View source for Vancouver

{{Short description|City in British Columbia, Canada}}
{{about|the Canadian city|the suburb of Portland, Oregon|Vancouver, Washington|other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Vancouver
| official_name      = City of Vancouver
| settlement_type    = City
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| total_width   = 280
| border        = infobox
| caption_align = center
| perrow        = 1/2/2/2
| image1        = Concord Pacific Master Plan Area.jpg
| caption1      = [[List of tallest buildings in Vancouver|Skyline]] of [[Downtown Vancouver]]
| image2        = Vancouver (BC, Canada), Canada Place -- 2022 -- 1847.jpg
| caption2      = [[Canada Place]]
| image3        = Stanley Park, Vancouver (7889964786).jpg
| caption3      = [[Stanley Park]] and [[Lions Gate Bridge]]
| image4        = Science world (focusedcapture) 2 - Flickr.jpg
| caption4      = [[Science World (Vancouver)|Science World]]
| image5        = Vancouver Art Gallery (46588958915).jpg
| caption5      = [[Vancouver Art Gallery]]
| image6        = Gastown Steam Clock by Kiyokun.JPG
| caption6      = [[Gastown]]
| image7        = Vancouver (BC, Canada), Harbour Centre -- 2022 -- 1843.jpg
| caption7      = [[Harbour Centre]]
}}
| image_flag         = Flag of Vancouver.svg
| flag_size          = 110
| image_shield       = Coat of arms of Vancouver.svg
| shield_size        = 90
| image_blank_emblem = Vancouverlogo.svg
| blank_emblem_type  = Logo
| blank_emblem_size  = 115
| motto = {{force singular}} "By sea land and air we prosper"
| image_map          = Vancouver in Metro Vancouver.svg
| mapsize            = 
| map_caption        = Location of Vancouver in [[Metro Vancouver]]

| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 7

| pushpin_map        = British Columbia
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within British Columbia
| coordinates        = {{coord|49|15|39|N|123|06|50|W|region:CA-BC|notes=<ref name="JBRIK">{{Cite cgndb|JBRIK|Vancouver}}</ref>|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = Canada
| subdivision_type1  = Province
| subdivision_type2  = [[Regional district]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[British Columbia]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Metro Vancouver Regional District|Metro Vancouver]]
| established_title  = <!--or this could be replaced with first settling with gastown, not sure which better applies-->First settled
| established_date   = 8000–6000 BCE
| established_title1 = Established
| established_date1  = March 10, 1870 (as [[Granville, British Columbia|Granville]])
| established_title2 = Incorporated
| established_date2  = April 6, 1886 (as Vancouver)
| established_title3 = [[Merger (politics)|Amalgamated]]
| established_date3  = January 1, 1929
| named_for          = [[George Vancouver]]
| seat               = [[Vancouver City Hall]]
| government_type    = [[Mayor-council government]]
| governing_body     = [[Vancouver City Council]] (11 members)
| leader_party       = [[ABC Vancouver]]
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = [[Ken Sim]]
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="VancouverCity" />
| area_total_km2     = 123.63
| area_land_km2      = 115.18
| area_urban_km2     = 911.64
| area_urban_footnotes = <ref name="urbanpopulation">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Vancouver [Population centre], British Columbia |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=vancouver&DGUIDlist=2021S05100973&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |access-date=August 5, 2022 |website=Statistics Canada |archive-date=August 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812224935/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=vancouver&DGUIDlist=2021S05100973&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| area_metro_km2     = 2878.93
| area_metro_footnotes = <ref name="2021censusCMA" />
| elevation_min_m    = 0
| elevation_max_point = [[Little Mountain (British Columbia)|Little Mountain]]
| elevation_max_m    = 152
| elevation_max_ft   = 501
|population_rank  =  [[List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population|8th]] in Canada
| population_total   = <!--CENSUS 2021 DATA ONLY, DO NOT USE ESTIMATES -->662248
| population_as_of   = 2021
| population_footnotes = <ref name="VancouverCity" />
| population_density_km2 = 5749.9
| population_metro   = <!--CENSUS 2021 DATA ONLY, DO NOT USE ESTIMATES -->2642825 ([[List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada|3rd]] in Canada)
| population_metro_footnotes = <ref name="2021censusCMA" />
| population_density_metro_km2 = 918.0
| population_density_rank = 1st
| population_demonym = Vancouverite
| demographics_type2 = Gross metropolitan product
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=November 27, 2024 |title=Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by census metropolitan area (CMA) |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610046801 |access-date=November 29, 2024 |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
| demographics2_title1 = Vancouver CMA
| demographics2_info1 = {{CA$|183.14{{nbsp}}billion|link=yes}} (2021)
| timezone1          = [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]]
| utc_offset         = −08:00
| timezone_DST       = PDT
| utc_offset_DST     = −07:00
| postal_code_type   = [[Canadian postal code#Forward sortation areas|Forward sortation area]]
| postal_code        = [[List of V postal codes of Canada|V5K – V6T, V6Z, V7X – V7Y]]
| area_code          = [[Area code 604|604]], [[Area codes 778, 236, and 672|778, 236, 672]]
| area_code_type     = [[Area code]]s
| blank_name_sec1    = [[National Topographic System|NTS]] map
| blank_info_sec1    = {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|92|G|3}}, {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|92|G|6}}
| blank1_name_sec1   = [[Geographical Names Board of Canada|GNBC]] code
| blank1_info_sec1   = JBRIK<ref name="JBRIK" />
| website            = {{Official URL}}
| nickname           = See [[nicknames of Vancouver]]
| population_blank1_title = Region
| population_blank1  = 3,049,496
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
}}

'''Vancouver'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=EN-Vancouver.ogg|v|æ|n|.|ˈ|k|uː|.|v|ər}}, {{respell|van|KOO|vər}}; {{langx|hur|lhq’á:lets}}}} is a major city in [[Western Canada]], located in the [[Lower Mainland]] region of [[British Columbia]]. As the [[List of cities in British Columbia|most populous city]] in the province, the [[2021 Canadian census]] recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The [[Metro Vancouver]] area had a population of 2.6{{Nbsp}}million in 2021, making it the [[List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada#List|third-largest metropolitan area in Canada]]. Greater Vancouver, along with the [[Fraser Valley]], comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3{{nbsp}}million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over {{convert|5,700|PD/km2}},<ref name=":0" /> and the fourth highest in North America (after [[New York City]], [[San Francisco]], and [[Mexico City]]).

Vancouver is one of the most [[Ethnic origins of people in Canada|ethnically]] and [[Languages of Canada|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.<ref name="VancouverCityMinority2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Vancouver, City (CY) British Columbia [Census subdivision] Visible minority |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A00055915022&HEADERlist=30&SearchText=vancouver |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=Statistics Canada |archive-date=October 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027012129/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A00055915022&HEADERlist=30&SearchText=vancouver |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> It has been consistently ranked one of the [[City quality of life indices|most liveable cities]] in Canada and in the world.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=March 20, 2018 |title=Vancouver ranked best city in North America for quality of living |website=[[Daily Hive]] |url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-best-city-quality-of-living-2018 |url-status=live |access-date=February 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015837/https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-best-city-quality-of-living-2018 |archive-date=February 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |date=October 4, 2002 |title=Vancouver and Melbourne top city league |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2299119.stm |url-status=live |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712065852/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2299119.stm |archive-date=July 12, 2015}}</ref><ref name="CNBC">{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Chloe |date=March 13, 2019 |title=These are the world's top cities to live in, according to researchers |work=[[CNBC]] |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/13/top-city-index-these-are-the-best-places-to-live-for-2019.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509181112/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/13/top-city-index-these-are-the-best-places-to-live-for-2019.html |archive-date=May 9, 2019}}</ref> In terms of [[Affordable housing|housing affordability]], Vancouver is also one of [[Affordable housing in Canada|the most expensive cities in Canada]] and [[Affordable housing by country|in the world]].<ref>{{cite news |date=June 26, 2019 |title=Vancouver yet again most expensive place to live in Canada |work=[[CTV News]] |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/vancouver-yet-again-most-expensive-place-to-live-in-canada/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019171840/https://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-yet-again-most-expensive-place-to-live-in-canada-1.4484040 |archive-date=October 19, 2021}}</ref> [[Vancouverism]] is the city's [[urban planning]] design philosophy.

Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 10,000 years ago and included the [[Squamish people|Squamish]], [[Musqueam Indian Band|Musqueam]], and [[Tsleil-Waututh First Nation|Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard)]] peoples. The beginnings of 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 [[John Deighton|Gassy Jack]]. The Gastown steam clock marks the original site. Gastown then formally registered as a [[townsite]] dubbed [[Granville, British Columbia|Granville]], [[Burrard Inlet]]. The city was renamed "Vancouver" in 1886 through a deal with 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]].<ref name="Morley">{{cite book |last=Morley |first=A. |year=1974 |title=Vancouver, from milltown to metropolis |lccn=64026114 |location=Vancouver |publisher=Mitchell Press}}</ref><ref name="STEV">{{Cite book |last=Norris |first=John M. |lccn=72170963 |title=Strangers Entertained |publisher=Vancouver, British Columbia Centennial '71 Committee |year=1971}}</ref>

Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the [[1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|1954 Commonwealth Games]], [[Habitat I|UN Habitat I]], [[Expo 86]], [[APEC Canada 1997]], the [[World Police and Fire Games]] in 1989 and 2009; several matches of the [[2015 FIFA Women's World Cup]] including the finals at [[BC Place]] in [[downtown Vancouver]],<ref name="FIFA">{{cite web |date=March 21, 2013 |title=FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ match schedule unveiled |url=https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/organisation/media/newsid=2035770/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426020740/http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/organisation/media/newsid=2035770/index.html |archive-date=April 26, 2013 |access-date=April 30, 2013 |publisher=[[FIFA]]}}</ref> and the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] and [[2010 Winter Paralympics|Paralympics]] which were held in Vancouver and [[Whistler, British Columbia|Whistler]], a resort community {{cvt|125|km}} north of the city.<ref name="V2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.olympic.org/vancouver-2010-winter-olympics |title=Vancouver 2010 Schedule |year=2010 |work=olympic.org |publisher=International Olympic Committee |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707172444/http://www.olympic.org/vancouver-2010-winter-olympics |archive-date=July 7, 2011}}</ref> In 1969, [[Greenpeace]] was founded in Vancouver. The city became the permanent home to [[TED (conference)|TED conferences]] in 2014.

{{As of|2016}}, the [[Port of Vancouver]] is the fourth-largest port by tonnage in the Americas,<ref>{{cite web |title=World Port Rankings 2016 |url=http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/Statistics/WORLD%20PORT%20RANKINGS%202016.xlsx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429222548/http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/Statistics/WORLD%20PORT%20RANKINGS%202016.xlsx |archive-date=April 29, 2018 |access-date=August 1, 2019 |publisher=[[American Association of Port Authorities]] |format=XLSX}}</ref> the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/about/news/09-07-31/Port_Metro_Vancouver_Mid-Year_Stats_Include_Bright_Spots_in_a_Difficult_First_Half_for_2009.aspx |title=Port Metro Vancouver Mid-Year Stats Include Bright Spots in a Difficult First Half for 2009 |publisher=[[Port Metro Vancouver]] |date=July 31, 2009 |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615025718/http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/about/news/09-07-31/Port_Metro_Vancouver_Mid-Year_Stats_Include_Bright_Spots_in_a_Difficult_First_Half_for_2009.aspx |archive-date=June 15, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 18, 2015 |title=Cargo and terminals |url=https://www.portvancouver.com/cargo-terminals/ |access-date=March 3, 2022 |publisher=[[Port of Vancouver]] |archive-date=March 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303042140/https://www.portvancouver.com/cargo-terminals/ |url-status=live}}</ref> While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making [[Tourism in Canada|tourism]] its second-largest industry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tourismvancouver.com/pdf/research/monthly_overnight_visitors_1994_2005.pdf |title=Overnight visitors to Greater Vancouver by volume, monthly and annual basis |publisher=Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717081342/http://www.tourismvancouver.com/pdf/research/monthly_overnight_visitors_1994_2005.pdf |archive-date=July 17, 2011}}</ref> Major film production studios in Vancouver and nearby [[Burnaby]] have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest [[principal photography|film production]] centres in North America,<ref>{{cite web |title=Industry Profile |url=http://www.bcfilmcommission.com/about_us/industry_profile.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707220257/http://www.bcfilmcommission.com/about_us/industry_profile.htm |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |access-date=June 9, 2011 |publisher=[[BC Film Commission]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wagler |first=Jenny |date=March 20, 2012 |title=Ontario film industry outperforming B.C.'s |work=[[Business in Vancouver]] |url=http://www.biv.com/article/20120320/BIV0103/303209916/-1/BIV/ontario-film-industry-outperforming-bcs |access-date=August 12, 2012 |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120812233739/http://www.biv.com/article/20120320/BIV0103/303209916/-1/BIV/ontario-film-industry-outperforming-bcs |archive-date=August 12, 2012}}</ref> earning it the nickname "[[Hollywood North]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Gasher |first=Mike |url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodnorthfe0000gash |title=Hollywood North: The Feature Film Industry in British Columbia |date=November 2002 |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |isbn=978-0-7748-0967-2 |location=Vancouver |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/welcome-to-brollywood/story-e6frfkp9-1111114207895 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171020142316/http://www.perthnow.com.au/travel/welcome-to-brollywood/news-story/c87a26243eb9f1c1c704c67b9ff8743c |archive-date=October 20, 2017 |title=Vancouver: Welcome to Brollywood |last=Shrimpton |first=James |date=August 17, 2007 |work=[[News Limited]] |access-date=March 16, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=August 9, 1988 |title=Canada's Hollywood Gets a Boost with New Studio |work=[[Miami Herald]] |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB338E6A385014B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |access-date=March 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511050226/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB338E6A385014B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |archive-date=May 11, 2013 |via=[[NewsBank]]}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The city takes its name from [[George Vancouver]], who explored the inner harbour of [[Burrard Inlet]] in 1792 and gave various places British names.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/vancouver_george_4E.html |title=Dictionary of Canadian Biography: George Vancouver |website=biography.ca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064456/http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/vancouver_george_4E.html |archive-date=February 3, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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 is the origin of the name that eventually became "Vancouver".<ref>{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Chuck |author2=W. Kaye Lamb |title=Greater Vancouver Book: An Urban Encyclopaedia |publisher=Linkman Press |year=1997 |location=Surrey, BC |pages=34–36 |isbn=978-1-896846-00-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Chuck |title=Coevorden |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_coevorden.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610231756/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_coevorden.htm |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |access-date=June 7, 2011 |work=The History of Metropolitan Vancouver}}</ref>

The indigenous [[Squamish people]] who reside in a region that encompasses southwestern British Columbia including this city gave the name {{lang|squ|K'emk'emeláy̓}} which means "place of many [[maple]] trees"; this was originally the name of a village inhabited by said people where a [[Hastings Mill|sawmill]] was established by [[Edward Stamp]] as part of the foundations to the British settlement later becoming part of Vancouver.<ref name="SquamishVillages">{{cite news |last1=Sterritt |first1=Angela |date=June 24, 2021 |title=Road signs along the Sea to Sky Highway offer insight into the history of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people |work=[[CBC News]] |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/signs-along-sea-sky-highway-highlight-s%E1%B8%B5wx-w%C3%BA7mesh-history-1.6075470 |url-status=live |access-date=July 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725042435/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/signs-along-sea-sky-highway-highlight-s%E1%B8%B5wx-w%C3%BA7mesh-history-1.6075470 |archive-date=July 25, 2021}}</ref>

In hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (the Downriver dialect of Halkomelem) spoken by the [[Musqueam First Nation|Musqueam]], there is no specific term for Vancouver.{{efn|Note Suttles' (2004) p. 412 example of "təl̓ənəcə čxʷ. təlíʔ cən [ʔə] ƛ̓ Vancouver": ‘Where are you from? I’m from Vancouver.’ and the absence of a hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ term for Vancouver.<ref name="suttles" />}} Rather there existed names for specific villages and landscape features that the people knew intimately in the area in which Vancouver exists currently, as opposed to larger geographic features.<ref name="suttles">{{cite book |last1=Suttles |first1=Wayne P. |title=Musqueam reference grammar |date=2004 |publisher=UBC Press |location=Vancouver |isbn=9780774810029 |pages=412, 499, 566 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RRmLFaCyRcC |access-date=September 1, 2024}}</ref> The region where Vancouver is currently located was referred to by the [[Stó꞉lō]] in the Upriver [[Halkomelem]] dialect as {{lang|hur|Lhq’á:lets}},<ref>{{cite web |title=Stolo Dictionary |url=https://www.ufv.ca/media/assets/modern-languages/halqemeylem/Hal-Dic-Hal-Eng-(Stolo-Dictionary).doc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703015509/https://www.ufv.ca/media/assets/modern-languages/halqemeylem/Hal-Dic-Hal-Eng-(Stolo-Dictionary).doc |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |access-date=January 10, 2020 |publisher=[[University of the Fraser Valley]] |format=DOC |quote="Lhq'á:lets Vancouver"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Galloway |first1=Brent Douglas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YEslDQAAQBAJ&q=Lhq%E2%80%99%C3%A1:lets&pg=PA291 |title=Dictionary of Upriver Halkomelem |date=2009 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-09872-5 |page=291 |author-link=Brent Galloway |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019165921/https://books.google.com/books?id=YEslDQAAQBAJ&q=Lhq%E2%80%99%C3%A1:lets&pg=PA291 |archive-date=October 19, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> meaning "wide at the bottom/end". Speakers of the Island dialect of Halkomelem referred to the region of Vancouver as {{lang|hur|sqwx̌wam̓ush}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gerdts |first1=Donna B. |last2=Edwards |first2=Leonard |last3=Ulrich |first3=Charles H. |last4=Compton |first4=Brian D. |title=Hulquminum Words: An English-to-Hulquminum and Hulquminum-to-English Dictionary |date=1997 |publisher=Chemainus, Nanaimo, and Nanoose First Nations and School District No. 68 |page=51 |url=https://www.sfu.ca/~gerdts/papers/HulquminumWords.pdf |access-date=September 1, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> or {{lang|hur|skwóm̓esh}}, referring to the Squamish,<ref name="rozen" /> or as {{lang|hur|Pankúpe7}}, a transliteration of the English word "Vancouver".<ref name="rozen">{{cite thesis |last1=Rozen |first1=David Lewis |title=Place-names of the Island Halkomelem Indian people |journal=University of British Columbia |date=2010 |pages=246, 260 |doi=10.14288/1.0096521 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0096521 |access-date=September 1, 2024}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Vancouver}}
{{For timeline}}

===Before 1850===
[[Archaeology|Archaeological]] records indicate that [[First Nations in Canada|Aboriginal people]] were already living in the Vancouver area from 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web |last=Thom |first=Brian |year=1996 |url=http://home.istar.ca/~bthom/LONGTERM-FIN.htm |title=Stó:lo Culture – Ideas of Prehistory and Changing Cultural Relationships to the Land and Environment |access-date=November 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718061334/http://home.istar.ca/~bthom/LONGTERM-FIN.htm |archive-date=July 18, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Atlas">{{cite book |editor-last=Carlson |editor-first=Keith Thor |title=A Stó:lō-Coast Salish Historical Atlas |location=Vancouver, BC |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |year=2001 |pages=6–18 |isbn=978-1-55054-812-9}}</ref>

The [[Squamish people|Squamish]], [[Musqueam Indian Band|Musqueam]], and [[Tsleil-Waututh First Nation|Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard)]] peoples of the [[Coast Salish]] group<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Vancouver |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |date=March 12, 2019 |last=Roy |first=Patricia E. |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vancouver |access-date=July 2, 2021 |archive-date=July 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720053605/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vancouver |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Barman |first=Jean |title=Stanley Park's Secret |publisher=Harbour Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-55017-346-8 |page=21 |author-link=Jean Barman}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Schultz |first=Colin |title=One of Canada's Biggest Cities Just Officially Admitted That It Was Built on Unceded Aboriginal Territory |website=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-canadas-biggest-cities-just-officially-admitted-it-was-built-unceded-aboriginal-territory-180951873/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183255/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-canadas-biggest-cities-just-officially-admitted-it-was-built-unceded-aboriginal-territory-180951873/ |archive-date=July 9, 2021}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Atlas" />

