remained important to the local economy until it closed in the 1920s. 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,
8670-425: The park found that 65% of park users supported bicycle traffic on the seawall compared with 20% who favoured banning cyclists. The seawall route has continued to expand, so that a continuous, mostly seaside, path for pedestrians, cyclists, and inline skaters now extends for a total of 22 kilometres (14 mi). Starting from Coal Harbour , it winds around Stanley Park, along Sunset Beach , around False Creek , past
8772-593: The police were left alone and those that did not were harassed. After the Flash article appeared in Vancouver, the allegations could no longer be ignored, and a Royal Commission , the Tupper Commission, was struck to hold a public inquiry. Chief Constable Walter Mulligan fled to the United States, another officer from the upper ranks committed suicide, and still another attempted suicide rather than face
8874-622: The population of the enlarged Vancouver was 228,193. Located on the Burrard Peninsula , Vancouver lies between Burrard Inlet to the north and the Fraser River to the south. The Strait of Georgia , to the west, is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island . The city has an area of 115.18 km (44.47 sq mi), including both flat and hilly ground and is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8) and
8976-626: The province after RCMP "E" Division . VPD was the first Canadian municipal police force to hire a female officer and the first to start a marine squad. VPD, along with eleven other BC municipal police forces, seconds officers to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit – British Columbia . VPD now occupies the former Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) building at 3585 Graveley Street, which houses administrative and specialized investigation units. At
9078-681: The results of his report in 1994 in a four volume package entitled Closing the Gap: Policing and the Community . Leonard Hogue, a constable in the police department, was the perpetrator in the 1965 Coquitlam Massacre . In 2009, the RCMP "E" Division joined forces with VPD to operate the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET)—Vancouver, operating out of VPD facilities instead of
9180-622: The seawall was consequently outlawed, and by 1976, the Vancouver Police Department had issued 3,000 tickets to offenders. A solution was proposed in 1977 by a Calgary -based group of charitable foundations. It offered to pay $ 900,000 to widen the path on the English Bay side to 6 metres (20 ft) in order to accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians on the condition that the city match that amount. The proposal triggered an outcry from environmentalist groups, such as
9282-404: The southern slopes of False Creek and English Bay, especially around Jericho Beach . The forest in Stanley Park was logged between the 1860s and 1880s, and evidence of old-fashioned logging techniques such as springboard notches can still be seen there. Many plants and trees growing throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland were imported from other parts of the continent and points across
9384-523: The total population of Vancouver. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were mainland China (63,275 persons or 23.1%), Philippines (29,930 persons or 10.9%), Hong Kong (25,480 persons or 9.3%), India (14,640 persons or 5.3%), United Kingdom (12,895 persons or 4.7%), Vietnam (12,120 persons or 4.4%), Taiwan (9,870 persons or 3.6%), United States of America (9,790 persons or 3.6%), Iran (8,775 persons or 3.2%), and South Korea (6,495 persons or 2.4%). Pan-ethnic breakdown of Vancouver from
9486-461: The wall was finished, but remains the one most associated with the project, and a commemorative plaque can be found near Siwash Rock, where his ashes were also scattered. A protracted conflict between pedestrians and cyclists plagued the seawall for years. Strolling pedestrians took issue with cyclists speeding by, while cyclists felt they had a right to cycle the seawall. As traffic increased over time, collisions were becoming more frequent. Cycling on
9588-453: The wall was finished. Another 9,100 feet (2,800 m) was built between 1950 and 1957, and the final 2,500 feet (760 m) was not taken on until 1968. On 26 September 1971, the last block, completing the original vision of the seawall, was tapped into place by H. H. Stevens , who also helped initiate the project in 1914 as a Member of Parliament for Vancouver. Others who laboured on the wall included unemployed relief workers again during
9690-408: The war, these Japanese-Canadian men and women were not allowed to return to cities like Vancouver causing areas, like the aforementioned Japantown , to cease to be ethnically Japanese areas as the communities never revived. Amalgamation with Point Grey and South Vancouver gave the city its final boundaries not long before it became the third-largest metropolis in the country. As of January 1, 1929,
9792-677: Was among the inducements for British Columbia to join the Confederation in 1871, but the Pacific Scandal and arguments over the use of Chinese labour delayed construction until the 1880s. The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 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
9894-505: Was intermittent, owing to the short-term funding commitments of the civic and federal governments. The first 4,000 feet (1,200 m) was completed between 1914 and 1916. A series of storms threatened the foreshore near Second Beach during the war , when water flooded the patch of land between the beach and Lost Lagoon . In 1920, the wall served as a workfare project for 2,300 unemployed men (the largest number of workers at any one time), and by 1939, an additional 8,000 feet (2,400 m) of
9996-656: Was invested into the Order of Merit of the Police Forces by the Governor General of Canada. Investigative Services Major Crime Section Organized Crime Section Special Investigation Section Investigative Support Services Forensic Services Section General Investigation Section Tactical Support Section Youth Services Section Led by Deputy Chief Constable Steve Rai On 18 June 1935, roughly 1,000 longshoremen and their supporters marched towards
10098-415: Was killed in the line of duty in a shoot-out in Vancouver's East End. Responding to a call by a landlord attempting to evict a tenant, the police were met by gunfire. Along with McLennan, the shooter was killed in the battle, as was a nine-year-old boy in the vicinity at Georgia and Jackson streets, which is now marked by a mosaic memorial. A detective who lost an eye in the shootout, John Cameron, later became
10200-518: Was made to the federal government that it should help finance seawall construction because it owned the park and only leased the land to the city. It was argued that the waves created by ships passing through the First Narrows were eroding the area between Prospect Point and Brockton Point. On this basis, the federal government helped pay for the wall only until 1967 because the portions of the park vulnerable to erosion were now protected. Most of
10302-497: Was sent to investigate damages claims resulting from a riot when the Asiatic Exclusion League led a rampage through Chinatown and Japantown . Two of the claimants were opium manufacturers, and after further investigation, King found that white women were reportedly frequenting opium dens as well as Chinese men. A federal law banning the manufacture, sale, and importation of opium for non-medicinal purposes
10404-533: Was soon passed based on these revelations. 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. These fears were exacerbated by the attack on Pearl Harbor leading to the eventual internment or deportation of all Japanese-Canadians living in the city and the province. After
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