- This article is about the metropolitan region including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. For the regional district organization governing municipal services and inter-municipal cooperation in this region see Metro Vancouver.
| Greater Vancouver |
|
|---|---|
| — metropolitan area — | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: 49°14′58″N 122°58′47″W / 49.24944°N 122.97972°W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  British Columbia |
| Region | |
| Location of head office | Burnaby |
| Government | |
| - Senators |
List of Senators
|
| Area | |
| - Total | 2,700 km2 (1,042.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 60 m (197 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| - Total | 2,116,581 |
| - Density | 735.6/km2 (1,905.2/sq mi) |
| Canadian CD rank: 2nd | |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| Website | Metro Vancouver |
|
|
|
Greater Vancouver is the name for the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, roughly coterminous with the Greater Vancouver Regional District, which is governed by a body known as Metro Vancouver. Greater Vancouver as a term predates the existence of the regional district (created in 1966) and is often used to include areas beyond the boundaries of the regional district, and also does not generally include wilderness and agricultural areas within that regional district. As a geographic region, it is part of the Lower Mainland, one of British Columbia's three main geospatial/cultural divisions and overlaps with the Lower Fraser Valley, with the Central and Upper Fraser Valley areas to the east being in the Fraser Valley Regional District, which was created from two others upon the expansion of the Greater Vancouver Regional District to include Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Other modes of regional governance and administration which Greater Vancouver is covered by are the North Vancouver and Coquitlam Forests Districts, the Ministry of Environment's Lower Mainland Region (which includes the Sunshine Coast, the Fraser Health Authority and the New Westminster Land District, among others. Private corporate and non-profit organizations often include adjoining towns and cities such as Mission, Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Squamish within their use of the term "Greater Vancouver", though since the creation of the term "Metro Vancouver", that has come to be used in the media interchangeably with the name of the region and/or regional district, even though it technically only refers to the governing body of the regional district. As a term, "Greater Vancouver" tends to refer in local use to urban and suburban areas only, and does not include parts of the regional district such as Bowen Island, although industries such as the film industry even include Squamish, Whistler and Hope as being in "the Vancouver area" or "in Greater Vancouver".
Contents |
Geography
Greater Vancouver occupies the southwest corner of mainland British Columbia. It comprises roughly the western half of the Lower Mainland and sits astride the lower reaches of the Fraser River and both banks of Burrard Inlet.
Thirteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located in Greater Vancouver.[2] The official land area of the district is 2,877.36 square kilometres (1,111 sq mi). It is the most densely populated region in British Columbia.
See Metro Vancouver#Municipalities for a list of municipalities in the region.
There are also seventeen Indian reserves within the geographical area that are not subject to governance by the municipalities or the Regional District; they have a combined population of 7,550 (2006) and are governed by the Squamish Nation, Musqueam Nation, Tsleil-waututh First Nation, Tsawwassen First Nation, Semiahmoo Indian Band, Qayqayt First Nation, Kwikwetlem First Nation, Katzie First Nation and Kwantlen First Nation.
The cities of Abbotsford and Chilliwack and the district of Mission, located to the east, although often linked to Vancouver in promotions and tourism and in various non-official usages, as are Squamish and Whistler to the region's north.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census, 1,986,965 people lived in the metropolitan area, about half of the population of British Columbia. The 2006 Census has placed the population at 2,116,581, representing 6.5% growth since the last census.[3]
In 2006, the Greater Vancouver CMA had a population of 2,116,581 living in 870,992 dwellings. The Greater Vancouver Regional District has a land area of 2,877.36 km2 (1,111.0 sq mi) and a population density of 735.6/km² (1,905.2/sq mi).[1]
Thet population of Greater Vancouver is diverse in many ways. There is a high percentage of visible minorities in the region, though European ("white") minorities such as Germans, Dutch and Slavic and Mediterranean peoples are equallynumerous, both historically and in terms of new immigration. Census 2006 showed that nearly 41.7% of the population were of visible minority origin, the largest group being the Chinese followed by South Asians. Other prominent groups include Filipinos, Koreans, Japanese, Southeast Asian, West Asian, and Latin Americans.[4] British Columbia is Canada's most ethnically diverse province. [5]
Politics and Government
Federal
Federally, the electorate in the Greater Vancouver region elect Conservative, New Democratic, and Liberal Members of Parliaments. Liberal support is strongest and concentrated around downtown areas of Vancouver, while Conservative support is stronger in the more suburban areas of the Lower Mainland. The NDP has a strong base both in Vancouver and the suburbs. In the 2009 election, residents of the region elected 10 Conservative MP's (mainly from suburbs such as Richmond), 5 NDP MP's (such as Vancouver East), and 4 Liberal MP's (such as Vancouver Quadra).
Provincial
Provincial representation, Greater Vancouver like the rest of British Columbia is divided between the BC Liberals and the BC NDP. The BC Liberals are ideologically far-right and are not associated with the federal Liberal Party of Canada, as they include many otherwise Conservative members, while the BC NDP provide a centre-left alternative. The BC Liberals dominate in West Vancouver and certain suburbs, while BC NDP support is strong in East Vancouver and suburban areas such as New Westminster.
Visible minority representatives
Due to the region's ethnically diverse population, there is also diverse government representation. Federally, there are five MP's of visible minority origin: three of South Asian descent, one of Chinese descent, and one of Trinidadian descent. Provincially, there are six South Asian, three Chinese, one Japanese, and one Filipino MLA's.
The Greater Vancouver region has many "electoral firsts". Former Indo-Canadian Premier Ujjal Dosanjh was the first non-white premier of the province, while Douglas Jung was the first Chinese-Canadian to become a Member of Parliament. Yonah Martin is the first Korean-Canadian to hold federal public office. Jenny Kwan is the first Chinese-Canadian provincial cabinet minister in Canada. Naomi Yamamoto and Mable Elmore are respectively the first Japanese and Filipino MLA's in the province. Furthermore, Stephanie Cadieux is the first quadriplegic MLA, while Svend Robinson was the first openly-gay Canadian MP.
"Invisible minorities" (those from "white" ethnic and cultural groups) also feature strongly in the region's electoral history, most notably former Premier William Vander Zalm, of Dutch origin, while Vancouver's second mayor was Robert Oppenheimer, an East European Jew. Similarly, former Premier Dave Barrett was the MLA for East Vancouver and is of Jewish origin.
Notes
- ^ a b Statistics Canada (Census 2006). "Greater Vancouver Regional District - Community Profile". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=5915&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&Data=Count&SearchText=Greater%20Vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=&GeoCode=5915. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
- ^ Statistics Canada - BC municipalities - Population
- ^ Greater Vancouver Regional District - Population Growth
- ^ [1], canada.com, April 2, 2008.
- ^ [2], cbc.com, April 2, 2008.
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