Europeans became acquainted with the area of the future Vancouver when [[José María Narváez]] of [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] explored the coast of present-day [[West Point Grey|Point Grey]] and parts of [[Burrard Inlet]] in 1791—although one author contends that [[Francis Drake]] may have [[New Albion#Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada|visited the area in 1579]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bawlf |first=R. Samuel |year=2003 |title=The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake: 1577–1580 |publisher=Walker & Company |isbn=978-0-8027-1405-3}}</ref>

[[File:Draft of Major Matthews map of Vancouver's indigenous place names.tif|thumb|Draft map of villages and landmarks with their Indigenous names, [[Burrard Inlet]] and [[English Bay, Vancouver|English Bay]], by Vancouver archivist [[J. S. Matthews]] ]]
The explorer and [[North West Company]] trader [[Simon Fraser (explorer)|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of City of Vancouver |work=Caroun.com |url=http://www.caroun.com/Countries/America/Canada/Vancouver/2-VancouverHistory.html |access-date=January 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070329195141/http://www.caroun.com/Countries/America/Canada/Vancouver/2-VancouverHistory.html |archive-date=March 29, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Early growth===
[[File:Maple Tree Corner Vancouver 1886.jpg|thumb|View of [[Gastown]] from Carrall and [[Water Street, Vancouver|Water Street]] in 1886. Gastown was a settlement that quickly became a centre for trade and commerce on Burrard Inlet.]]
The [[Fraser Canyon Gold Rush|Fraser Gold Rush]] of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly from [[California]], to nearby [[New Westminster]] (founded February 14, 1859) on the Fraser River, on their way to the [[Fraser Canyon]], bypassing what would become Vancouver.<ref name="Vancouver's past">{{cite book |last1=Hull |first1=Raymond |title=Vancouver's Past |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=1974 |location=Seattle |first2=Christine |last2=Soules |first3=Gordon |last3=Soules |isbn=978-0-295-95364-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=McGowan's War |publisher=New Star Books |isbn=1-55420-001-6 |first=Donald J. |last=Hauka |year=2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=J. Skitt |title=Early Vancouver |publisher=City of Vancouver |year=1936 |author-link=J. S. Matthews}}</ref> Vancouver is among British Columbia's youngest cities;<ref name="Horizons">{{cite book |last1=Cranny |first1=Michael |last2=Jarvis |first2=Graham |last3=Moles |first3=Garvin |last4=Seney |first4=Bruce |title=Horizons: Canada Moves West |publisher=Prentice Hall Ginn Canada |year=1999 |location=Scarborough, ON |isbn=978-0-13-012367-1}}</ref> 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 Indian Band|Musqueam]] in what is now [[Marpole]]. A sawmill was established at Moodyville (now the [[City of North Vancouver]]) in 1863, beginning 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 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.<ref name="GVB">{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Chuck |title=The Greater Vancouver Book: An Urban Encyclopaedia |publisher=Linkman Press |year=1997 |location=Surrey, British Columbia |pages=39–47 |isbn=1-896846-00-9}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Horizons" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gastown.org/history/index.html |title=Welcome to Gastown |date=March 28, 2008 |publisher=Gastown Business Improvement Society |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125034053/http://www.gastown.org/history/index.html |archive-date=November 25, 2009}}</ref>

In 1870, the [[Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871)|colonial government]] surveyed the settlement and laid out a [[townsite]], renamed "[[Granville, British Columbia|Granville]]" in honour of the then–British [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]], [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville|Lord Granville]]. This site, with its natural harbour, was selected in 1884<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology.html |title=Chronology[1757–1884] |access-date=June 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610223324/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology.html |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> as the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the disappointment of [[Port Moody]], New Westminster and [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]], all of which had vied to be the railhead. A railway was among the inducements for British Columbia to join the [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]] in 1871, but the [[Pacific Scandal]] and arguments over the use of Chinese labour delayed construction until the 1880s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Morton |first=James |title=[[In the Sea of Sterile Mountains: The Chinese in British Columbia]] |publisher=J.J. Douglas |year=1973 |location=Vancouver |isbn=978-0-88894-052-0}}</ref>

===Incorporation===
[[File:First Vancouver Council Meeting after fire.jpg|thumb|left|The first [[Vancouver City Council]] meeting following the [[Great Vancouver Fire]] in 1886]]
The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886, the same year that the first transcontinental train arrived. CPR president [[William Cornelius Van Horne|William Van Horne]] arrived in Port Moody to establish the CPR terminus recommended by [[Henry John Cambie]] and gave the city its name in honour of [[George Vancouver]].<ref name="Horizons" /> The [[Great Vancouver Fire]] on June 13, 1886, razed the entire city. The [[Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services|Vancouver Fire Department]] was established that year and the city quickly rebuilt.<ref name="GVB" /> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Chuck |first2=Richard |last2=von Kleist |title=Greater Vancouver Book: An Urban Encyclopaedia |publisher=Linkman Press |year=1997 |location=Surrey, BC |page=780 |isbn=978-1-896846-00-2}}</ref>

Vancouver merchants outfitted prospectors bound for the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] in 1898.<ref name="Vancouver's past" /> One of those merchants, Charles Woodward, had opened the first [[Woodward's]] store at Abbott and Cordova Streets in 1892 and, along with [[Spencer's (department store)|Spencer's]] and the [[Hudson's Bay Company|Hudson's Bay]] department stores, formed the core of the city's retail sector for decades.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History: Acquisitions, Retail, Woodward's Stores Limited |publisher=Hudson's Bay Company |url=http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/acquisitions/retail/woodwards.asp |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227013354/http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/acquisitions/retail/woodwards.asp |archive-date=February 27, 2007}}</ref>

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;<ref>{{cite web |title=British Columbia facts – economic history |url=http://www.britishcolumbia.name/facts.htm |access-date=June 12, 2011 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911062907/http://www.britishcolumbia.name/facts.htm |archive-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref> in fact, the CPR was the main real estate owner and housing developer in the city. While some manufacturing did develop, including the establishment of the British Columbia Sugar Refinery by [[Benjamin Tingley Rogers]] in 1890,<ref>{{cite web |title=BC Sugar |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_bcSugar.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104205132/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_bcSugar.htm |archive-date=January 4, 2015 |access-date=May 29, 2014 |work=The History of Metropolitan Vancouver |quote=The dream had become reality: B.C. Sugar was incorporated March 26, 1890. Its president, Benjamin Tingley Rogers, was 24.}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McCandless |first=R. C. |title=Vancouver's 'Red Menace' of 1935: The Waterfront Situation |journal=BC Studies |issue=22 |page=68 |year=1974}}</ref>

===20th century<span id="South Vancouver"></span>===
<!--[[South Vancouver, British Columbia]] redirects here-->
[[File:RCMP 1938 sitdowner strike.jpg|thumb|Plainclothes [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police|RCMP]] officers attack [[Relief Camp Workers' Union]] protesters in 1938. Several protests over unemployment occurred in the city during the [[Great Depression]].]]
[[File:Downtown celebrations at the end of World War II, VPL 42793 (17106384760).jpg|thumb|Downtown celebrations at the end of [[World War II]]]]
The dominance of the economy by big business was accompanied by an often militant [[Trades and Labor Congress of Canada|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.<ref>{{Cite web |author=BC Labour Heritage Centre |date=April 16, 2018 |title=The Shooting of Frank Rogers |url=https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/shooting-frank-rogers/ |access-date=September 19, 2024 |website=Working People Built BC |language=en-US |archive-date=September 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919084337/https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/shooting-frank-rogers/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="phillips">{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=Paul A. |title=No Power Greater: A Century of Labour in British Columbia |publisher=BC Federation of Labour/Boag Foundation |year=1967 |location=Vancouver}}</ref>{{Citation page|pages=39–41}} The rise of industrial tensions throughout the province led to Canada's first general strike in 1918, at the [[Cumberland, British Columbia|Cumberland]] coal mines on [[Vancouver Island]].<ref name="phillips" />{{Citation page|pages=71–74}} 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Manley |first=John |year=1994 |title=Canadian Communists, Revolutionary Unionism, and the 'Third Period': The Workers' Unity League |url=http://www.erudit.org/revue/jcha/1994/v5/n1/031078ar.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Journal of the Canadian Historical Association]] |series=New Series |volume=5 |pages=167–194 |doi=10.7202/031078ar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614201558/http://www.erudit.org/revue/jcha/1994/v5/n1/031078ar.pdf |archive-date=June 14, 2007 |access-date=November 12, 2006 |doi-access=free |issn=0847-4478}}</ref><ref name="Brown 1987">{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Lorne |title=When Freedom was Lost: The Unemployed, the Agitator, and the State |url=https://archive.org/details/whenfreedomwaslo0000brow |url-access=registration |publisher=Black Rose Books |year=1987 |location=Montreal |isbn=978-0-920057-77-3}}</ref> After two tense months of daily and disruptive protesting, the [[Relief Camp Workers' Union|relief camp strikers]] decided to take their grievances to the federal government and embarked on the [[On-to-Ottawa Trek]],<ref name="Brown 1987" /> but their protest was put down by force. The workers were arrested near [[Mission, British Columbia|Mission]] and interned in work camps for the duration of the Depression.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schroeder |first=Andreas |title=Carved From Wood: A History of Mission 1861–1992 |year=1991 |publisher=Mission Foundation |isbn=978-1-55056-131-9}}</ref>

Other social movements, such as the [[first-wave feminism|first-wave feminist]], moral reform, and [[Prohibition in Canada|temperance movements]], were also instrumental in Vancouver's development. [[Mary Ellen Smith]], a Vancouver [[women's suffrage|suffragist]] and [[Prohibition in Canada|prohibitionist]], became the first woman elected to a [[Legislative assemblies of Canadian provinces and territories|provincial legislature]] in Canada in 1918.<ref name="robin">{{cite book |last=Robin |first=Martin |url=https://archive.org/details/rushforspoilscom0000robi/mode/2up |title=The Rush for Spoils: The Company Province |publisher=McClelland and Stewart |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-7710-7675-6 |location=Toronto}}</ref>{{Citation page|page=[https://archive.org/details/rushforspoilscom0000robi/page/172 172]}} 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.<ref name="robin" />{{Citation page|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rushforspoilscom0000robi/page/187 187–188]}} Canada's first [[Prohibition of drugs|drug law]] came about following an inquiry conducted by the federal [[Minister of Labour (Canada)|minister of Labour]] and future prime minister, [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]]. King was sent to investigate damages claims resulting from a riot when the [[Asiatic Exclusion League]] led a rampage through [[Chinatown, Vancouver|Chinatown]] and [[Japantown, Vancouver|Japantown]]. Two of the claimants were [[opium]] manufacturers, and after further investigation, King found that white women were reportedly frequenting [[opium den]]s as well as [[Chinese Canadians|Chinese]] men. A federal law banning the manufacture, sale, and importation of opium for non-medicinal purposes was soon passed based on these revelations.<ref>{{cite thesis |first=Catherine |last=Carstairs |title='Hop Heads' and 'Hypes':Drug Use, Regulation and Resistance in Canada |publisher=University of Toronto |type=PhD |date=2000 |url=http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ53757.pdf |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201195420/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ53757.pdf |archive-date=December 1, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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 of Japanese Canadians|internment or deportation of all Japanese-Canadians]] living in the city and the province.<ref>{{cite book |last=Roy |first=Patricia E. |title=Mutual Hostages: Canadians and Japanese during the Second World War |year=1990 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto, Ontario |isbn=0-8020-5774-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mutualhostagesca0000unse/page/103 103] |url=https://archive.org/details/mutualhostagesca0000unse/page/103}}</ref> After the war, these Japanese-Canadian men and women were not allowed to return to cities like Vancouver causing areas, like the aforementioned [[Japantown, Vancouver|Japantown]], to cease to be ethnically Japanese areas as the communities never revived.<ref>{{cite book |last=La Violette |first=Forrest E. |title=The Canadian Japanese and World War II |year=1948 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto, Ontario |page=v}}</ref>

[[Merger (politics)|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, the population of the enlarged Vancouver was 228,193.<ref>{{cite book |last=Francis |first=Daniel |title=L.D.:Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver |publisher=[[Arsenal Pulp Press]] |year=2004 |location=Vancouver |page=135 |isbn=978-1-55152-156-5}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Further|List of bodies of water in Vancouver|Lower Mainland Ecoregion}}
[[File:Vancouver by Sentinel-2.jpg|left|thumb|Satellite image of Metro Vancouver (2018)|alt=]]
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 {{cvt|115.18|km2}}, including both flat and hilly ground and is in the [[Pacific Time Zone]] (UTC−8) and the [[Pacific Maritime Ecozone (CEC)|Pacific Maritime Ecozone]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Pacific Maritime Ecozone |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Framework/Nardesc/pacmar_e.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040621163804/http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Framework/Nardesc/pacmar_e.cfm |archive-date=June 21, 2004 |date=April 11, 2005 |access-date=December 1, 2009}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://1canada.ca/?p=1159 |title=Vancouver Is Not On Vancouver Island |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105042253/http://1canada.ca/?p=1159 |archive-date=November 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbvancouverisland-bc.com/victoria-island-is-vancouver-island.html |title=Vancouver Island – "Victoria Island" and other Misconceptions |access-date=June 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905043543/http://www.bbvancouverisland-bc.com/victoria-island-is-vancouver-island.html |archive-date=September 5, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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 {{cvt|404.9|ha|acre}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=World66 – Vancouver Travel Guide |url=http://www.world66.com/northamerica/canada/britishcolumbia/vancouver |work=World 66 |access-date=October 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513001153/http://www.world66.com/northamerica/canada/britishcolumbia/vancouver |archive-date=May 13, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[North Shore Mountains]] dominate 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.<ref name="aboutvancouver">{{cite web |title=About Vancouver |publisher=City of Vancouver |url=http://vancouver.ca/aboutvan.htm |date=November 17, 2009 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201103409/http://vancouver.ca/aboutvan.htm |archive-date=December 1, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ecology===
The vegetation in the Vancouver area was originally [[temperate rainforest]], consisting of [[conifer]]s with scattered pockets of maple and alder and large areas of swampland (even in upland areas, due to poor drainage).<ref>{{cite web |year=2009 |title=Stanley Park History |url=http://vancouver.ca/Parks/parks/stanley/history.htm |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810102612/http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/history.htm |archive-date=August 10, 2011 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |publisher=City of Vancouver}}</ref> The conifers were a typical coastal British Columbia mix of [[Douglas fir]], [[Thuja plicata|western red cedar]] and [[Tsuga heterophylla|western hemlock]].<ref>{{cite web |title="Lower Mainland Ecoregion": Narrative Descriptions of Terrestrial Ecozones and Ecoregions of Canada (#196) |url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Framework/Nardesc/Region.cfm?region=196 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070127133028/http://www.ec.gc.ca/soer-ree/English/Framework/Nardesc/Region.cfm?region=196 |archive-date=January 27, 2007 |publisher=Environment Canada |access-date=December 4, 2009}}</ref> 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, Vancouver|English Bay]]. The largest trees in Vancouver's old-growth forest were in the [[Gastown]] area, where the first logging occurred and on 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 [[Logging#Springboards|springboard notches]] can still be seen there.<ref>{{cite web |year=2009 |title=Stanley Park: Forest – Monument Trees |url=http://vancouver.ca/Parks/parks/stanley/nature.htm |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201164108/http://vancouver.ca/Parks/parks/stanley/nature.htm |archive-date=December 1, 2010 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |publisher=City of Vancouver}}</ref>

Many plants and trees growing throughout Vancouver and the [[Lower Mainland]] were imported from other parts of the continent and points across the Pacific. Examples include the [[araucaria araucana|monkey puzzle tree]], the [[Acer palmatum|Japanese maple]] and various flowering exotics, such as [[magnolia]]s, [[azalea]]s and [[rhododendron]]s. Some species imported from harsher climates in Eastern Canada or Europe have grown to immense sizes. The native [[Acer glabrum|Douglas maple]] can also attain a tremendous size. Many of the city's streets are lined with flowering varieties of [[Cherry blossom|Japanese cherry]] trees donated from 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, [[Aesculus hippocastanum|horse chestnut]] and other decorative shade trees.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.vcbf.ca/history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503001521/http://www.vcbf.ca/history |archive-date=May 3, 2009 |publisher=Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival |year=2009 |access-date=November 30, 2009}}</ref>

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Vancouver}}
{{climate chart
| Vancouver
|  1.4 |  6.9 | 168.4
|  1.6 |  8.2 | 104.6
|  3.4 | 10.3 | 113.9
|  5.6 | 13.2 |  88.5
|  8.8 | 16.7 |  65.0
| 11.7 | 19.6 |  53.8
| 13.7 | 22.2 |  35.6
| 13.8 | 22.2 |  36.7
| 10.8 | 18.9 |  50.9
|  7.0 | 13.5 | 120.8
|  3.5 |  9.2 | 188.9
|  0.8 |  6.3 | 161.9
| float=right
| date=September 12, 2017
}}

Vancouver's climate, one of the mildest and most temperate climates in Canada, is classified as an [[Oceanic climate|oceanic]] climate ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfb'') bordering on a warm-summer [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] climate ([[Köppen climate classification|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, British Columbia|Victoria]], [[Nanaimo]] and [[Duncan, British Columbia|Duncan]], all on Vancouver Island.<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Winners – Mildest Winters |url=http://climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/winners/categorydata_e.html?SelectedCategory=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125151335/http://climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/winners/categorydata_e.html?SelectedCategory=4 |archive-date=November 25, 2011 |access-date=June 9, 2011 |publisher=Environment Canada}}</ref>

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, British Columbia|Richmond]] averages {{cvt|1,189|mm}}, compared with {{cvt|1588|mm}} in the downtown area and {{cvt|2044|mm}} in North Vancouver.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=888&lang=e&dCode=0&StationName=VANCOUVER&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12 |title=Station Results &#124; Canada's National Climate Archive |work=climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca |publisher=Environment Canada |date=February 4, 2013 |access-date=February 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511224616/http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=888&lang=e&dCode=0&StationName=VANCOUVER&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12 |archive-date=May 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=820&lang=e&dCode=0&StationName=VANCOUVER&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12 |title=Station Results &#124; Canada's National Climate Archive |work=climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca |publisher=Environment Canada |date=February 4, 2013 |access-date=February 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512003233/http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=820&lang=e&dCode=0&StationName=VANCOUVER&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12 |archive-date=May 12, 2013}}</ref> The daily maximum averages {{cvt|22|°C|0}} in July and August, with highs rarely reaching {{cvt|30|°C|0}}.<ref name="ccn" /> 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.<ref name="vanprecip">{{cite web |title=Station Results: Vancouver City Hall, 1971–2000 |url=http://climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=882&lang=e&dCode=0&StationName=VANCOUVER&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609134613/http://climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=882&lang=e&dCode=0&StationName=VANCOUVER&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12 |archive-date=June 9, 2012 |access-date=November 21, 2011 |publisher=Environment Canada}}</ref>

