40 Cool Facts about British Columbia

British Columbia (BC), one of Canada’s provinces, offers endless outdoors possibilities. Being one of the most beautiful provinces British Columbia boasts of rainforests, lakes, coastal waters, and high mountains. It’s your go-to place for skiing, hiking, and becoming one with nature!

People from many countries and cultures from all around the world have found their home in British Columbia. To stay true to its diversity in population and natural beauty we’ve prepared 40 fun facts about British Columbia that just might surprise you!

1. Situated on the West Coast, British Columbia is the third-largest province in Canada.
2. Queen Victoria was the one who gave the name to British Columbia.
3. British Columbia became the 6^th province in Canada after joining the confederation on the 20^th of July, 1871.

4. A bill to accept British Columbia’s Day was presented in parliament in 1974.
5. Usually, BC’s day is celebrated on the first Monday of August.
6. British Columbia is just a province but it’s vast in size. Its size is about as big as France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Kuwait, and the Marshall Islands all put together.
7. Another interesting fact size-wise is that British Columbia is four times the size of Great Britain and more than twice the size of Japan.
8. In fact, there are just 30 countries in the entire world larger than British Colombia!
9. About 10% of the total landmass of entire Canada is encapsulated within British Columbia.

10. Victoria, BC’s capital city is located on Vancouver Island.
11. Victoria has a yearly flower count at the end of the winter. Each year the people living in the community count more than one billion blooms!
12. BC’s capital city Victoria was named after Queen Victoria.
13. Even though BC is the third-largest province of Canada, it’s not as populated as people might think.
14. Less than 5 million people live in BC, so on average, you’ll find about five people per km² which is a pretty low population density.
15. First Nation groups that have a deep history with a significant number of indigenous languages found their home in British Columbia.

Vancouver, BC, Canada

16. Even now British Columbia is home to more than 200 first nations. After the arrival of European settlers, the natives became a minority.
17. BC’s original inhabitants before the time of explorers were mainly first nation people including the tribes: Tlingit, Shuswap, Chilcotin, Haida, and Sekani.
18. The coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Vancouver, ranks highly as one of the world’s most liveable cities.
19. More than 50% of the total population of British Columbia lives in Vancouver’s metro area.
20. Also, Vancouver is one of the most densely populated cities in North America, 5,500 people live per km², on average.
21. The Della Falls, the highest waterfall in Canada is on Vancouver Island. It’s 440 meters high, more than eight times the height of Niagara Falls.

Mount Robson, Rocky Mountains, British Colombia

22. The Fraser is the longest river in British Columbia at 1,399 km.
23. One of the oldest known Western Red Cedar trees “The Hanging Garden Tree” is on Meares Island. It’s estimated that the tree is between 1,500 and 2,000 years old!
24. Prince Rupert on the west coast of British Columbia is the wettest city of Canada, a title given by The Weather Network, with a total of 2593.6 mm of rain per year.
25. BC’s flag represents a collection of different symbols. The Royal Union Flag at the top represents the British Heritage. King Edward’s Crown at the centre represents the royal family. The setting sun on the lower half shows the western location of the country. The location between the Rockies and the Pacific is shown by the blue and white lines.
26. 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 6 National Parks, and over 400 regional parks can be found in British Columbia.
27. British Columbia has 1030 parks and protected areas.

28. Two-thirds of the province, an area larger than France, is forest land, and more than half of that area has had little or no human contact.
29. British Columbia has the mildest climate among all provinces and territories of Canada. In BC flowers often start blooming as early as February.
30. It’s one of the top 3 producing regions of cranberries and blueberries in the world.
31. The Spirit Bear is British Columbia’s provincial mammal, a rare black bear with white fur.
32. Francis Kermode, a local museum worker was among the first to discover the Spirit Bear and the bear was named after him.
33. In British Columbia, there is one in four North American grizzly bears and a quarter of all black bears in Canada.

34. Canada’s only grizzly bear sanctuary the Khutzeymateen Provincial Park is situated in Northern British Columbia.
35. 5% of the local land is a protected area, home to more than half of Canada’s wildlife, and fish species.
36. Vancouver’s quaint and famous “Gastown” area is in British Columbia along with many other National Historic Places.
37. Film fans, be patient, these last facts are just for you! Greater Vancouver and nearby areas have become one of the biggest film production centres in North America fairly earning the nickname “Hollywood of Canada”.

38. Series such as Supernatural, Criminal Mind, Lucifer, and The Flash, are filmed on locations in Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s also the shooting location for The Vampire Diaries and Riverdale.
39. The first child born in Canada on the 100^th celebration of Canada Day was actress, Pamela Anderson. She was born on the 1^st of July, 1967, in Ladysmith, British Columbia. Therefore Pamela Anderson is known as Canada’s “Centennial Baby”.
40. In British Columbia, more than 25,000 people have a career in the film industry.

Do you have any interesting or fun facts about British Columbia that we’ve missed? Share them here in the comments section below!

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This page was last modified on November 16, 2021. Suggest an edit