The highest temperature ever recorded at the airport was {{cvt|34.4|°C}} set on July 30, 2009,<ref>{{cite news |title=Temperature record broken in Lower Mainland – again |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/temperature-record-broken-in-lower-mainland-again-1.798555 |work=CBC News |date=July 30, 2009 |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327002624/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/temperature-record-broken-in-lower-mainland-again-1.798555 |archive-date=March 27, 2010}}</ref> and the highest temperature ever recorded within the city of Vancouver was {{cvt|35.0|°C}} occurring first on July 31, 1965,<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Data – Vancouver Kitsilano |date=October 31, 2011 |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=&#124;&dlyRange=1956-05-01&#124;1990-11-30&mlyRange=1956-01-01&#124;1990-12-01&StationID=893&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&Month=7&Day=10&txtStationName=Kitsilano&timeframe=2&Year=1965txtStationName=Kitsilano&timeframe=2&Year=1965 |access-date=January 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009123726/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=%7C&dlyRange=1956-05-01%7C1990-11-30&mlyRange=1956-01-01%7C1990-12-01&StationID=893&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&Month=7&Day=10&txtStationName=Kitsilano&timeframe=2&Year=1965txtStationName=Kitsilano&timeframe=2&Year=1965 |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> again on August 8, 1981,<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Data – Vancouver Dunbar South |date=October 31, 2011 |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=&#124;&dlyRange=1966-03-01&#124;1982-08-31&mlyRange=1966-01-01&#124;1982-12-01&StationID=884&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=2&searchMethod=contains&Month=8&Day=10&txtStationName=Dunbar&timeframe=2&Year=1981 |access-date=January 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009123357/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=%7C&dlyRange=1966-03-01%7C1982-08-31&mlyRange=1966-01-01%7C1982-12-01&StationID=884&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=2&searchMethod=contains&Month=8&Day=10&txtStationName=Dunbar&timeframe=2&Year=1981 |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> and also on May 29, 1983.<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Data – Vancouver Wales St |date=October 31, 2011 |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=&#124;&dlyRange=1982-04-01&#124;1986-03-31&mlyRange=1982-01-01&#124;1986-12-01&StationID=879&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&Month=5&Day=10&txtStationName=Wales&timeframe=2&Year=1983 |access-date=January 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009130706/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=%7C&dlyRange=1982-04-01%7C1986-03-31&mlyRange=1982-01-01%7C1986-12-01&StationID=879&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&Month=5&Day=10&txtStationName=Wales&timeframe=2&Year=1983 |archive-date=October 9, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was {{cvt|-17.8|°C}} on January 14, 1950<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Data – VANCOUVER INT'L A |date=October 31, 2011 |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C2013-06-13&dlyRange=1937-01-01%7C2013-06-12&mlyRange=1937-01-01%7C2013-06-01&StationID=889&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=37&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=vancouver&timeframe=2&Day=20&Year=1950&Month=1 |access-date=March 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318054927/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C2013-06-13&dlyRange=1937-01-01%7C2013-06-12&mlyRange=1937-01-01%7C2013-06-01&StationID=889&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=37&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=vancouver&timeframe=2&Day=20&Year=1950&Month=1 |archive-date=March 18, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> and again on December 29, 1968.<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Data – VANCOUVER INT'L A |date=October 31, 2011 |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C2013-06-13&dlyRange=1937-01-01%7C2013-06-12&mlyRange=1937-01-01%7C2013-06-01&StationID=889&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=37&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=vancouver&timeframe=2&Day=20&Year=1968&Month=12 |access-date=March 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318054154/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C2013-06-13&dlyRange=1937-01-01%7C2013-06-12&mlyRange=1937-01-01%7C2013-06-01&StationID=889&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=37&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=vancouver&timeframe=2&Day=20&Year=1968&Month=12 |archive-date=March 18, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On average, snow falls nine days per year, with three days receiving {{cvt|5|cm}} or more. Average yearly snowfall is {{cvt|38.1|cm}} but typically does not remain on the ground for long.<ref name="ccn" />

Vancouver's [[growing season]] averages 237 days, from March 18 until November 10.<ref name="ccn">{{cite web |date=October 31, 2011 |title=Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 Station Data |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=889&lang=e&dCode=1&StationName=VANCOUVER&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226212930/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=889&lang=e&dCode=1&StationName=VANCOUVER&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12 |archive-date=February 26, 2015 |access-date=January 15, 2015 |publisher=Environment Canada}}</ref> Vancouver's 1981–2010 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone ranges from 8a to 9a depending on elevation and proximity to water.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plant Hardiness Zones 1981–2010 |publisher=Natural Resources Canada |url=http://planthardiness.gc.ca/index.pl?m=1 |access-date=January 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416235706/http://planthardiness.gc.ca/index.pl?m=1 |archive-date=April 16, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Clear}}
{{Vancouver weatherbox}}

==Cityscape==
===Urban planning===
{{Main|Vancouverism}}
[[File:Vancouver aerial view.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of [[Downtown Vancouver]]. Urban development in Vancouver is characterized by a large residential population living in the city centre with mixed-use developments.]]
{{As of|2021|post=,}} Vancouver is the most densely populated city in Canada.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities) |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000201 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224145930/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000201 |url-status=live}}</ref> Urban planning in Vancouver is characterized by high-rise residential and mixed-use development in urban centres, as an alternative to [[urban sprawl|sprawl]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bogdanowicz |first=Julie |date=August 2006 |title=Vancouverism |url=http://www.canadianarchitect.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?aid=1000205807&issue=08012006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708114144/http://www.canadianarchitect.com/news/vancouverism/1000205807/?issue=08012006 |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |access-date=June 9, 2011 |website=Canadian Architect}}</ref> As part of 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vancouver loses its bragging rights as most livable city |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/08/30/vancouver_loses_its_bragging_rights_as_most_livable_city.html |last=Fong |first=Petti |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=August 30, 2011 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007133013/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/08/30/vancouver_loses_its_bragging_rights_as_most_livable_city.html |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=World's Most Livable Cities For 2022 |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-dominates-top-10-list-of-world-s-most-livable-cities-for-2022-1.5959453 |last=Marcus |first=Lillit |newspaper=CTV News |date=June 23, 2022 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-date=January 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125003709/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-dominates-top-10-list-of-world-s-most-livable-cities-for-2022-1.5959453 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to ''[[Forbes]]'', Vancouver had the fourth-most expensive real estate market in the world in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vancouver ranked 4th most-expensive housing market in the world |url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-4-most-expensive-housing-market-cbre-2019 |last=Smith |first=Ainsley |newspaper=The Daily Hive |date=April 16, 2019 |access-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223234912/https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-4-most-expensive-housing-market-cbre-2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Vancouver has also been ranked among Canada's most expensive cities in which to live. Sales in February 2016 were 56.3 percent higher than the 10-year average for the month.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rebgv.org/news-statistics/metro-vancouver-home-buyers-set-record-pace-february |title=Metro Vancouver home buyers set a record pace in February |access-date=March 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311082733/http://www.rebgv.org/news-statistics/metro-vancouver-home-buyers-set-record-pace-february |archive-date=March 11, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Tann |last=vom Hove |title=City Mayors: World's most expensive cities (EIU) |work=City Mayors Economics |date=June 17, 2008 |url=http://www.citymayors.com/economics/expensive_cities_eiu.html |access-date=March 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316150554/http://www.citymayors.com/economics/expensive_cities_eiu.html |archive-date=March 16, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Beauchesne |first=Eric |date=June 24, 2006 |title=Toronto pegged as priciest place to live in Canada |work=[[Vancouver Sun]] |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=245b1dc8-1b43-46cb-bd84-6e78ab8a5afb&k=54140 |access-date=November 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091227122715/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=245b1dc8-1b43-46cb-bd84-6e78ab8a5afb&k=54140 |archive-date=December 27, 2009}}</ref> ''Forbes'' also ranked Vancouver as the tenth-cleanest city in the world in 2007.<ref>{{cite news |last=Malone |first=Robert |date=April 16, 2007 |title=Which Are The World's Cleanest Cities? |work=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/04/16/worlds-cleanest-cities-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0416cleanest_slide_13.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130200233/http://www.forbes.com/2007/04/16/worlds-cleanest-cities-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0416cleanest_slide_13.html |archive-date=November 30, 2009}}</ref>

Vancouver's characteristic approach to urban planning originated in the late 1950s, when city planners began to encourage the building of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's [[West End, Vancouver|West End]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Some things worked: The best – or worst – planning decisions made in the Lower Mainland |first=Frances |last=Bula |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=ad56af4e-0f14-4717-9603-5fe5a0713e4c&k=51576 |newspaper=[[Vancouver Sun]] |date=September 6, 2007 |access-date=December 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604123009/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=ad56af4e-0f14-4717-9603-5fe5a0713e4c&k=51576 |archive-date=June 4, 2011}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hutton |first=Thomas A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4ky8iSkNycC&dq=West+End+Vancouver+compact+urban+core&pg=PA237 |title=The New Economy of the Inner City: Restructuring, Regeneration and Dislocation in the Twenty-first-century Metropolis |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-77134-4 |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018184045/https://books.google.com/books?id=z4ky8iSkNycC&dq=West+End+Vancouver+compact+urban+core&pg=PA237 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, 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".<ref>{{cite web |title=Vancouver EcoDensity Initiative |url=http://www.vancouver-ecodensity.ca/content.php?id=48 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513201310/http://www.vancouver-ecodensity.ca/content.php?id=48 |archive-date=May 13, 2009 |publisher=City of Vancouver |access-date=July 3, 2009}}</ref>

{{wide image|False Creek, Vancouver (2025).jpg|1000px|Vancouver skyline and [[False Creek]] viewed from the [[Fairview, Vancouver|Fairview]] neighbourhood}}

===Architecture===
{{Main|Architecture of Vancouver}}
{{See also|List of tallest buildings in Vancouver}}
{{Anchor|Culture}}
[[File:Robson Square Vancouver 03.JPG|thumb|left|[[Robson Square]] is a [[civic centre]] and public square designed by local architect [[Arthur Erickson]].]]
[[File:Waterfront station Vancouver (42914420220).jpg|thumb|left|Waterfront station, Vancouver]]
The [[Vancouver Art Gallery]] is housed downtown in the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] former courthouse built in 1906. The courthouse building was designed by [[Francis Rattenbury]], who also designed the [[British Columbia Parliament Buildings]] and the [[The Empress (hotel)|Empress Hotel]] in Victoria, and the lavishly decorated second Hotel Vancouver.<ref>{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Chuck |title=Rattenbury |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_rattenbury.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103045039/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_rattenbury.htm |archive-date=January 3, 2007 |access-date=November 23, 2006 |work=The History of Metropolitan Vancouver}}</ref> 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 (Vancouver)|Christ Church Cathedral]], across from the hotel, opened in 1894 and was declared a heritage building in 1976.

There are several [[modern architecture|modern]] buildings in the downtown area, including the [[Harbour Centre]], the [[Law Courts (Vancouver)|Vancouver Law Courts]] and surrounding plaza known as [[Robson Square]] (designed by [[Arthur Erickson]]) and the [[Vancouver Public Library|Vancouver Library Square]] (designed by [[Moshe Safdie]] and [[DA Architects + Planners|DA Architects]]), reminiscent of the [[Colosseum]] in Rome, and the recently completed [[Woodward's Building|Woodward's building]] Redevelopment (designed by [[Gregory Henriquez|Henriquez Partners Architects]]).

The original [[BC Hydro]] headquarters building (designed by [[Ronald Thom|Ron Thom]] and Ned Pratt) at Nelson and Burrard Streets is a [[modernism|modernist]] high-rise, now converted into the Electra condominium.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vancouver |first=City of |date=January 23, 2005 |title=The Electra |url=http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/heritage/casestudies/970Burr.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050123162421/http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/heritage/casestudies/970Burr.htm |archive-date=January 23, 2005 |access-date=November 3, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Also notable is the "concrete waffle" of the [[MacMillan Bloedel]] building on the north-east corner of the Georgia and Thurlow intersection.

[[File:Living Shangri-La from One Wall Centre.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|Completed in 2008, [[Living Shangri-La]] is the [[List of tallest buildings in Vancouver|tallest building in Vancouver]].]]
A prominent addition to the city's landscape is the giant tent-frame [[Canada Place]] (designed by [[Zeidler Partnership Architects|Zeidler Roberts Partnership]] Partnership, MCMP & [[DA Architects + Planners|DA Architects]]), the former Canada Pavilion from the [[Expo 86|1986 World Exposition]], which includes part of the [[Vancouver Convention Centre|Convention Centre]], the [[Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel|Pan-Pacific Hotel]], and a cruise ship terminal. Two modern buildings that define the southern skyline away from the downtown area are [[Vancouver City Hall|City Hall]] and the Centennial Pavilion of [[Vancouver General Hospital]], both designed by [[Fred Townley|Townley]] and Matheson in 1936 and 1958, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://memorybc.ca/townley-matheson-and-partners;isaar |title=Townley, Matheson and Partners |publisher=Archives Association of British Columbia |year=2009 |access-date=November 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728104509/http://memorybc.ca/townley-matheson-and-partners%3Bisaar |archive-date=July 28, 2011}}</ref><ref name="kalman">{{cite book |last=Kalman |first=Harold |title=Exploring Vancouver: Ten Tours of the City and its Buildings |publisher=[[University of British Columbia Press]] |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-7748-0028-0 |location=Vancouver}}</ref>{{Citation page|pages=160-161}}

A collection of [[Edwardian architecture|Edwardian buildings]] in 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 Street (Vancouver)|Hastings Streets]] and the latter at Beatty and Pender Streets.
The Sun Tower's [[cupola]] was finally exceeded as the Empire's tallest commercial building by the elaborate [[Art Deco]] [[Marine Building]] in the 1920s.<ref name="kalman" />{{Citation page|pages=22, 24, 78}} 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archiseek.com/2009/1930-marine-building-vancouver-british-columbia/ |title=Marine Building |work=Archiseek |access-date=November 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429045540/http://archiseek.com/2009/1930-marine-building-vancouver-british-columbia/ |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Topping the list of tallest buildings in Vancouver is [[Living Shangri-La]], the second tallest building in BC at {{cvt|201|m}}<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=176375 |title=Living Shangri-La |publisher=[[Emporis Buildings]] |access-date=November 30, 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224224609/http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=176375 |archive-date=December 24, 2010}}</ref> and 62&nbsp;storeys. The second-tallest building in Vancouver is the [[Paradox Hotel Vancouver]] at {{cvt|188|m}}, followed by the Private Residences at [[Hotel Georgia]], at {{cvt|156|m}}. The fourth-tallest is [[One Wall Centre]] at {{cvt|150|m}}<ref name="EMP">{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=100997&bt=2&ht=3&sro=1 |title=Vancouver High-rise buildings (in ft) |publisher=Emporis Buildings |access-date=February 6, 2007 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930012745/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=100997&bt=2&ht=3&sro=1 |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref> and 48&nbsp;storeys, followed closely by the [[Shaw Tower (Vancouver)|Shaw Tower]] at {{cvt|149|m}}.<ref name="EMP" />

==Demographics==
{{Further|Demographics of Metro Vancouver}}
{{Historical populations
|title = Vancouver
|type = Canada
|align = right
|width = 
|state = 
|shading = 
|percentages = 
|footnote = Source: [[Statistics Canada]]
|1891|13709
|1901|26133
|[[Canada 1911 Census|1911]]|100401
|1921|117217
|1931|246593
|1941|275353
|1951|344833
|1956|365844
|1961|384522
|1966|410375
|1971|426256
|1976|410188
|1981|414281
|1986|431147
|1991|471644
|[[Canada 1996 Census|1996]]|514008
|[[Canada 2001 Census|2001]]|545671
|[[Canada 2006 Census|2006]]|578041
|[[Canada 2011 Census|2011]]|603502
|[[Canada 2016 Census|2016]]|631486 
|[[Canada 2021 Census|2021]]|662248
}}

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, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr: 662248 - 631486 }}|631486|1}} from its 2016 population of 631,486, making it the [[List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population|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 {{cvt|115.18|km2}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|662248|115.18|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021,<ref name="VancouverCity">{{cite web |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Data table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Vancouver, City (CY) &#91;Census subdivision&#93;, British Columbia |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Vancouver&DGUIDlist=2021A00055915022&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210045727/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Vancouver&DGUIDlist=2021A00055915022&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |archive-date=February 10, 2022 |access-date=February 10, 2022 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]}}</ref> the most densely populated Canadian municipality with more than 5,000 residents.<ref name=":0" />

At 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 {{percentage|{{#expr: 2642825 - 2463431 }}|2463431|1}} from its 2016 population of 2,463,431, the [[List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada|third-most populous metropolitan area in the country]] and the most populous in [[Western Canada]]. With a land area of {{cvt|2878.93|km2|sqmi}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|2642825|2878.93|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name="2021censusCMA">{{cite web |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000501 |title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |date=February 9, 2022 |access-date=March 28, 2022 |archive-date=March 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327085922/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000501 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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 Regional District|Squamish-Lillooet]], [[Fraser Valley Regional District|Fraser Valley]], and [[Sunshine Coast Regional District]]) has a population of over 3.04{{nbsp}}million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Lower Mainland—Southwest [Economic region], British Columbia |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E |access-date=August 20, 2022 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |archive-date=February 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209134619/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E |url-status=live}}</ref>

The 2021 census reported that [[Immigration to Canada|immigrants]] (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 274,365 persons or 42.2% of 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%).<ref name="2021censusB" />

=== Ethnicity ===
{{Further|Demographics of Metro Vancouver#Ethnicity|Chinese Canadians in Greater Vancouver|South Asian Canadians in Greater Vancouver|Chinatown, Vancouver|Japantown, Vancouver|Punjabi Market, Vancouver|Greektown, Vancouver}}

{{Pie chart
 | caption = [[Panethnicity|Pan-ethnic]] breakdown of Vancouver from the [[Canada 2021 Census|2021 census]]<ref name="2021censusB" />
 | label1  = European{{efn|Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.|name="euro"}}
 | value1  = 43.22
 | color1  = #8dd3c7
 | label2  = East Asian{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on the census.|name="EastAsian"}}
 | value2  = 29.26
 | color2  = #fb8072
 | label3  = Southeast Asian{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on the census.|name="SoutheastAsian"}}
 | value3  = 9.1
 | color3  = #bebada
 | label4  = South Asian
 | value4  = 6.9
 | color4  = #fccde5
 | label5  = Latin American
 | value5  = 2.78
 | color5  = #ffffb3
 | label6  = Middle Eastern{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on the census.|name="MiddleEastern"}}
 | value6  = 2.44
 | color6  = #80b1d3
 | label7  = [[Indigenous peoples of Canada|Indigenous]]
 | value7  = 2.25
 | color7  = #fdb462
 | label8  = African
 | value8  = 1.31
 | color8  = #b3de69
 | label9  = Other{{efn|Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under the visible minority section on the census.|name="Other"}}
 | value9  = 2.74
 | color9  = #d9d9d9
}}
Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods".<ref name="CityofNeighbourhoods1">{{Cite web |last1=Downing |first1=Steve |last2=Railsback |first2=Janet |last3=Rainwater |first3=Dee |last4=McEnerny-Ogle |first4=Anne |last5=Hansen |first5=Bart |last6=Turlay |first6=Bill |last7=Stober |first7=Ty |last8=Glover |first8=Linda |last9=Lebowsky |first9=Laurie| last10=Paulsen| first10=Erik |last11=Holmes |first11=Eric |last12=Bailey |first12=Judi |last13=Buck |first13=Tim |title=Neighbourhood Plan Update Committee |url=https://www.cityofvancouver.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/bbc_nap_january_2019.pdf}}</ref><ref name="CityofNeighbourhoods2">{{Cite web |title=Lincoln Neighbourhood Neighbourhood Action Plan |work=City of Vancouver |date=2011-06-13 |url=https://www.cityofvancouver.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/lincoln_nap_6.11_final.pdf}}</ref> Each neighbourhood in Vancouver has a distinct character and ethnic mix.<ref>{{cite web |first=Thomas R. |last=Berger |title=A City of Neighbourhoods: Report of the 2004 Vancouver Electoral Reform Commission |publisher=City of Vancouver |website=vancouver.ca |date=June 8, 2004 |url=http://vancouver.ca/erc/pdf/verc_report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125152652/http://vancouver.ca/erc/pdf/verc_report.pdf |archive-date=November 25, 2011}}</ref> People of English, Scottish, and Irish origins were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo27y-eng.htm |title=Population by selected ethnic origins, by census metropolitan areas (2006 Census) |publisher=Statistics Canada |year=2006 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115171531/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo27y-eng.htm |archive-date=January 15, 2011}}</ref> and elements of British society and culture are still visible in some areas, particularly [[South Granville Rise|South Granville]] and [[Kerrisdale]]. [[German Canadians|Germans]] are the next-largest European ethnic group in Vancouver and were 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.<ref name="STEV" /> Today, [[Chinese Canadians|Chinese]] are the largest visible ethnic group in Vancouver; the city has a diverse [[Chinese language|Chinese-speaking]] community with speakers of several dialects, notably [[Cantonese]] and [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]].<ref name="GVB" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Visible minorities, by census metropolitan areas (2006 Census) |url=http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo53g-eng.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810205754/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo53g-eng.htm |archive-date=August 10, 2011 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]}}</ref> Neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic commercial areas include [[Chinatown, Vancouver|Chinatown]], [[Punjabi Market, Vancouver|Punjabi Market]], [[Little Italy, Vancouver|Little Italy]], [[Greektown, Vancouver|Greektown]], and (formerly) [[Japantown, Vancouver|Japantown]].

Since the 1980s, [[Immigration to Canada|immigration]] increased substantially, making the city more [[Ethnic origins of people in Canada|ethnically]] and linguistically diverse; 49 percent of Vancouver's residents do not speak [[English language|English]] as their first language.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=February 8, 2017 |title=Census Profile 2016 Census Greater Vancouver |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915022&Geo2=CD&Code2=5915&Data=Count&SearchText=vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language&TABID=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002180520/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915022&Geo2=CD&Code2=5915&Data=Count&SearchText=vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language&TABID=1 |archive-date=October 2, 2018 |access-date=October 2, 2018 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]}}</ref> Over 25 percent of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage.<ref name="VancouverCityMinority2021" /> In the 1980s, an influx of immigrants from [[Hong Kong]] in anticipation of [[Handover of Hong Kong|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 the highest concentrations of ethnic Chinese residents in North America.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cernetig |first=Miro |date=June 30, 2007 |title=Chinese Vancouver: A decade of change |url=http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/features/newhongkong/story.html?id=011b7438-172c-4126-ba42-2c85828bd6ce |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721180032/http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/features/newhongkong/story.html?id=011b7438-172c-4126-ba42-2c85828bd6ce |archive-date=July 21, 2011 |access-date=January 25, 2010 |work=[[Vancouver Sun]]}}</ref> Another significant [[Asian Canadians|Asian]] ethnic group in Vancouver includes [[South Asian Canadians|South Asians]], forming approximately 7 percent of the city's inhabitants; while a small community had existed in the city since 1897,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Walton-Roberts |first=Margaret |author-link=Margaret Walton-Roberts |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Margaret_Walton-Roberts/publication/250171093_THREE_READINGS_OF_THE_TURBAN_SIKH_IDENTITY_IN_GREATER_VANCOUVER/links/53f749e90cf2823e5bd635cf |title=Three Readings of the Turban |journal=Urban Geography |date=1998 |volume=19 |issue=4 |page=317 |archive-url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Margaret-Walton-Roberts/publication/250171093_Three_readings_of_the_turban_Sikh_identity_in_Greater_Vancouver/links/53f749e90cf2823e5bd635cf/Three-readings-of-the-turban-Sikh-identity-in-Greater-Vancouver.pdf |archive-date=August 23, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> larger waves of migration began in the 1950s and 1960s,<ref name="SikhsOfVancouver">{{cite thesis |last=Campbell |first=Michael Graeme |date=1977 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0094087 |title=The Sikhs of Vancouver : a case study in minority-host relations |publisher=University of British Columbia |doi=10.14288/1.0094087 |access-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018184049/https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0094087 |url-status=live}}</ref> prompting new [[Punjabis|Punjabi]] immigrants to establish a ''[[Little India]]'' (known as [[Punjabi Market, Vancouver|Punjabi Market]]) and preside{{clarify|date=September 2023}} over much of the mass construction of the ''[[Vancouver Special]]'' across the southeastern quadrant of the city,<ref>{{cite web |title=Vancouver Special Sunset Project |url=https://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Final-Copy-Vancouver-Special.pdf |access-date=November 7, 2022 |archive-date=July 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705063826/http://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Final-Copy-Vancouver-Special.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Booming Vancouver: The Beginning of the Vancouver Special |date=September 11, 2013 |url=http://spacing.ca/vancouver/2013/09/11/booming-vancouver-beginning-vancouver-special/ |access-date=November 7, 2022 |archive-date=November 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107004409/http://spacing.ca/vancouver/2013/09/11/booming-vancouver-beginning-vancouver-special/ |url-status=live}}</ref> notably within the [[Sunset, Vancouver|Sunset neighbourhood]] prior to the [[suburbanization]] of the community to outer suburbs such as Surrey or Delta.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2019/08/02/Punjabi-Market-Vancouver-Past-Present-Future-50-Anniversary/ |title=Punjabi Market — Past, Present and Future |date=August 2, 2019 |access-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802230603/https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2019/08/02/Punjabi-Market-Vancouver-Past-Present-Future-50-Anniversary/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 4, 2013 |title=Can Vancouver's Little India District Survive |work=News 1130 |url=https://www.citynews1130.com/2013/02/04/can-vancouvers-little-india-district-survive/ |access-date=June 9, 2020 |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609233003/https://www.citynews1130.com/2013/02/04/can-vancouvers-little-india-district-survive/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://thethunderbird.ca/2008/11/13/vancouver%E2%80%99s-punjabi-market-falls-on-hard-times/ |title=Vancouver's Punjabi Market falls on hard times |date=November 13, 2008 |access-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802230603/https://thethunderbird.ca/2008/11/13/vancouver%E2%80%99s-punjabi-market-falls-on-hard-times/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Other Asian-origin groups that reside in Vancouver include [[Filipino Canadians|Filipinos]] (5.9%), [[Japanese Canadians|Japanese]] (1.7%), [[Korean Canadians|Korean]] (1.7%), [[West Asian Canadians|West Asians]] (1.9%), as well as sizable communities of [[Vietnamese Canadians|Vietnamese]], [[Indonesian Canadians|Indonesians]], and [[Cambodian Canadians|Cambodians]].<ref name="VancouverCityMinority2021" /> Despite increases in [[Latin American Canadians|Latin American]] immigration to Vancouver in the 1980s and 1990s, recent immigration has been comparatively low. However, growth in the Latino population{{snd}}which largely consists of [[Mexican Canadian|Mexicans]] and [[Salvadoran Canadian|Salvadorans]]{{snd}}rose in the late 2010s and early 2020s. African immigration has been similarly stagnant (3.6% and 3.3% of total immigrant population, respectively).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hiebert |first=Daniel |date=June 2009 |title=The Economic Integration of Immigrants in Metropolitan Vancouver |url=http://www.irpp.org/choices/archive/vol15no7.pdf |journal=Choices |publisher=[[Institute for Research on Public Policy]] |volume=15 |issue=7 |page=6 |eissn=0711-0677 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130181145/http://www.irpp.org/choices/archive/vol15no7.pdf |archive-date=November 30, 2012 |access-date=July 13, 2009}}</ref> The [[Black Canadians|black]] population of Vancouver is small in comparison to other Canadian major cities, making up 1.3 percent of the city. [[Hogan's Alley, Vancouver|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 [[Somali Canadian|Somalis]], Jamaicans/Caribbeans, and other groups, including those who descended from African Americans. The neighbourhood of [[Strathcona, Vancouver|Strathcona]] was the core of the city's [[History of the Jews in Canada|Jewish]] community.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 25, 2019 |title=North of the Colour Line: Sleeping Car Porters and the Battle Against Jim Crow on Canadian Rails, 1880–1920 |url=https://historycooperative.org/north-colour-line-sleeping-car-porters-battle-jim-crow-canadian-rails-1880-1920/ |access-date=August 19, 2022 |work=History Cooperative |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925211205/https://historycooperative.org/north-colour-line-sleeping-car-porters-battle-jim-crow-canadian-rails-1880-1920/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2006 |title=Community Profiles |url=http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/community_profiles/strathcona/history.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930171154/http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/community_profiles/strathcona/history.htm |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |publisher=City of Vancouver}}</ref> In 1981, approximately 24 percent of the city population belonged to a [[visible minority]] group;<ref name="population1981">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=April 3, 2013 |title=1981 Census of Canada : volume 2 – provincial series : population; language, ethnic origin, religion, place of birth, schooling British Columbia. |url=https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.838030/publication.html |access-date=February 13, 2023 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=November 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122164607/https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.838030/publication.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|127}} at the same time, this proportion was roughly 14 percent for the entire [[Greater Vancouver|metropolitan area]].<ref name="Minority1981to2001">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=January 21, 2003 |title=Canada's Ethnocultural Portrait: The Changing Mosaic, 2001 Census – ARCHIVED |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/96F0030X2001008 |access-date=February 13, 2023 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210132003/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/96F0030X2001008 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Visible Minorities and Aboriginal Peoples in Vancouver's Labour Market |url=http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/lp/lo/lswe/we/special_projects/RacismFreeInitiative/Pendakur.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016204636/http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/lp/lo/lswe/we/special_projects/RacismFreeInitiative/Pendakur.shtml |archive-date=October 16, 2008 |first=Krishna |last=Pendakur |date=December 13, 2005 |publisher=Human Resources and Skills Development Canada |access-date=January 24, 2010}}</ref> By 2016, the proportion in the city had grown to 52 percent.<ref name="VancouverCityMinority2016">{{Cite web |date=October 27, 2021 |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census Vancouver, City [Census subdivision], British Columbia and Greater Vancouver, Regional district [Census division], British Columbia Visible Minority |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915022&Geo2=CD&Code2=5915&SearchText=vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Visible%20minority&TABID=1&type=0 |access-date=October 6, 2022 |website=Statistics Canada |archive-date=October 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006094003/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915022&Geo2=CD&Code2=5915&SearchText=vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Visible%20minority&TABID=1&type=0 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Prior to the Hong Kong diaspora of the 1990s, the largest non-British ethnic groups in the city were [[Irish Canadians|Irish]] and [[German Canadians|German]], followed by [[Scandinavia]]n, [[Italian Canadians|Italian]], [[Ukrainian Canadians|Ukrainian]], Chinese, and [[Punjabi Canadians|Punjabi]]. From the mid-1950s until the 1980s, many [[Portuguese Canadians|Portuguese]] immigrants came to Vancouver, and the city had the third-largest Portuguese population in Canada in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |first=Henrique |last=Santos |title=Portuguese-Canadians and Their Academic Underachievement in High School in British Columbia: The Case of an Invisible Minority |url=https://www.sfu.ca/mpp-old/pdf_news/Capstone/Santos_Rick.pdf |year=2006 |publisher=Simon Fraser University |access-date=May 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613034148/http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/navres/1/1-n_eng.asp?category=106 |archive-date=June 13, 2011}}</ref> Eastern Europeans, including [[Russians]], [[Czechs]], [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Romanians]] and [[Hungarians]] began immigrating after the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe after [[World War II]].<ref name="STEV" /> [[Greeks|Greek]] immigration increased in the late 1960s and early '70s, with most settling in the [[Kitsilano]] area. Vancouver also has a significant [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|aboriginal]] community of about 15,000 people.<ref name="indigenous2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Indigenous identity by Registered or Treaty Indian status: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810026601 |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=Statistics Canada |archive-date=October 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027012129/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810026601 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="VancouverCityMinority2021"/>

=== Sexual orientation and gender identity ===
Vancouver has a large [[LGBT community]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Gay U.S. couples can't get divorces for Canadian marriages |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/gay-u-s-couples-can-t-get-divorces-for-canadian-marriages-1.852393 |date=September 25, 2009 |work=CBC News |access-date=January 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929083016/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/gay-u-s-couples-can-t-get-divorces-for-canadian-marriages-1.852393 |archive-date=September 29, 2009}}</ref> with a recognized [[Gay village|gay male enclave]] focused in the West End neighbourhood of the downtown core, particularly along Davie Street, officially designated as [[Davie Village]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Gay clubs build community in Vancouver |url=https://www.straight.com/article-155715/gay-clubs-build-community |first=Matthew |last=Burrows |date=July 31, 2008 |work=[[The Georgia Straight]] |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127224034/http://www.straight.com/article-155715/gay-clubs-build-community |archive-date=November 27, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> though the gay community is omnipresent throughout West End and Yaletown areas. Vancouver is host to one of the country's largest annual [[pride parade]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Milk protégé praises Vancouver Pride celebration |first=Andrew |last=Weichel |work=CTV News |url=https://bc.ctvnews.ca/milk-prot-g-praises-vancouver-pride-celebration-1.422070 |date=August 2, 2009 |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810060032/http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090802/bc_pride_parade_090802/20090802/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome |archive-date=August 10, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Language ===
According to the 2021 Canadian census, 612,215 persons, or 94.1% of Vancouver's population, know the [[English language]]; 96,965 persons or 14.9% of the population, know the [[Cantonese language]], followed by [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] (74,695 or 11.5%), [[French language|French]] (60,990 or 9.4%), [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] (30,430 or 4.7%), [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] (19,130 or 2.9%), [[Hindi]] (15,025 or 2.3%), [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] (14,905 or 2.3%), [[Persian language]]s (12,330 or 1.9%), [[Japanese language|Japanese]] (12,075 or 1.9%), [[German language|German]] (11,050 or 1.7%), [[Korean language|Korean]] (10,480 or 1.6%), [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] (8,715 or 1.3%), [[Italian language|Italian]] (7,740 or 1.2%), and [[Russian language|Russian]] (7,620 or 1.2%).<ref name="2021censusB">{{Cite web |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=vancouver&DGUIDlist=2021A00055915022&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |access-date=November 9, 2022 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |archive-date=June 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610042605/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0&DGUIDlist=2021A00055915022&SearchText=vancouver |url-status=live}}</ref>

Furthermore, the 2021 census stated 332,135 persons or 50.7% of Vancouver's population have [[English language|English]] as a [[First language|mother tongue]]; Cantonese is the mother tongue of 77,435 persons or 11.8% of the population, followed by Mandarin (41,695 or 6.4%), Tagalog (18,675 or 2.9%), Spanish (16,735 or 2.6%), Punjabi (13,305 or 2.0%), Vietnamese (11,870 or 1.8%), Persian languages (10,315 or 1.6%), Korean (8,605 or 1.3%), Japanese (7,150 or 1.1%), Portuguese (6,740 or 1.0%), Russian (5,155 or 0.8%), German (4,725 or 0.7%), Hindi (4,355 or 0.7%), and Italian (4,000 or 0.6%).<ref name="2021censusB" />

=== Religion ===
While most British Columbians are secular or non-religious, Vancouver's Asian population has been noted for its Christian faith.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |last2= |title=Census 2021: Majority of British Columbians are non-religious |url=https://www.bchumanist.ca/census_2021 |access-date=May 23, 2024 |website=BC Humanist Association |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523130718/https://www.bchumanist.ca/census_2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Todd |first=Douglas |title=Where faith grows: Christianity strong among Metro Vancouver's Asian community |url=https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-asian-christianity-metro-vancouver |website=The Vancouver Sun |access-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-date=July 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703030236/https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-asian-christianity-metro-vancouver |url-status=live}}</ref> As of the [[2021 Canadian census]], religious groups in Vancouver include:<ref name="2021censusB" />
*[[Irreligion in Canada|Irreligion]] (362,925 persons or 55.8%)
*[[Christianity in Canada|Christianity]] (194,365 persons or 29.9%)
*[[Buddhism in Canada|Buddhism]] (26,245 persons or 4.0%)
*[[Islam in Canada|Islam]] (17,910 persons or 2.8%)
*[[Sikhism in Canada|Sikhism]] (16,535 persons or 2.5%)
*[[Hinduism in Canada|Hinduism]] (12,585 persons or 1.9%)
*[[Judaism in Canada|Judaism]] (11,675 persons or 1.8%)
*[[Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous spirituality]] (480 persons or 0.1%)
*Other (7,665 persons or 1.2%)

{| class="wikitable collapsible sortable"
|+ Religious groups in Vancouver (1991–2021)
! rowspan="2" |Religious group
! colspan="2" |[[2021 Canadian census|2021]]<ref name="2021censusB" />
! colspan="2" |[[2011 Canadian census|2011]]<ref name="2011census">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |title=NHS Profile, Vancouver, CY, British Columbia, 2011 |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915022&Data=Count&SearchText=vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1 |access-date=July 8, 2023 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |date=May 8, 2013 |archive-date=September 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926093208/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915022&Data=Count&SearchText=vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=All&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1 |url-status=live}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[2001 Canadian census|2001]]<ref name="2001census">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |title=2001 Community Profiles |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/Profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915022&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&Data=Count&SearchText=vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= |access-date=July 8, 2023 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=October 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008030600/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/Profil01/CP01/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915022&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&Data=Count&SearchText=vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= |url-status=live}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |[[1991 Canadian census|1991]]<ref name="1991census">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |title=1991 Census of Canada: Census Area Profiles |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census91/data/profiles/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=2&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=33332&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=30&PRID=0&PTYPE=3&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=1991&THEME=113&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0 |access-date=July 8, 2023 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=January 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114212656/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census91/data/profiles/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=2&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=33332&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=30&PRID=0&PTYPE=3&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=1991&THEME=113&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
| [[Christianity in Canada|Christian]]
| 194,365
| {{Percentage | 194,365| 650,380| 2 }}
|   213,855 
| {{Percentage |   213,855 |   590,205 | 2 }}
| 229,015
| {{Percentage | 229,015|   539,630 | 2 }}
| 238,460
| {{Percentage | 238,460|  465,300 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Buddhism in Canada|Buddhist]]
|  26,245
| {{Percentage |   26,245| 650,380| 2 }}
|    33,450 
| {{Percentage |    33,450 |   590,205 | 2 }}
|   37,140 
| {{Percentage |   37,140 |   539,630 | 2 }}
|   20,595 
| {{Percentage |   20,595 |  465,300 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Islam in Canada|Muslim]]
|  17,910
| {{Percentage |  17,910| 650,380| 2 }}
|    13,255 
| {{Percentage |    13,255 |   590,205 | 2 }}
|   9,345 
| {{Percentage |   9,345 |   539,630 | 2 }}
|   5,785 
| {{Percentage |   5,785 |  465,300 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Sikhism in Canada|Sikh]]
|   16,535
| {{Percentage |   16,535| 650,380| 2 }}
|    16,815 
| {{Percentage |    16,815 |   590,205 | 2 }}
|   15,200 
| {{Percentage |   15,200 |   539,630 | 2 }}
|   12,935 
| {{Percentage |   12,935 |  465,300 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Hinduism in Canada|Hindu]]
|   12,585
| {{Percentage |   12,585| 650,380| 2 }}
|    8,220 
| {{Percentage |    8,220 |   590,205 | 2 }}
|   7,670 
| {{Percentage |   7,670 |   539,630 | 2 }}
|   6,745 
| {{Percentage |   6,745 |  465,300 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Judaism in Canada|Jewish]]
|    11,675
| {{Percentage |   11,675| 650,380| 2 }}
|    10,350 
| {{Percentage |    10,350 |   590,205 | 2 }}
|   9,620 
| {{Percentage |   9,620 |   539,630 | 2 }}
|   8,675 
| {{Percentage |   8,675 |  465,300 | 2 }}
|-
| Other religion
|   8,145
| {{Percentage |   8,145| 650,380| 2 }}
|   5,820
| {{Percentage |   5,820|   590,205 | 2 }}
| 3,705
| {{Percentage | 3,705|   539,630 | 2 }}
|   3,190 
| {{Percentage |   3,190 |  465,300 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Irreligion in Canada|Irreligious]]
| 362,925
| {{Percentage | 362,925| 650,380| 2 }}
|     288,435 
| {{Percentage |     288,435 |    590,205 | 2 }}
|   227,925 
| {{Percentage |   227,925 |   539,630 | 2 }}
|   168,910 
| {{Percentage |   168,910 |  465,300 | 2 }}
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total responses
! 650,380
! {{Percentage | 650,380| 662,248| 2 }}
! 590,205 
! {{Percentage |    590,205 |   603,502 | 2 }}
!  539,630 
! {{Percentage |  539,630 |  545,671 | 2 }}
!  465,300 
! {{Percentage |  465,300 |   471,844 | 2 }}
|-
|}

=== Homelessness ===
{{Main|Homelessness in Vancouver}}
Homelessness is a significant and persistent issue in Vancouver. A 2019 count found that at least 2,223 people in the city were experiencing homelessness, the highest number recorded since counts began in 2005. Of those surveyed, 28 percent reported having no physical shelter. Indigenous people accounted for 39 percent of all respondents. Three-fifths of respondents said at least two health concerns, and 67 percent said an addiction to at least one substance.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vancouver Homeless Count 2019 |publisher=City of Vancouver |date=2019 |url=https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/vancouver-homeless-count-2019-final-report.pdf |access-date=July 2, 2021 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182131/https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/vancouver-homeless-count-2019-final-report.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Vancouver}}
With its location on the [[Pacific Rim]] and at the western terminus of Canada's [[Trans-Canada Highway|transcontinental highway]] and rail routes, Vancouver is one of the nation's largest industrial centres.<ref name="aboutvancouver" /> [[Port of Vancouver|Port Metro Vancouver]], Canada's largest and most diversified port, does more than $172{{nbsp}}billion in trade with over 160 different trading economies annually. Port activities generate $9.7{{nbsp}}billion in gross domestic product and $20.3{{nbsp}}billion in economic output.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/about/factsandstats.aspx |title=Port Metro Vancouver |publisher=Port Metro Vancouver |date=June 4, 2013 |access-date=March 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210012845/http://www.portmetrovancouver.com/about/factsandstats.aspx |archive-date=February 10, 2010}}</ref> Vancouver is also the headquarters of [[forestry|forest product]] and mining companies. In recent years, Vancouver has become a centre for [[software development]], [[biotechnology]], [[aerospace]], [[video game development]], [[List of animation studios|animation studios]] and television production and [[Cinema of Canada|film industry]].<ref name="Economy">{{cite web |url=http://wn.com/s/vancouvercity/index4.html |title=Economy |publisher=World New Network |work=Vancouver WN City Guide |access-date=July 11, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131015805/http://wn.com/s/vancouvercity/index4.html |archive-date=January 31, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Vancouver hosts approximately 65 movies and 55 TV series annually and is the third largest film and TV production centre in North America, supporting 20,000 jobs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vancouvereconomic.com/film-television/ |title=Film and Television Production in Vancouver |website=Vancouver Economic Commission |access-date=March 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313092942/http://www.vancouvereconomic.com/film-television/ |archive-date=March 13, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The city's strong focus on lifestyle and health culture also makes it a hub for many lifestyle brands with [[Lululemon Athletica|Lululemon]], [[Arc'teryx]], [[Kit and Ace]], [[Mountain Equipment Co-op]], [[Herschel Supply Co.]], [[Aritzia]], [[Reigning Champ]], and [[Nature's Path|Nature's Path Foods]] all founded and headquartered in Vancouver. Vancouver was also the birthplace of [[1-800-GOT-JUNK?]] and [[Western Canada]]'s largest online-only publication, ''[[Daily Hive]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boardoftrade.com/events/individual-events/1314-6270 |title=Discovery Series: Exclusive Roundtable and Office Tour with Daily Hive Vancouver |website=Greater Vancouver Board of Trade |access-date=January 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129081219/https://www.boardoftrade.com/events/individual-events/1314-6270 |archive-date=November 29, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:PortOVan.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Port of Vancouver]] is the largest port in Canada and the third-largest port in the Americas (by tonnage).]] Conversely, since the onset of the global [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in 2020, multiple media organizations and economists have continued to warn of a severe long-term economic [[economic collapse|doom loop]] impending for Vancouver, similar to the decline noted in [[San Francisco, California]].<ref name=VancouverDoomLoop>{{cite news |url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/sabrina-maddeaux-toronto-vancouver-doomed-as-they-chase-away-the-middle-class/wcm/465fb960-186a-43de-856f-1fc58f0b8952/amp/ |title=Sabrina Maddeaux: Toronto, Vancouver doomed as they chase away the middle class |author=Sabrina Maddeaux |newspaper=National Post |date=June 18, 2023 |access-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510001517/https://nationalpost.com/opinion/sabrina-maddeaux-toronto-vancouver-doomed-as-they-chase-away-the-middle-class |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Vancouver's scenic location makes it a major tourist destination. Over 10.3{{nbsp}}million people visited Vancouver in 2017. Annually, tourism contributes approximately $4.8{{nbsp}}billion to the Metro Vancouver economy and supports over 70,000 jobs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tourismvancouver.com/media/corporate-communications/vancouvers-tourism-industry-fast-facts/ |title=Fast Facts about Vancouver's Tourist Industry |website=Tourism Vancouver |access-date=March 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313093721/https://www.tourismvancouver.com/media/corporate-communications/vancouvers-tourism-industry-fast-facts/ |archive-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref> Many visit to see the city's gardens, [[Stanley Park]], [[Queen Elizabeth Park, British Columbia|Queen Elizabeth Park]], [[VanDusen Botanical Garden]] and the mountains, ocean, forest and parklands which surround the city. Each year over a million people pass through Vancouver on [[cruise ship]] vacations, often bound for [[Alaska]].<ref name="Economy" />

Vancouver is the most stressed city in the spectrum of [[Affordable housing in Canada|affordability of housing in Canada]].<ref name="RBC 2012">{{cite report |author=RBC Economics |publisher=RBC Financial Group |date=May 2012 |title=Housing Trends and Affordability |url=http://www.rbc.com/economics/market/pdf/house.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813174549/http://www.rbc.com/economics/market/pdf/house.pdf |archive-date=August 13, 2006}}</ref> In 2012, Vancouver was ranked by Demographia as the second-most unaffordable city in the world, rated as even more severely unaffordable in 2012 than in 2011.<ref name="RBC 2012" /><ref name="Demographia2012">{{cite report |url=http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf |title=8th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2012 Ratings for Metropolitan Markets |year=2012 |first1=Wendell |last1=Cox |first2=Hugh |last2=Pavletich |access-date=June 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123080849/http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Frances |last=Bula |title=Vancouver is 13th least affordable city in world |work=Vancouver Sun |date=January 22, 2007 |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=c9fa8fe2-22b1-4de1-8b5e-643090903411 |access-date=January 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717113449/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=c9fa8fe2-22b1-4de1-8b5e-643090903411 |archive-date=July 17, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.demographia.com/dhi-ix2005q3.pdf |title=Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2006 |publisher=Wendell Cox Consultancy |access-date=November 12, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111074531/http://www.demographia.com/dhi-ix2005q3.pdf |archive-date=November 11, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> The city has adopted various strategies to reduce housing costs, including [[housing cooperative|cooperative housing]], legalized [[secondary suite]]s, increased density and [[smart growth]]. As of April 2010, the average two-level home in Vancouver sold for a record high of $987,500, compared with the Canadian average of $365,141.<ref>{{cite news |title=Survey of Vancouver housing price increase exceeds rest of Canada |work=BIV Daily Business News |date=April 9, 2010 |url=http://www.bivinteractive.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2357&Itemid=46 |access-date=April 28, 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728024337/http://www.bivinteractive.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2357&Itemid=46 |archive-date=July 28, 2011}}</ref> A factor explaining the high property prices may be policies by the Canadian government which permit [[snow washing]], which allows foreigners to buy property in Canada while shielding their identities from tax authorities, making real estate transactions an effective way to conduct [[money laundering]].<ref name="twsEconomist1">{{cite news |date=January 4, 2018 |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/news/business/21734034-identity-checks-obtain-library-card-are-more-onerous-those-form-private |title=Snow washing: Canada frets about anonymously owned firms – Identity checks to obtain a library card are more onerous than those to form a private firm |access-date=February 14, 2018 |quote=...{{nbsp}}2009 the national police force estimated that up to C$15bn ($12bn) was being laundered in the country each year (an estimated annual $2trn is laundered globally). |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215023451/https://www.economist.com/news/business/21734034-identity-checks-obtain-library-card-are-more-onerous-those-form-private |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the 1990s, the development of high-rise [[Condominiums in Canada|condominiums]] in the downtown peninsula has been financed, in part, by an inflow of capital from Hong Kong immigrants due to the former colony's 1997 handover to China.<ref name="bbcasianfuture">{{cite news |first=Ayesha |last=Bhatty |title=Canada prepares for an Asian future |work=BBC News |date=May 25, 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-radio-and-tv-18149316 |access-date=May 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529001447/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-radio-and-tv-18149316 |archive-date=May 29, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Such development has clustered in the [[Yaletown]] and [[Coal Harbour]] districts and around many of the [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] stations to the east of the downtown.<ref name="Economy" /> The city's selection to co-host the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] was also a major influence on economic development. Concern was expressed that Vancouver's increasing [[homelessness]] problem would be exacerbated by the Olympics because owners of single-room occupancy hotels, which house many of the city's lowest-income residents, converted their properties to attract higher-income residents and tourists.<ref>{{cite news |title=Homelessness could triple by 2010: report |work=CBC News |date=September 21, 2006 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/homelessness-in-vancouver-could-triple-by-2010-report-1.581724 |access-date=January 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090613000122/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/homelessness-in-vancouver-could-triple-by-2010-report-1.581724 |archive-date=June 13, 2009}}</ref> Another significant international event held in Vancouver, the [[Expo 86|1986 World Exposition]], received over 20{{nbsp}}million visitors and added $3.7{{nbsp}}billion to the Canadian economy.<ref name="Can Encyc - Expo 86">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/expo-86 |title=Expo 86 |access-date=September 9, 2012 |author=O'Leary, Kim Patrick |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica-Dominion |year=2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228071533/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0002692 |archive-date=December 28, 2011}}</ref> Some still-standing Vancouver landmarks, including the [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] public transit system and [[Canada Place]], were built as part of the exposition.<ref name="Can Encyc - Expo 86" />

==Government==
{{Main|Government and politics of Vancouver}}
[[File:Vancouver neighbourhoods.jpg|thumb|Map of the 22 official neighbourhoods of Vancouver]]
Vancouver, unlike other British Columbia municipalities, is [[Local government in Canada|incorporated]] under the ''[[Vancouver Charter]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/vanch_00 |title=Vancouver Charter |publisher=Queen's Printer |date=November 18, 2009 |access-date=November 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706165944/http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/vanch_00 |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The legislation, passed in 1953, supersedes the ''Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1921'' and grants the city more and different powers than other communities possess under British Columbia's ''Municipalities Act''.

The civic government was dominated by the centre-right [[Non-Partisan Association]] (NPA) since [[World War II]], albeit with some significant centre-left interludes until 2008.<ref name="GVB" /> The NPA fractured over the issue of [[narcotic|drug]] policy in 2002, facilitating a landslide victory for the [[Coalition of Progressive Electors]] (COPE) on a [[harm reduction]] platform. Subsequently, North America's only legal safe injection site at the time, [[Insite]], was opened for the significant number of intravenous heroin users in the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15130282 |title=Vancouver Insite drug-injection facility can stay open |work=BBC News |date=September 30, 2011 |access-date=September 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930151624/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15130282 |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Vancouver is governed by the eleven-member [[Vancouver City Council]], a nine-member [[Vancouver School Board|School Board]], and a seven-member [[Vancouver Park Board|Park Board]], all of whom serve four-year terms. Unusually for a city of Vancouver's size, all municipal elections are on an [[at-large]] basis. Historically, in all levels of government, the more affluent west side of Vancouver has voted along [[Conservatism in Canada|conservative]] or [[Liberalism in Canada|liberal]] lines. In contrast, the city's eastern side has voted along [[left-wing politics|left-wing]] lines.<ref>{{cite thesis |first=Andrea Barbara |last=Smith |title=The Origins of the NPA: A Study in Vancouver Politics |type=MA |publisher=University of British Columbia |date=1981}}</ref> This was reaffirmed with the results of the [[2005 British Columbia general election|2005 provincial election]] and the [[Canadian federal election results in Greater Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast|2006 federal election]].
[[File:City Hall (6868486297).jpg|thumb|Opened in 1936, [[Vancouver City Hall]] is home to [[Vancouver City Council]].]]
Though polarized, a political [[Consensus decision-making|consensus]] has emerged in Vancouver around several issues. Protection of urban parks, a focus on the development of [[rapid transit]] as opposed to a freeway system, a harm-reduction approach to illegal drug use, and a general concern about community-based development are examples of policies that have come to have broad support across the [[political spectrum]] in Vancouver.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Conflicts and consensus in Vancouver's political history |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/conflicts-and-consensus-in-vancouvers-political-history |access-date=March 3, 2022 |newspaper=[[Vancouver Sun]] |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018184042/https://vancouversun.com/news/conflicts-and-consensus-in-vancouvers-political-history |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[2008 Vancouver municipal election|2008 municipal election]] campaign, NPA incumbent mayor [[Sam Sullivan]] was ousted as mayoral candidate by the party in a close vote, which instated Peter Ladner as the new mayoral candidate for the NPA. [[Gregor Robertson (politician)|Gregor Robertson]], a former MLA for [[Vancouver-Fairview]] and head of [[Happy Planet]], was the mayoral candidate for Vision Vancouver, the other main contender. Vision Vancouver candidate Gregor Robertson defeated Ladner by a considerable margin, nearing 20,000 votes. The balance of power was significantly shifted to Vision Vancouver, which held seven of the ten spots for councillor. Of the remaining three, COPE received two and the NPA one. For park commissioner, four seats went to Vision Vancouver, one to the Green Party, one to COPE, and one to NPA. For school trustees, there were four Vision Vancouver seats, three COPE seats, and two NPA seats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vancouver.ca/electionresults2008 |title=Vancouver Votes Municipal Election 2008 |publisher=City of Vancouver |access-date=November 29, 2009 |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310084626/https://vancouver.ca/your-government/get-government-information.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[2018 Vancouver municipal election]], independent [[Kennedy Stewart (Canadian politician)|Kennedy Stewart]] was elected [[List of mayors of Vancouver|mayor of Vancouver]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zussman |first1=Richard |last2=Ferreras |first2=Jesse |title=B.C. municipal election 2018: Vancouver results – BC |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4166537/vancouver-bc-municipal-election-2018/ |website=globalnews.ca |date=June 30, 2018 |access-date=February 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009090835/https://globalnews.ca/news/4166537/vancouver-bc-municipal-election-2018/ |archive-date=October 9, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Stewart was later defeated as mayor in the [[2022 Vancouver municipal election]] by [[Ken Sim]], the runner-up in the 2018 election.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9197530/vancouver-new-mayor-ken-sim/ |title=Ken Sim defeats Kennedy Stewart to become mayor as ABC party sweeps Vancouver election &#124; Globalnews.ca |access-date=November 13, 2022 |archive-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016172424/https://globalnews.ca/news/9197530/vancouver-new-mayor-ken-sim/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Vancouver's budget consists of a capital and an operating component. In 2023, the operating budget was $1.97{{nbsp}}billion, with a 5-year financial plan, developed in 2022, that projected the budget would increase to $2.46{{nbsp}}billion by 2027. The 2023 capital budget was $580{{nbsp}}million, with a 2023 to 2026 Capital Plan that anticipates $3.5{{nbsp}}billion in expenditures in those four years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2023-draft-budget-including-adjustments.pdf |title=Vancouver 2023 Budget |date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409074806/https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2023-draft-budget-including-adjustments.pdf |archive-date=April 9, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Budget increases are primarily funded through increases in property taxes and community amenity contributions imposed in exchange for increases in allowable density as part of the construction permitting process. Utility and other user fees have also been increased but represent a small portion of Vancouver's overall budget.

===Regional government===
[[File:Vancouver Metropolitan Area, 2018.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of [[Greater Vancouver]] from the west, 2018]]
Along with 20 other municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/Pages/default.aspx |title=Who is Metro Vancouver |publisher=Metro Vancouver |access-date=August 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820020310/http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=August 20, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Vancouver is a member municipality of [[Metro Vancouver Regional District|Metro Vancouver]], the regional government whose seat is in [[Burnaby]]. While each member of Metro Vancouver has its own separate local governing body, Metro Vancouver oversees standard services and planning functions within the area, such as providing drinking water; operating sewage and solid waste handling; maintaining regional parks; managing air quality, [[greenhouse gases]] and ecological health; and providing a strategy for regional growth and land use.

===Provincial and federal representation===
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2025}}
In the [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia]], Vancouver is represented by 12 [[Member of the Legislative Assembly|members of the Legislative Assembly]] (MLAs). As of 2025, the [[2024 British Columbia general election|2024 general election]] saw eleven seats go to the [[British Columbia New Democratic Party|BC New Democratic Party]] and one seat go to the [[Conservative Party of British Columbia|BC Conservatives]].

In the [[House of Commons of Canada]] as of 2025, Vancouver is represented by seven members of Parliament. In the [[2025 Canadian federal election|2025 federal election]], the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberals]] held three seats ([[Vancouver Quadra]], [[Vancouver Centre]], and ([[Vancouver Granville]]) and won the newly created district of [[Vancouver Fraserview—South Burnaby]], while the [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|NDP]] held on to two seats ([[Vancouver East (federal electoral district)|Vancouver East]] and [[Vancouver Kingsway]]). The [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservatives]] gained the newly created district of [[Richmond Centre—Marpole]].

===Policing and crime===
[[File:Vancouver Police.jpg|thumb|Mounted officers of the [[Vancouver Police Department]] in [[Stanley Park]]]]
Vancouver operates the [[Vancouver Police Department]], with 1,327 sworn members and an operating budget of $316.5{{nbsp}}million in 2018.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/annual-reports/vpd-annual-report-2018.pdf |title=2018 Annual Report |date=2018 |publisher=Vancouver Police Department |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723092802/https://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/annual-reports/vpd-annual-report-2018.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2019}}</ref><ref name="2018AnnualReport">{{cite report |url=https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/city-of-vancouver-2018-annual-financial-report.pdf |title=Annual Financial Report |date=2018 |publisher=City of Vancouver |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723011644/https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/city-of-vancouver-2018-annual-financial-report.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Over 19 percent of the city's budget was spent on police protection in 2018 and by 2023 that has increased to 20.2 percent.<ref name="2018AnnualReport" /><ref>{{cite web |publisher=City of Vancouver |date=2023 |title=Vancouver Budget 2023: Amended 2023 Draft Budget and Five-Year Financial Plan |website=Vancouver.ca |access-date=March 26, 2023 |url=https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2023-draft-budget-including-adjustments.pdf |archive-date=April 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409074806/https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2023-draft-budget-including-adjustments.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Vancouver Police Department's operational divisions include a [[police bicycle|bicycle squad]], a [[water police|marine squad]], and a [[police dog|dog squad]]. It also has a [[mounted police|mounted squad]], used primarily to patrol Stanley Park and for crowd control.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mounted Squad: Patrol District One |publisher=Vancouver Police Department |url=http://vancouver.ca/police/operations/mounted/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050221232742/http://vancouver.ca/police/operations/mounted/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 21, 2005 |date=January 18, 2005 |access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref> The police work in conjunction with civilian and volunteer-run Community Police Centres.<ref>{{cite web |title=Operations Division |publisher=City of Vancouver |url=http://www.vancouver.ca/police/operations/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517020351/http://www.vancouver.ca/police/operations/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 17, 2006 |date=January 3, 2006 |access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref> In 2006, the police department established its own [[Counterterrorism|counterterrorism unit]]. In 2005, a new transit police force, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service (now the [[Metro Vancouver Transit Police]]), was established with full police powers.

Before the legalization of marijuana, Vancouver police generally did not arrest people for possessing small amounts of [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Jackie |date=March 31, 2001 |title=Getting Dot-Bombed in Vancouver |url=https://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/03/42655 |url-status=live |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211112343/http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/03/42655 |archive-date=February 11, 2010 |access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref> In 2000, the Vancouver Police Department established a specialized drug squad, "Growbusters", to carry out an aggressive campaign against the city's estimated 4,000 [[hydroponics|hydroponic]] marijuana growing operations (or grow-ops) in residential areas.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 26, 2000 |title=Growbusters |work=[[CBC News]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/growbusters-1.223467 |access-date=January 17, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527023833/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/07/26/bc_growbusters000725.html |archive-date=May 27, 2007}}</ref> As with other law enforcement campaigns targeting marijuana this initiative has been sharply criticized.<ref>{{cite news |last=Burrows |first=Mathew |title=Who You Gonna Call? |work=The Republic |date=February 21, 2002 |url=http://www.republic-news.org/archive/32-repub/repub_32_grow.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080509030322/http://www.republic-news.org/archive/32-repub/repub_32_grow.html |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=usurped |access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Downtown Eastside, Vancouver during coronavirus pandemic (49791264711).jpg|thumb|For decades, the [[Downtown Eastside]] area of Vancouver has faced a complex set of social issues, including disproportionately high levels of [[Substance abuse|drug use]], [[homelessness]], [[poverty]], [[crime]], and [[mental illness]].]]
Since 1982, when Vancouver's homicide rate peaked at around 9.6 per 100,000 people with a total of 40 murders, the city's overall crime rate has declined, with a few notable exceptions, one being in 1991, when the city surpassed its homicide record with 41 being reported, giving the city a slightly lower homicide rate of 8.7 per 100,000 residents than its peak. However, in 2013, Vancouver reached a record low 6 murders, resulting in a homicide rate of 1 per 100,000 residents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coburn |first=Gordon Maxwell Bradley |date=December 1988 |title=Patterns of Homicide in Vancouver: 1980–1986 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56369458.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112035459/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56369458.pdf |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=November 2, 2024 |publisher=[[Simon Fraser University]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Vancouver Police Department |date=January 21, 2019 |title=Records Access Request |url=https://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/foi/2019/homicide-stats-1985-to-2017.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107005611/https://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/foi/2019/homicide-stats-1985-to-2017.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |access-date=November 2, 2024 |website=vancouver.ca}}</ref> {{As of|2018}}, Vancouver had the ninth-highest [[crime in Canada|crime rate]], dropping five spots since 2005, among Canada's 35 census metropolitan areas.<ref name="STCD">{{cite web |title=Police-reported crime statistics |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00013-eng.pdf |date=July 22, 2019 |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111232644/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00013-eng.pdf%3Fst%3D4kqbCVeM |url-status=live}}</ref> As with other Canadian cities, the overall crime rate has been falling "dramatically".{{When|date=October 2024|reason=since when? this needs context to avoid [[MOS:RELTIME]]}}<ref>{{cite web |date=April 21, 2009 |title=Police-reported Crime Severity Index |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/090421/dq090421b-eng.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609204246/http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/090421/dq090421b-eng.htm |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]}}</ref> The rate of firearm related violence dropped from 45.3 per 100,000 in 2006, the highest of any major metropolitan region in Canada at that time, to 16.2 in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?k=19079&id=4b651ab1-e729-44a9-86d3-79a1ddc84689 |title=Gun crime in Metro Vancouver highest per capita in Canada |work=Canada.com |date=February 20, 2008 |access-date=April 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214043459/http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?k=19079&id=4b651ab1-e729-44a9-86d3-79a1ddc84689 |archive-date=February 14, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/89-28-0001/2018001/article/00004-eng.pdf |title=Firearm-related violent crime |date=2017 |website=StatsCan |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111232635/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/89-28-0001/2018001/article/00004-eng.pdf%3Fst%3Da49Gcif_ |url-status=live}}</ref> A series of gang-related incidents in early 2009 escalated into what police dubbed a [[2009 Vancouver gang war|gang war]].

Vancouver plays host to special events, such as the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] conference, the Clinton-Yeltsin Summit, and the [[Symphony of Fire]] fireworks show that require significant policing. The [[1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot|1994 Stanley Cup riot]] overwhelmed police and injured as many as 200 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E0D6163DF935A25755C0A962958260 |title=200 Injured In Vancouver |date=June 16, 1994 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316090306/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E0D6163DF935A25755C0A962958260 |archive-date=March 16, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> A [[2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot|second riot]] took place following the [[2011 Stanley Cup Finals]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Gallery-Shocking-scenes-from-the-Vancouver-Game?urn=nhl-wp7358 |title=Shocking scenes from the Vancouver Game 7 riots |date=June 16, 2011 |publisher=Yahoo! |access-date=June 16, 2011 |first=Greg |last=Wyshynski |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110618112638/http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Gallery-Shocking-scenes-from-the-Vancouver-Game?urn=nhl-wp7358 |archive-date=June 18, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

To reduce the public health risk from discarded hypodermic needles commonly found on downtown and the adjacent [[Downtown Eastside]] streets, the city runs a continuous collection effort, recovering approximately 1000 needles per day from public spaces.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bula |first=Frances |date=February 8, 2016 |title=Vancouver seeking new ways to tackle city's growing litter problem |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-seeking-new-ways-to-tackle-citys-growing-litter-problem/article28661084/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922122729/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-seeking-new-ways-to-tackle-citys-growing-litter-problem/article28661084/ |archive-date=September 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fayerman |first=Pamela |date=October 18, 2018 |title=Needles, needles everywhere. Ideas for ridding Vancouver of them? Not so many |work=[[Vancouver Sun]] |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/needles-needles-everywhere-ideas-for-ridding-vancouver-of-them-not-so-many |url-status=live |access-date=January 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326150345/https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/needles-needles-everywhere-ideas-for-ridding-vancouver-of-them-not-so-many |archive-date=March 26, 2019}}</ref> According to [[Vancouver Coastal Health]], the regional health authority and a distributor of clean needles to intravenous drug users, there has never been a documented case of disease transmission from an accidental needlestick.<ref>{{cite web |title=Needle exchange & disposal |url=http://www.vch.ca/public-health/harm-reduction/needle-exchange |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017095743/http://www.vch.ca/public-health/harm-reduction/needle-exchange |archive-date=October 17, 2018 |access-date=January 25, 2019 |publisher=[[Vancouver Coastal Health]]}}</ref>

===Military===
[[Jericho Beach]] in Vancouver is the location of the headquarters of [[39 Canadian Brigade Group]] of the [[Canadian Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.army.gc.ca/lfwa/what_is_lfwa.asp |title=Land Force Western Area |publisher=National Defence Canada |date=August 12, 2008 |access-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505214307/http://www.army.gc.ca/lfwa/what_is_lfwa.asp |archive-date=May 5, 2009}}</ref> Local primary reserve units include [[The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada]] and [[The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own)]], based at the [[Seaforth Armoury]] and the [[Beatty Street Drill Hall]], respectively, and the [[15th Field Artillery Regiment (Canada)|15th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.army.gc.ca/lfwa/units_city.asp |title=Land Force Western Area Units |publisher=National Defence Canada |date=September 30, 2009 |access-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506110111/http://www.army.gc.ca/lfwa/units_city.asp |archive-date=May 6, 2009}}</ref> The Naval Reserve Unit {{HMCS|Discovery}} is based on [[Deadman's Island (Vancouver)|Deadman's Island]] in Stanley Park.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/navres/1/1-n_eng.asp?category=106 |title=The Naval Reserve: Nearest Units |publisher=National Defence Canada |date=January 29, 2010 |access-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225100920/http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/navres/1/1-n_eng.asp?category=106 |archive-date=February 25, 2009}}</ref> [[RCAF Station Jericho Beach]], the first air base in Western Canada, was taken over by the [[Canadian Army]] in 1947 when [[seaplanes]] were replaced by long-range aircraft. Most of the base facilities were transferred to the City of Vancouver in 1969, and the area was renamed "Jericho Park".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcyuk.legion.ca/node/745 |title=Jericho Beach Flying Boat Station |publisher=Royal Canadian Legion, BC/Yukon Command |access-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706184233/http://www.bcyuk.legion.ca/node/745 |archive-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:Vancouver School Board headquarters, Vancouver, BC.jpg|thumb|Headquarters of the [[Vancouver School Board]]. The English-language [[school district]] serves Vancouver, [[University of British Columbia Vancouver|UBC]] and the [[University Endowment Lands]].]]
[[File:UBC-Main-Mall2-1650x1050.jpg|thumb|Main mall of the [[University of British Columbia]] (UBC). UBC is one of five [[public universities]] located in Vancouver.]]
The [[Vancouver School Board]] enrolls more than 110,000 students in its elementary, secondary, and [[higher education|post-secondary]] institutions, making it the second-largest [[school district]] in the province.<ref name="VSB1">{{cite web |url=http://www.vsb.bc.ca/about-vsb |title=About Us |publisher=Vancouver School Board |year=2011 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716060130/http://www.vsb.bc.ca/about-vsb |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="VSB2">{{cite report |url=http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/student_stats/039.pdf |title=District Review Report, School District No. 39 Vancouver |publisher=British Columbia Education |year=2011 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213191614/http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/reports/pdfs/student_stats/039.pdf |archive-date=December 13, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> The district administers about 76 elementary schools, 17 elementary annexes, 18 secondary schools, 7 [[adult education]] centres, 2 Vancouver Learning Network schools,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webcat.vsb.bc.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=R479024780Y42.20910&profile=ls&menu=tab8&ts=1479024780558 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114001900/http://webcat.vsb.bc.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=R479024780Y42.20910&profile=ls&menu=tab8&ts=1479024780558 |archive-date=November 14, 2016 |title=VSB webcat |publisher=Vancouver School Board}}</ref> which include 18 [[French immersion]] schools, a [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin]] bilingual school, and fine arts (Byng Arts Mini School), gifted, and [[Montessori method|Montessori]] schools.<ref name="VSB1" /> The ''[[Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique]]'' operates three Francophone schools in that city: the primary schools ''école Rose-des-vents'' and ''école Anne-Hébert'' as well as the ''[[école secondaire Jules-Verne]]''.<ref>"[http://www.csf.bc.ca/ecoles/en-colombie-britannique/carte-des-ecoles/ Carte des écoles] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817050550/http://www.csf.bc.ca/ecoles/en-colombie-britannique/carte-des-ecoles/ |date=August 17, 2015}}." ''[[Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britanique]]''. Retrieved on January 22, 2015.</ref> More than 46 [[Independent school#Canada|independent schools]] of a wide variety are also eligible for partial provincial funding and educate approximately 10 percent of pupils in the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fisabc.ca/About-FISA/History |title=FISA History |publisher=Federation of Independent School Associations |year=2011 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110416105557/http://www.fisabc.ca/About-FISA/History |archive-date=April 16, 2011}}</ref>

There are five public universities in the Greater Vancouver area, the largest and most prestigious being the [[University of British Columbia]] (UBC) and [[Simon Fraser University]] (SFU), with a combined enrolment of more than 90,000 [[undergraduates]], graduates, and professional students in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ubc.ca/about/ |title=About UBC |publisher=[[University of British Columbia]] |year=2011 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823164835/http://ubc.ca/about/ |archive-date=August 23, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfu.ca/about/ |title=About SFU |publisher=[[Simon Fraser University]] |year=2011 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604092307/http://www.sfu.ca/about/ |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> UBC often ranks among the top 40 best universities in the world and is ranked among the 20 best public universities in Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2024 |title=QS World University Rankings – 2024 |publisher=QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929082515/https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Public Universities in Canada 2023 [uniRank] |url=https://www.unirank.org/ca/public/ |access-date=June 7, 2023 |website=www.unirank.org |language=en |archive-date=June 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624225242/https://www.4icu.org/ca/public/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-british-columbia |title=University of British Columbia |publisher=QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=August 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825175456/https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-british-columbia |url-status=live}}</ref> SFU consistently ranks as the top comprehensive university in Canada and is among the 350 best universities in the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html |title=Times Higher Education's The World University Rankings 2010 |access-date=September 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917234412/http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html |archive-date=September 17, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/simon-fraser-university |title=Simon Fraser University |publisher=QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604002657/https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/simon-fraser-university |url-status=live}}</ref> UBC's [[Point Grey Campus, University of British Columbia|main campus]] is located on the tip of Burrard Peninsula, on the [[University of British Columbia Vancouver|Point Grey campus lands]] just west of the [[University Endowment Lands]] with the city-proper adjacent to the east. SFU's main campus is in [[Burnaby]]. Both also maintain campuses in Downtown Vancouver and the southeastern suburban city of [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]].

The other public universities in the metropolitan area around Vancouver are [[Capilano University]] in North Vancouver, [[Emily Carr University of Art and Design]], and [[Kwantlen Polytechnic University]], whose four campuses are all outside the city proper. Six private institutions also operate in the region: [[Trinity Western University]] in Langley, [[University of Phoenix|UOPX Canada]] in Burnaby, and [[University Canada West]], [[New York Institute of Technology|NYIT Canada]], [[Fairleigh Dickinson University]], [[Columbia College (British Columbia)|Columbia College]], and [[Sprott Shaw College]], all in Vancouver.

[[Vancouver Community College]] and [[Langara College]] are publicly funded [[College (Canada)|college]]-level institutions in Vancouver, as is [[Douglas College]] with three campuses outside the city. The [[British Columbia Institute of Technology]] in Burnaby provides [[institute of technology#Canada|polytechnic]] education. These are augmented by private and vocational institutions and other colleges in the surrounding areas of Metro Vancouver that provide [[Vocational school#Canada|career]], [[Vocational school|trade]], [[technical school|technical]], and university-transfer programs. In contrast, the [[Vancouver Film School]] and InFocus Film School provide one-year programs in film production, animation, and other entertainment arts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ecuad.ca/about |title=Emily Carr University of Art + Design |publisher=[[Emily Carr University of Art and Design]] |year=2011 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604120832/http://www.ecuad.ca/about |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vfs.com/thisisvfs.php |title=Message from the President of Vancouver Film School, James Griffin |publisher=[[Vancouver Film School]] |year=2011 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219002454/http://www.vfs.com/thisisvfs.php |archive-date=December 19, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://infocusfilmschool.com/about-us |title=About InFocus Film School |publisher=InFocus Film School |year=2020 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403120637/https://infocusfilmschool.com/about-us/ |archive-date=April 3, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[International student]]s and [[English as a second or foreign language|English as a second language]] (ESL) students have been significant in the enrolment of these public and private institutions. For the 2008–2009 school year, 53 percent of Vancouver School Board's students spoke a language other than English at home.<ref name="VSB2" />

==Arts and culture==
[[File:Vancity Theatre.jpg|thumb|Opened in 2005, [[VIFF Centre]] houses production rooms and offices for the [[Vancouver International Film Festival]].]]
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2025}}

===Theatre, dance, film and television===
====Theatre====
Prominent theatre companies in Vancouver include the [[Arts Club Theatre Company]], which operates three venues, including one on [[Granville Island]],<ref>[https://artsclub.com/about/venue-rentals/index] Arts Club Website. Accessed June 15, 2025.</ref> and [[Bard on the Beach]], a large summer [[Shakespeare]] festival. Smaller professional companies include [[Touchstone Theatre]], the Cultch, Pacific Theatre, and [[Firehall Arts Centre]]. Non-professional theatre organizations include United Players and Metro Theatre, and [[Theatre Under the Stars (Vancouver)|Theatre Under the Stars]], which produces musicals in the summer at [[Malkin Bowl]] in [[Stanley Park]]. Annual festivals held in Vancouver include the [[PuSh International Performing Arts Festival]] in January and the [[Vancouver Fringe Festival]] in September.

The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company operated for fifty years, ending in March 2012.<ref>Hall, Neal & Lee, Jeff  (March 9, 2012).[https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/Vancouver+Playhouse+Theatre+Company+close+final+curtain+Saturday/6279311/story.html "Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company to close"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212191928/http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/vancouver+playhouse+theatre+company+close+final+curtain+saturday/6279311/story.html |date=December 12, 2018}} ''Vancouver Sun''</ref>

====Dance====
Vancouver is home to [[Ballet BC]], a [[ballet company]] whose principal venue is the [[Queen Elizabeth Theatre]]. Ballet BC was founded in 1986 and is British Columbia's only ballet company.<ref name="Strate-Forzle-2015">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Strate |first1=Grant |last2=Forzle |first2=Richard |date=March 4, 2015 |title=Ballet British Columbia |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ballet-british-columbia/ |access-date=November 17, 2022 |archive-date=December 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206114512/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ballet-british-columbia |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Scotiabank Dance Centre, a converted bank building on the corner of Davie and Granville, functions as a gathering place and performance venue for Vancouver-based dancers and choreographers. Dances for a Small Stage is a semi-annual dance festival.

====Film====
{{Category see also|Films set in Vancouver}}
The [[Vancouver International Film Festival]], which runs for two weeks each September, shows over 350 films and is one of North America's most prominent film festivals. The [[VIFF Centre]] venue, the Vancity Theatre, runs independent non-commercial films throughout the rest of the year, as do [[the Cinematheque]] and the [[Rio Theatre|Rio]] theatres.

Vancouver has become a significant film location,<ref>{{cite web |title=Vancouver, British Columbia |url=http://www.whatsfilming.ca/ |website=What's Filming? |access-date=December 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222223456/http://www.whatsfilming.ca/ |archive-date=December 22, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> known as [[Hollywood North]], as it has stood in for several U.S. cities. However, it has started to appear as itself in several feature films. Among [[:Category:films set in Vancouver|films set in the city and its surroundings]] are the 1994 US thriller ''[[Intersection (1994 film)|Intersection]]'', starring [[Richard Gere]] and [[Sharon Stone]]; the 2007 Canadian ghost thriller ''[[They Wait]]'', starring [[Terry Chen]] and [[Jaime King]]; and the acclaimed Canadian 'mockumentary' ''[[Hard Core Logo]]'', and was named the second-best Canadian film of the last 15 years, in a 2001 poll of 200 industry voters, performed by Playback. [[Genie Awards|Genie Award]]-winning filmmaker [[Mina Shum]] has filmed and set several of her internationally released features in Vancouver, including the [[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]-screened ''[[Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity]]'' (2002).

====Television shows produced in Vancouver====
Many past and current TV shows have been filmed and [[:Category:Television shows set in Vancouver|set]] in Vancouver. The first Canadian [[prime time]] national series to be produced out of Vancouver was ''[[Cold Squad]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Ian |title=On set: Cold Squad |url=http://playbackonline.ca/1997/09/22/19261-19970922/ |website=[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]] |publisher=Brunico Communications |date=September 22, 1997 |access-date=October 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021131901/http://playbackonline.ca/1997/09/22/19261-19970922/ |archive-date=October 21, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Ian |title=Groundbreaking cop series takes final bow |url=http://playbackonline.ca/2004/10/11/history-20041011/ |website=[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]] |publisher=Brunico Communications |date=October 11, 2004 |access-date=October 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911092438/http://playbackonline.ca/2004/10/11/history-20041011/ |archive-date=September 11, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> and its storyline was also physically set in the city. Other series set in or around the city of Vancouver include ''[[Continuum (TV series)|Continuum]]'', ''[[Da Vinci's Inquest]]'', ''[[Danger Bay]]'', ''[[Edgemont (TV series)|Edgemont]]'', ''[[Godiva's]]'', ''[[Intelligence (Canadian TV series)|Intelligence]]'', ''[[Motive (TV series)|Motive]]'', ''[[Northwood (TV series)|Northwood]]'', ''[[Primeval: New World]]'', ''[[Robson Arms]]'', ''[[The Romeo Section]]'', ''[[Shattered (2010 TV series)|Shattered]]'', ''[[The Switch (TV series)|The Switch]]'', and ''[[These Arms of Mine (TV series)|These Arms of Mine]]''.

Television shows produced<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heeb |first1=Emily |title=Did you know These 20 TV Shows were filmed in Vancouver? |url=http://www.bcmag.ca/Vancouver_TV_Film_Set_Mecca |work=[[British Columbia Magazine]] |date=February 12, 2016 |access-date=December 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107042643/http://www.bcmag.ca/Vancouver_TV_Film_Set_Mecca |archive-date=January 7, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> (but not set) in Vancouver (that have been produced by American and Canadian studios alike) include ''[[21 Jump Street]]'', ''[[The 100 (TV series)|The 100]]'', ''[[The 4400]]'', ''[[Airwolf]]'', ''[[Almost Human (TV series)|Almost Human]]'', ''[[Arrow (TV series)|Arrow]]'', ''[[Backstrom (American TV series)|Backstrom]]'', ''[[Caprica]]'', ''[[Cedar Cove (TV series)|Cedar Cove]]'', ''[[Chesapeake Shores]]'', ''[[Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV series)|Chilling Adventures of Sabrina]]'', ''[[The Commish]]'', ''[[Dark Angel (2000 TV series)|Dark Angel]]'', ''[[Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV series)|Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency]]'', ''[[The Flash (2014 TV series)|The Flash]]'', ''[[The Good Doctor (American TV series)|The Good Doctor]]'', ''[[Haters Back Off]]'', ''[[Hellcats]]'', ''[[Intelligence (Canadian TV series)|Intelligence]]'', ''[[iZombie (TV series)|iZombie]]'', ''[[The Killing (American TV series)|The Killing]]'', ''[[The L Word]]'', ''[[The Last of Us (TV series)|The Last of Us]]'', ''[[Life Unexpected]]'', ''[[The Man in the High Castle (TV series)|The Man in the High Castle]]'', ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'', ''[[Motherland: Fort Salem]]'', ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]'', ''[[Psych]]'', ''[[Reaper (TV series)|Reaper]]'', ''[[Riverdale (2017 TV series)|Riverdale]]'', ''[[Rogue (TV series)|Rogue]]'', ''[[Smallville]]'', ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', ''[[Supergirl (TV series)|Supergirl]]'', ''[[Supernatural (U.S. TV series)|Supernatural]]'', ''[[The Tomorrow People (U.S. TV series)|The Tomorrow People]]'', ''[[The Magicians (American TV series)|The Magicians]]'', ''[[Tru Calling]]'', ''[[Van Helsing (TV series)|Van Helsing]]'', ''[[Wild Cards (Canadian TV series)|Wild Cards]]'', ''[[Witches of East End (TV series)|Witches of East End]]'', and ''[[The X-Files]]''.

===Libraries and museums===
{{see also|List of museums in British Columbia}}
[[File:Vancouver and Science World blue hour dusk 2008.jpg|thumb|[[Science World (Vancouver)|Science World]] is an interactive [[science centre]]. The building was originally constructed for [[Expo 86]].]]
Libraries in Vancouver include the [[Vancouver Public Library]], with its main branch at Library Square, designed by [[Moshe Safdie]]. The central branch contains 1.5{{nbsp}}million volumes. Altogether, twenty-two branches contain 2.25{{nbsp}}million volumes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vpl.ca/about/cat/C788/ |title=Vancouver Public Library Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Vancouver Public Library |access-date=July 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623042615/http://www.vpl.ca/about/cat/C788/ |archive-date=June 23, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Vancouver Tool Library]] is Canada's original tool lending library.

The [[Vancouver Art Gallery]] has a permanent collection of nearly 10,000 items and is the home of a significant number of works by [[Emily Carr]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/visit_the_gallery/visit_the_gallery.html |title=Welcome from Kathleen Bartels, Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery |publisher=Vancouver Art Gallery |access-date=November 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107115909/http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/visit_the_gallery/visit_the_gallery.html |archive-date=November 7, 2007}}</ref> However, little or none of the permanent collection is ever on view. Downtown is also home to the [[Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver)]], which showcases temporary exhibitions by up-and-coming Vancouver artists. The [[Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery]], with a small collection of contemporary works, is part of the University of British Columbia.

In the [[Kitsilano]] district are the [[Vancouver Maritime Museum]], the [[H. R. MacMillan Space Centre]], and the [[Museum of Vancouver|Vancouver Museum]], the largest civic museum in Canada. The [[Museum of Anthropology at UBC]] is a leading museum of [[Pacific Northwest|Pacific Northwest Coast]] [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] culture. A more interactive museum is [[Science World (Vancouver)|Science World]] at the head of [[False Creek]]. The city also features a diverse collection of Public Art.

===Visual art===
{{main|Vancouver School}}
{{See also|Public art in Vancouver}}
[[File:Inukshuk.jpg|thumb|''[[Inukshuk (Kanak)|Inukshuk]]'' at [[English Bay (Vancouver)|English Bay]]. The [[inuksuk]] sculpture is one of several pieces of [[public art]] on display in Vancouver.]]
Vancouver is home to 13 of the 190 [[Canadian artist-run centres|Artist Run Centres]] in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Artist-Run Initiatives in Vancouver |url=https://artistrunalliance.org/loc/vancouver/ |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=Artist-Run Alliance |language=en-US |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327034733/https://artistrunalliance.org/loc/vancouver/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 29, 2014 |title=About |url=https://directory.arca.art/about |access-date=March 27, 2023 |website=Directory |language=en |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327034746/https://directory.arca.art/about |url-status=live}}</ref> Artwork and cultural artifacts from nations Indigenous to the land on which Vancouver is located are available to view at the [[Museum of Anthropology at UBC]], largely because these artifacts were stolen as part of colonization.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://moa.ubc.ca/ |title=Home – Museum of Anthropology at UBC |access-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730062424/https://moa.ubc.ca/ |archive-date=July 30, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Music and nightlife===
{{See also|Music of Vancouver}}
Musical contributions from Vancouver include performers of classical, folk and popular music.<!--Listing of noted classical composers and performers resident/emergent is needed--> The [[Vancouver Symphony Orchestra]] is the professional orchestra based in the city. The [[Vancouver Opera]] is a major opera company in the city, and [[City Opera of Vancouver]] is the city's professional chamber opera company. The city is home to several [[Canadian composers]], including [[Rodney Sharman]], [[Jeffrey Ryan]], and [[Jocelyn Morlock]].
[[File:Olymp 31.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Granville Entertainment District]], downtown, can attract large crowds to the street's many bars and nightclubs.]]
The city produced a number of notable [[punk rock]] bands, including [[D.O.A. (band)|D.O.A.]] Other early Vancouver punk bands included the [[Subhumans (Canadian band)|Subhumans]], the [[Young Canadians]], the [[Pointed Sticks]], and [[U-J3RK5]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Buium |first=Greg |title=Sound and Fury: Reliving Vancouver's punk explosion |work=CBC News |date=April 15, 2005 |url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/soundandfury.html |access-date=January 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827080236/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/soundandfury.html |archive-date=August 27, 2006}}</ref> When [[alternative rock]] became popular in the 1990s, several Vancouver groups rose to prominence, including [[54-40 (band)|54-40]], [[Odds (band)|Odds]], [[Moist (Canadian band)|Moist]], the [[Matthew Good Band]], [[Sons of Freedom (band)|Sons of Freedom]] and [[Econoline Crush]]. Recent successful Vancouver bands include [[Gob (band)|Gob]], [[Marianas Trench (band)|Marianas Trench]], [[Theory of a Deadman]] and [[Stabilo (band)|Stabilo]]. Today, Vancouver is home to several popular independent bands such as [[The New Pornographers]], [[Japandroids]], [[Destroyer (band)|Destroyer]], [[In Medias Res (band)|In Medias Res]], [[Tegan and Sara]], and independent labels including [[Nettwerk]] and [[Mint Records|Mint]]. Vancouver also produced influential metal band [[Strapping Young Lad]] and pioneering [[electro-industrial]] bands [[Skinny Puppy]], [[Numb (band)|Numb]] and [[Front Line Assembly]]; the latter's [[Bill Leeb]] is better known for founding ambient pop super-group [[Delerium]]. Other popular musical artists who made their mark from Vancouver include [[Carly Rae Jepsen]], [[Bryan Adams]], [[Sarah McLachlan]], [[Heart (band)|Heart]], [[Prism (band)|Prism]], [[Trooper (band)|Trooper]], [[Chilliwack (band)|Chilliwack]], [[Payolas]], [[Moev]], [[Images in Vogue]], [[Michael Bublé]], [[DYLN|Stef Lang]] and [[Spirit of the West]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Gooch |first=Bryan N. S. |title=Music in Vancouver |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vancouver-bc-emc/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930033715/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1SEC842192 |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref>

More significant musical performances are usually held at venues such as [[Rogers Arena]], [[Queen Elizabeth Theatre]], [[BC Place|BC Place Stadium]] or the [[Pacific Coliseum]]. In contrast, more minor acts are held at places such as the [[Commodore Ballroom]], the [[Orpheum (Vancouver)|Orpheum Theatre]] and the [[Vogue Theatre (Vancouver)|Vogue Theatre]]. The [[Vancouver Folk Music Festival]] and the [[Vancouver International Jazz Festival]] showcase music from around the world in their respective genres. Vancouver's Hong Kong Chinese population has produced several [[Cantopop]] stars across the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Similarly, various Indo-Canadian artists and actors have a profile in [[Bollywood]] or other aspects of [[India]]'s entertainment industry.

Vancouver has a vibrant nightlife scene, whether food and dining or bars and nightclubs. The [[Granville Entertainment District]] has the city's highest concentration of bars and nightclubs with closing times of 3{{nbsp}}am, in addition to various after-hours clubs open until late morning on weekends. The street can attract large crowds on weekends and is closed to traffic on such nights. [[Gastown]] is also a popular area for nightlife with many upscale restaurants and nightclubs, as well as the [[Davie Village]], which is the centre of the city's [[LGBT]] community.

==Media==
{{Main|Media in Vancouver}}
[[File:Canada Place (1294380311).jpg|thumb|[[Granville Square]] (centre building) houses the two major daily newspapers of the city, ''[[The Vancouver Sun]]'' and ''[[The Province]]''.]]
Vancouver is a centre for film and television production. Nicknamed [[Hollywood North]], a distinction it shares with Toronto,<ref name="Gasher2002">{{cite book |first=Mike |last=Gasher |title=Hollywood North: The Feature Film Industry in British Columbia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EiQlVzWWoFMC&pg=PA25 |year=2002 |publisher=UBC Press |isbn=978-0-7748-0968-9 |page=25 |access-date=November 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101204708/https://books.google.com/books?id=EiQlVzWWoFMC&pg=PA25 |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="McPhail2010">{{cite book |first=Thomas L. |last=McPhail |title=Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends |url=https://archive.org/details/globalcommunicat0000mcph |url-access=registration |date=March 8, 2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-3030-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/globalcommunicat0000mcph/page/29 29] |access-date=November 9, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Lavery2010">{{cite book |first=David |last=Lavery |title=The Essential Cult Tv Reader |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TKcaI75I72AC&pg=PA261 |date=January 15, 2010 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-7365-8 |page=261 |access-date=November 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101204708/https://books.google.com/books?id=TKcaI75I72AC&pg=PA261 |archive-date=January 1, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> the city has been used as a film making location for nearly a century, beginning with the [[Edison Studios|Edison Manufacturing Company]].<ref>Ken MacIntyre. ''Reel Vancouver.'' Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 1996. p. 133.</ref> In 2021, $3.6{{nbsp}}billion was spent on film production in Vancouver. This ranks Vancouver as the largest production hub in Canada and the 3rd largest in North America, behind [[Los Angeles]] and [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite report |title=Vancouver Economy Report Winter 2022 |url=https://vancouvereconomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Vancovuer_Economy_Report_Winter_2022_WEB_1.0.pdf |publisher=Vancouver Economic Commission |page=11 |date=2023 |access-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-date=April 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413202122/https://vancouvereconomic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Vancovuer_Economy_Report_Winter_2022_WEB_1.0.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

A wide mix of local, national, and international newspapers are distributed in the city. The two major [[English language|English-language]] daily newspapers are the ''[[Vancouver Sun]]'' and ''[[The Province]]''. Also, there are two national newspapers distributed in the city, including ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', which began publication of a "national edition" in BC in 1983 and recently{{when|date=March 2024}} expanded to include a three-page BC news section, and the ''[[National Post]]'', which centres on national news. Other local newspapers have included ''[[24 Hours (newspaper)|24H]]'' (a local free daily), the Vancouver franchise of the national free daily ''[[Metro International|Metro]]'', the twice-a-week ''[[Vancouver Courier]]'', and the independent newspaper ''[[The Georgia Straight]]''. Three Chinese-language daily newspapers{{Snd}}''[[Ming Pao]]'', ''[[Sing Tao Daily (Canada)|Sing Tao]]'' and ''[[World Journal]]''{{Snd}}cater to the city's large Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking population. Several other local and international papers serve other multicultural groups in the Lower Mainland.
[[File:2010-08 750 Burrard Street.jpg|thumb|left|[[750 Burrard Street]] houses [[Bell Media]]'s West Coast headquarters and the regional offices for ''[[The Globe and Mail]]''.]]
Some of the local television stations include [[CBUT-DT|CBC]], [[CKVU-DT|Citytv]], [[CIVT-DT|CTV]] and [[CHAN-DT|Global BC]]. [[CHNM-DT|OMNI British Columbia]] produces daily newscasts in [[Cantonese]], [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Korean language|Korean]], and weekly newscasts in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], as well as programs aimed at other cultural groups. [[Fairchild Group]] also has two television stations: [[Fairchild TV]] and [[Talentvision]], serving Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking audiences, respectively.

Radio stations with news departments include [[CBU (AM)|CBC Radio One]], [[CKNW]] and [[CKWX|News 1130]]. The [[Franco-Columbian]] community is served by [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|Radio-Canada]] outlets [[CBUFT-DT]] channel 26 ([[Ici Radio-Canada Télé]]), [[CBUF-FM]] 97.7 ([[Ici Radio-Canada Première|Première Chaîne]]) and [[CBUX-FM]] 90.9 ([[Ici Musique|Espace musique]]). The multilingual South Asian community is served by Spice Radio on 1200 AM, which was established in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cahute |first1=Larissa |title=New Vancouver radio station will be aimed at the entire South Asian community |url=http://www.vancouverdesi.com/news/new-vancouver-radio-station-will-be-aimed-at-entire-south-asian-community/795152 |work=Vancouver Desi |date=September 24, 2014 |access-date=September 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926015246/http://www.vancouverdesi.com/news/new-vancouver-radio-station-will-be-aimed-at-entire-south-asian-community/795152/ |archive-date=September 26, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Media dominance is a frequently discussed issue in Vancouver as newspapers the ''Vancouver Sun'', ''The Province'', the ''Vancouver Courier'' and other local newspapers such as the ''Surrey Now'', the ''Burnaby Now'' and the ''Richmond News'', are all owned by [[Postmedia Network]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.straight.com/article-261366/canwest-seeks-bankruptcy-protection-broadcasting-assets-and-national-post |title=Canwest seeks bankruptcy protection for broadcasting assets and National Post |work=[[The Georgia Straight]] |first=Charlie |last=Smith |date=October 6, 2009 |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214231927/http://www.straight.com/article-261366/canwest-seeks-bankruptcy-protection-broadcasting-assets-and-national-post |archive-date=December 14, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[concentration of media ownership]] has spurred alternatives, making Vancouver a centre for independent online media including ''[[The Tyee]]'', ''[[The Vancouver Observer]]'', and [[NowPublic]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thetyee.ca/News/2005/03/16/CanWest_Metro_Daily_Dominance/ |title=CanWest Metro Move Preserves Daily Dominance |work=[[The Tyee]] |first=Shannon |last=Rupp |date=March 16, 2005 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211024716/http://thetyee.ca/News/2005/03/16/CanWest_Metro_Daily_Dominance/ |archive-date=February 11, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as [[hyperlocal]] online media, like ''[[Daily Hive]]'' and ''Vancouver Is Awesome'',<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.straight.com/article-259704/media |title=Editor's Picks: Media |date=September 24, 2009 |work=[[Georgia Straight]] |access-date=February 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923204115/http://www.straight.com/article-259704/media |archive-date=September 23, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> which provide coverage of community events and local arts and culture.

==Transportation==
{{Main|Transportation in Vancouver}}
{{See also|List of roads in Vancouver}}
[[File:A look downtown (759827996).jpg|thumbnail|A [[SeaBus]] crosses [[Burrard Inlet]] between Vancouver and the neighbouring [[North Vancouver (city)|city of North Vancouver]].]]
Vancouver's [[tram|streetcar]] system began on June 28, 1890, and ran from the (first) [[Granville Street Bridge]] to Westminster Avenue (now [[Main Street (Vancouver)|Main Street]] and [[Kingsway (Vancouver)|Kingsway]]). Less than a year later, the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company began operating Canada's first interurban line between the two cities (extended to [[Chilliwack]] in 1910). Another line (1902), the Vancouver and Lulu Island Railway, was leased by the Canadian Pacific Railway to the British Columbia Electric Railway in 1905 and ran from the Granville Street Bridge to [[Steveston, British Columbia|Steveston]] via [[Kerrisdale]], which encouraged residential neighbourhoods outside the central core to develop.<ref>{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Chuck |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology2.html |title=1885–1891 |work=The History of Metropolitan Vancouver |access-date=November 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070723142431/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology2.html |archive-date=July 23, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> After 1897, the [[British Columbia Electric Railway]] (BCER) became the operator of the urban and [[interurban]] rail systems until 1958, when its remaining lines were dismantled in favour of trackless [[Trolleybus|electric trolleys]] and gasoline or diesel [[bus]]es.<ref>{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Chuck |url=http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1958.htm |title=1958 |work=The History of Metropolitan Vancouver |access-date=November 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103044837/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1958.htm |archive-date=January 3, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> BCER later became the core of the newly created, publicly owned [[BC Hydro]], established in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |title=BC ELECTRIC |url=https://www.canadianrailwayobservations.com/specials/bchydro/bchydrobcelectric.htm |website=www.canadianrailwayobservations.com |access-date=July 3, 2024 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090428/http://www.canadianrailwayobservations.com/specials/bchydro/bchydrobcelectric.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=British Columbia Electric Railway |url=https://www.transitmuseumsociety.org/nextstop/html/bcer.htm |website=www.transitmuseumsociety.org |access-date=July 3, 2024 |archive-date=July 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703030236/https://www.transitmuseumsociety.org/nextstop/html/bcer.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=An Act to Establish the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority |url=https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/hstats/hstats/744546168 |website=bclaws.gov.bc.ca |access-date=July 3, 2024 |format=PDF |archive-date=July 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703030233/https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/hstats/hstats/744546168 |url-status=live}}</ref> Vancouver currently has the second-largest [[trolleybus]] fleet in North America, after [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Snider |first=Drew |url=http://www.masstransitmag.com/article/10221148/light-rail-vs-trolley-bus |title=Light Rail vs. Trolley Bus |work=Masstransitmag.com |date=June 1, 2007 |access-date=May 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613192726/http://www.masstransitmag.com/article/10221148/light-rail-vs-trolley-bus |archive-date=June 13, 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Hwy1-offramp-withbg.jpg|thumb|left|Off- and on-ramps leading to [[British Columbia Highway 1]] in Vancouver. Highway 1 is the only [[controlled-access highway]] within the city limits.]]
Successive city councils in the 1970s and 1980s prohibited the construction of freeways as part of a long-term plan.<ref>{{cite news |last=Millar |first=Royce |title=No freeways puts Vancouver on top |date=September 11, 2006 |work=The Age |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/09/10/1157826813807.html |access-date=November 14, 2006 |location=Melbourne |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106000122/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/09/10/1157826813807.html |archive-date=November 6, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, the only major freeway within city limits is [[British Columbia Highway 1|Highway 1]], which passes through the north-eastern corner of the city. While the number of cars in Vancouver proper has been steadily rising with population growth, the rate of car ownership and the average distance driven by daily commuters have fallen since the early 1990s.<ref name="VanMag" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Traffic entering Vancouver, 1986 to 2005 |publisher=City of Vancouver |url=http://www.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/cityplans/transportation/traffic.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011110739/http://www.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/cityplans/transportation/traffic.htm |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |access-date=May 30, 2007}}</ref> Vancouver is the only major Canadian city with these trends. Even though the journey time per vehicle has increased by one-third and growing traffic mass, there are 7 percent fewer cars making trips into the downtown core.<ref name="VanMag">{{cite magazine |date=June 2007 |title=Driving Lessons |magazine=[[Vancouver Magazine]]}}</ref> In 2012, Vancouver had the worst traffic congestion in Canada and the second-highest in [[North America]], behind [[Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/11/vancouver-worst-traffic-congestion-canada_n_1959412.html |title=Vancouver Has Canada's Worst Traffic Congestion: Report |work=The Huffington Post B.C. |date=October 11, 2012 |access-date=February 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216111046/http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/11/vancouver-worst-traffic-congestion-canada_n_1959412.html |archive-date=February 16, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2013}}, Vancouver had the worst traffic congestion in North America.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://globalnews.ca/news/949901/vancouver-has-worst-traffic-congestion-in-north-america-report/ |title=Vancouver has worst traffic congestion in North America: report |work=Global BC |date=November 6, 2013 |access-date=December 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203054942/http://globalnews.ca/news/949901/vancouver-has-worst-traffic-congestion-in-north-america-report/ |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Residents have been more inclined to live in areas closer to their interests, or use more energy-efficient means of travel, such as mass transit and cycling. This is, in part, the result of a push by city planners for a solution to traffic problems and pro-environment campaigns. [[Transportation demand management]] policies have imposed restrictions on drivers, making commuting more difficult and expensive while introducing more benefits for non-drivers.<ref name="VanMag" />
[[File:Skytrain1248.jpg|thumb|Vancouver's [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] in the Grandview Cut, with downtown Vancouver in the background. The white dome-like structure is the old roof of [[BC Place Stadium]].|alt=A two car train follows rail tracks under and bridge. In the background can be seen a domed sports stadium and high-rise buildings.]]
[[TransLink (British Columbia)|TransLink]] is responsible for roads and public transportation within [[Metro Vancouver Regional District|Metro Vancouver]] (in succession to [[BC Transit]], which had taken over the transit functions of BC Hydro). It provides bus service, including the [[RapidBus (TransLink)|RapidBus]] express service, a foot passenger and bicycle ferry service (known as [[SeaBus]]), an automated rapid transit service called [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]], and [[West Coast Express]] commuter rail. Vancouver's SkyTrain system is currently running on three lines, the [[Millennium Line]], the [[Expo Line (SkyTrain)|Expo Line]] and the [[Canada Line]]<ref name="Translink10">{{cite web |date=July 2008 |url=http://www.translink.ca/~/media/Documents/bpotp/plans/2010_10_year_plan/Appendices/appendix%20d/Toms%202010%2010%20Year%20Plan%20for%20Workshops%20Jun%2009%20v2.ashx |title=2009 10-Year Transportation & Financial Plan |format=PDF |publisher=TransLink |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125152439/http://www.translink.ca/~/media/Documents/bpotp/plans/2010_10_year_plan/Appendices/appendix%20d/Toms%202010%2010%20Year%20Plan%20for%20Workshops%20Jun%2009%20v2.ashx |archive-date=November 25, 2011}}</ref> with a total of 53 stations as of 2017. Only 20 stations are within the City of Vancouver borders, with the remainder in the adjacent suburbs. A number of the city's biggest tourist attractions{{snd}}such as English Bay, Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Museum of Anthropology, and the Kitsilano neighbourhood{{snd}}are not connected by this rapid transit system.

Changes are being made to the regional transportation network as part of Translink's 10-Year Transportation Plan. The [[Canada Line]], opened on August 17, 2009, connects [[Vancouver International Airport]] and the neighbouring city of [[Richmond, British Columbia|Richmond]] with the existing SkyTrain system. The [[Evergreen Extension]], which opened on December 2, 2016, links the cities of [[Coquitlam]] and [[Port Moody]] with the SkyTrain system.<ref name="bcmot_rfp">{{cite press release |url=http://www.evergreenline.gov.bc.ca/documents/NewsReleases/2011TRAN0096-001456.pdf |title=Information Bulletin: Evergreen Line RFP released |date=November 9, 2011 |publisher=[[British Columbia Ministry of Transportation]] |access-date=November 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105185805/http://www.evergreenline.gov.bc.ca/documents/NewsReleases/2011TRAN0096-001456.pdf |archive-date=January 5, 2012}}</ref> As of January 2019, plans to extend the SkyTrain Millennium Line west to [[University of British Columbia|UBC]] as a subway under [[Broadway (Vancouver)|Broadway]] have been approved and there are plans for capacity upgrades and an extension to the [[Expo Line (SkyTrain)|Expo Line]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plans and Projects |url=https://www.translink.ca/plans-and-projects |access-date=March 3, 2022 |website=www.translink.ca |archive-date=March 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303050014/https://www.translink.ca/plans-and-projects |url-status=live}}</ref> Several road projects will be completed within the next few years, as part of the Provincial Government's [[Gateway Program (Vancouver)|Gateway Program]].<ref name="Translink10" />

Other modes of transport add to the diversity of options available in Vancouver. Inter-city passenger rail service is operated from [[Pacific Central Station]] by [[Via Rail]] to points east, [[Amtrak Cascades]] to [[Seattle]] and [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], and [[Rocky Mountaineer]] rail tour routes. Small passenger ferries in False Creek provide commuter service to Granville Island, Downtown Vancouver and Kitsilano. Vancouver has a citywide network of bicycle lanes and routes, supporting an active cyclist population year-round. Cycling has become Vancouver's fastest-growing mode of transportation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/transport/cycling/stats.htm |title=Cycling statistics |publisher=City of Vancouver |year=2009 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201135843/http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/transport/cycling/stats.htm |archive-date=December 1, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[bicycle-sharing system]] [[Mobi (bike share)|Mobi]] was introduced to the city in June 2016.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/vancouver-unveils-bike-share-program-mobi/ |title=Vancouver unveils bike-share program Mobi |date=May 21, 2016 |work=CTV News |access-date=September 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002064339/http://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-unveils-bike-share-program-mobi-1.2912223 |archive-date=October 2, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Vancouver is served by [[Vancouver International Airport]] (YVR), located on [[Sea Island (British Columbia)|Sea Island]] in the city of Richmond, immediately south of Vancouver. Vancouver's airport is Canada's second-busiest airport,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yvr.ca/en/about/facts-stats.aspx |title=Facts & Stats |publisher=[[Vancouver International Airport]] |access-date=June 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614115658/http://www.yvr.ca/en/about/facts-stats.aspx |archive-date=June 14, 2012}}</ref> and the second-largest gateway on the west coast of North America for international passengers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 15, 2012 |title=British Columbia Provincial Profile – Invest in Canada |url=http://investincanada.gc.ca/eng/publications/british-columbia-profile.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204043130/http://investincanada.gc.ca/eng/publications/british-columbia-profile.aspx |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |access-date=November 3, 2024 |website=investincanada.gc.ca}}</ref> [[Helijet|HeliJet]] and [[Floatplane|float plane]] companies operate scheduled air service from Vancouver harbour and YVR south terminal. Two [[BC Ferries|BC Ferry]] terminals also serve the city. One is to the northwest at [[Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal|Horseshoe Bay]] in [[West Vancouver]], and the other is to the south at [[Tsawwassen ferry terminal|Tsawwassen]] in [[Delta, British Columbia|Delta]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bcferries.com/ |title=BC Ferries |publisher=British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. |year=2009 |access-date=November 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021210835/http://www.bcferries.com/ |archive-date=October 21, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Sports and recreation==
{{Main|Sports in Vancouver}}
[[File:3rd Beach, Vancouver, BC - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Third Beach]] is one of many beaches located in Vancouver. Given the city's proximity to the ocean and mountains, the area is a popular destination for outdoor recreation.]]
The city's mild climate and proximity to the ocean, mountains, rivers and lakes make the area a popular destination for outdoor recreation. Vancouver has over {{cvt|1298|ha|acre}} of parks, of which [[Stanley Park]], at {{cvt|404|ha|acre}}, is the largest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vancouver.ca/parks/info/aboutus/index.htm |title=About the Park Board |publisher=Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201142621/http://vancouver.ca/parks/info/aboutus/index.htm |archive-date=December 1, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The city has several large beaches, many adjacent to one another, extending from the shoreline of Stanley Park around False Creek to the south side of English Bay, from Kitsilano to the [[University Endowment Lands]], (which also has beaches that are not part of the city proper). The {{cvt|18|km}} of beaches include Second and Third Beaches in Stanley Park, English Bay (First Beach), Sunset, [[Kitsilano Beach]], Jericho, Locarno, [[Spanish Banks]], Spanish Banks Extension, Spanish Banks West, and [[Wreck Beach]]. There is also a freshwater beach at Trout Lake in [[John Hendry Park]]. The coastline provides for many types of water sports, and the city is a popular destination for boating enthusiasts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vancouver.ca/parks/rec/beaches/index.htm |title=Recreation: Beaches |publisher=Vancouver Park Board |year=2009 |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202065448/http://vancouver.ca/parks/rec/beaches/index.htm |archive-date=December 2, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Within a 20- to 30-minute drive from downtown Vancouver are the [[North Shore Mountains]], with three ski areas: [[Cypress Mountain Ski Area|Cypress Mountain]], [[Grouse Mountain]], and [[Mount Seymour]]. [[Mountain biking|Mountain bikers]] have created world-renowned trails across the North Shore. The [[Capilano River]], Lynn Creek and Seymour River, also on the North Shore, provide opportunities to [[whitewater]] enthusiasts during periods of rain and spring melt. However, the canyons of those rivers are more utilized for hiking and swimming than whitewater.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metrovancouver.org/SERVICES/PARKS_LSCR/REGIONALPARKS/Pages/CapilanoRiver.aspx |title=Capilano River |publisher=Metro Vancouver |year=2009 |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203232456/http://www.metrovancouver.org/SERVICES/PARKS_LSCR/REGIONALPARKS/Pages/CapilanoRiver.aspx |archive-date=February 3, 2010}}</ref>

Running races include the [[Vancouver Sun Run]] (a {{cvt|10|km|adj=mid}} race) every April; the [[Vancouver Marathon]], held every May; and the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon held every June. The [[Grouse Mountain|Grouse Grind]] is a {{cvt|2.9|km|mi|adj=on}} climb up Grouse Mountain, open throughout the summer and fall months, including the annual Grouse Grind Mountain Run. Hiking trails include the [[Baden-Powell Trail]], an arduous {{cvt|42|km|mi|-long|adj=mid}} hike from [[West Vancouver]]'s [[Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver|Horseshoe Bay]] to [[Deep Cove, North Vancouver|Deep Cove]] in the [[North Vancouver (district municipality)|District of North Vancouver]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.car-free.ca/bc-car-free/hiking/baden-powell-centennial-trail.html |title=Baden-Powell Centennial Trail |first=Brian |last=Grover |publisher=BC Car-Free |year=2009 |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402110037/http://www.car-free.ca/bc-car-free/hiking/baden-powell-centennial-trail.html |archive-date=April 2, 2010}}</ref>
[[File:BC Place Stadium - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|[[BC Place]] is a multi-purpose stadium that is home to the [[BC Lions]] of the [[Canadian Football League|CFL]] and the [[Vancouver Whitecaps FC]] of [[Major League Soccer|MLS]].]]
Vancouver is also home to notable [[Cycle sport|cycling races]]. During most summers since 1973, the [[Gastown Grand Prix|Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix]] has been held on the cobblestone streets of [[Gastown]]. This race and the UBC Grand Prix are part of BC Superweek, an annual series of professional cycling races in Metro Vancouver.

The [[British Columbia Derby]] is a nine-furlong horse race held at the Hastings Racecourse in the third week of September.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hastingsracecourse.com/ |title=Hastings Racecourse |access-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723031640/https://www.hastingsracecourse.com/ |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, Metro Vancouver hosted the [[World Police and Fire Games]]. [[Swangard Stadium]], in the neighbouring city of [[Burnaby]], hosted games for the [[2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup]].<ref name="V2010" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadasoccer.com/news/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=2610 |title=Canada's World Cup team opens camp in Vancouver |publisher=[[Canadian Soccer Association]] |date=January 17, 2007 |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605031124/http://www.canadasoccer.com/news/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=2610 |archive-date=June 5, 2011}}</ref>

Vancouver, along with Whistler and Richmond, was the host city for the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] and the [[2010 Winter Paralympics]]. On June 12, 2010, it played host to [[UFC 115|Ultimate Fighting Championship 115]] (UFC 115), which was the fourth [[Ultimate Fighting Championship|UFC]] event to be held in Canada (and the first outside [[Montreal]]).

In 2011, Vancouver hosted the [[Grey Cup]], the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL) championship game, which is awarded every year to a different city that has a CFL team. The [[BC Titans]] of the [[International Basketball League]] played their inaugural season in 2009, with home games at the [[Langley Events Centre|Langley Event Centre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bctitans.ca/index.php/about/presidents-message |title=Welcome from the President |last=Mara |first=Jonathan |publisher=Vancouver Titans |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301041038/http://www.bctitans.ca/index.php/about/presidents-message |archive-date=March 1, 2010}}</ref> Vancouver is a centre for the fast-growing sport of [[Ultimate (sport)|ultimate]]. During the summer of 2008 Vancouver hosted the World Ultimate Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=0a120960-f84f-4be8-a965-320e1ae147d1 |title=World Ultimate Championships come to Vancouver |access-date=December 5, 2009 |first=Jenny |last=Lee |date=July 30, 2008 |work=Vancouver Sun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101184300/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=0a120960-f84f-4be8-a965-320e1ae147d1 |archive-date=January 1, 2011}}</ref>

The [[Vancouver Canucks]] are an [[ice hockey]] team in the [[National Hockey League]] and have played there since 1970.

The [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) expanded into Vancouver in 1995 with the establishment of the [[Vancouver Grizzlies]]. They played their games at GM Place (now [[Rogers Arena]]). After six years in Vancouver, the team relocated to [[Memphis, Tennessee]] in 2001.
[[File:Towelpower.jpg|thumb|The [[Vancouver Canucks]] are an [[National Hockey League|NHL]] team who play their home games in [[Rogers Arena]].]]
In 2015, Vancouver was one of six venues for the [[2015 FIFA Women's World Cup]] and hosted the [[2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final|Final game]] between the United States and Japan. Vancouver is one of two Canadian cities hosting matches during the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=J. J. |date=June 17, 2022 |title=Game On: Vancouver crowned as 2026 FIFA World Cup host city |url=https://theprovince.com/sports/soccer/international-soccer/game-on-vancouver-crowned-as-2026-fifa-world-cup-host-city |work=The Province |access-date=December 27, 2022 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616213928/https://theprovince.com/sports/soccer/international-soccer/game-on-vancouver-crowned-as-2026-fifa-world-cup-host-city |url-status=live}}</ref>

Vancouver is Canada's fittest major city, with an obesity rate of only 17.4%, compared to the national average of 24.8%. It is only surpassed by [[Kelowna|Kelowna, British Columbia]] with a rate of 17% and followed by [[Victoria, British Columbia]] at 19.6%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kelowna, Vancouver show lowest obesity levels: Stats Canada – BC |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/1362940/kelowna-vancouver-show-lowest-obesity-levels-stats-canada/ |access-date=November 5, 2022 |website=Global News |archive-date=November 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105213648/https://globalnews.ca/news/1362940/kelowna-vancouver-show-lowest-obesity-levels-stats-canada/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Overall, the province of British Columbia has the [[Obesity in Canada|lowest obesity rate in Canada]], followed by Quebec at 2nd and Ontario at 3rd.

===Current professional teams===
{{Further|List of professional sports teams in British Columbia}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+<!-- sort by establishment -->
|-
! scope="col"|Professional team
! scope="col"|League
! scope="col"|Sport
! scope="col"|Venue
! scope="col"|Established
! scope="col"|Championships
|-
| [[BC Lions]]
| [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL)
| [[Canadian football|Football]]
| [[BC Place]]
| 1954
| 6
|-
| [[Vancouver Canucks]]
| [[National Hockey League]] (NHL)
| [[Ice hockey]]
| [[Rogers Arena]]
| 1970<br />(1945: [[Pacific Coast Hockey League|PCHL]])
| 0 (6 in previous leagues)
|-
| [[Vancouver Canadians]]
| [[Northwest League]]<br />(NWL)
| [[Baseball]]
| [[Nat Bailey Stadium]]
| 2000
| 4
|-
|[[Vancouver Whitecaps FC]]
|[[Major League Soccer]] (MLS)
|[[Association football|Soccer]]
|[[BC Place]]
| 2009<br />(1974: [[North American Soccer League (1968–84)|NASL]])
| 0 (7 in previous leagues)
|-
|[[BC Bears]]
|[[Canadian Rugby Championship]] (CRC)
|[[Rugby Union]]
|[[Thunderbird Stadium]]
| 2009
| 2
|-
| [[Vancouver Warriors]]
| [[National Lacrosse League]] (NLL)
| [[Box Lacrosse]]
| [[Rogers Arena]]
| 2014
| 0 (1 as the [[Washington Stealth]])
|-
| [[Vancouver Goldeneyes]]
| [[Professional Women's Hockey League]]
| [[Ice hockey]]
| [[Pacific Coliseum]]
| 2025
| 0 
|}

==Sustainability==
[[File:Vancouver street recycling.JPG|thumb|Container recycling, paper recycling and garbage bins in Vancouver]]
The City of Vancouver is a member of [[Metro Vancouver]], which provides sustainable regional services<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/strategic-directions/Pages/default.aspx |title=Board Strategic Plan |publisher=metrovancouver |access-date=August 23, 2021 |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190407/http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/strategic-directions/Pages/default.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> to the [[Greater Vancouver]] area. The city electrical grid is serviced by [[BC Hydro]], which claims 97.8% of the energy it generates is clean owing to the extensive use of [[hydroelectric]] power generation.<ref>{{cite web |title=BC Hydro quick facts |url=https://www.bchydro.com/content/dam/BCHydro/customer-portal/documents/corporate/accountability-reports/financial-reports/annual-reports/BCHydro-Quick-Facts-20190331.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627210808/https://www.bchydro.com/content/dam/BCHydro/customer-portal/documents/corporate/accountability-reports/financial-reports/annual-reports/BCHydro-Quick-Facts-20190331.pdf |archive-date=June 27, 2021 |access-date=August 23, 2021 |publisher=[[BC Hydro]]}}</ref> The City of Vancouver is the greenest city in Canada according to an independent ongoing urban ecological footprint study.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://greenscore.eco/city_index_scoreboard.html |title=Comprehensively Answers How green is my city? |website=greenscore.eco |access-date=August 23, 2021 |archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819034508/https://greenscore.eco/city_index_scoreboard.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Vancouver's greenest city action plan|Greenest City action plan]] (GCAP) is a City of Vancouver urban sustainability initiative. Its primary mission was to ensure Vancouver would become the greenest city in the world by 2020. The GCAP originated based on the 2009 work of the Greenest City Action Team, a committee co-chaired by Vancouver mayor [[Gregor Robertson (politician)|Gregor Robertson]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Canada's greenest mayor |url=https://www.corporateknights.com/channels/leadership/canadas-greenest-mayor-14321016/ |last=Runnalls |first=Jeremy |newspaper=Corporate Knights |date=May 20, 2015 |access-date=August 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817111720/https://www.corporateknights.com/channels/leadership/canadas-greenest-mayor-14321016/ |archive-date=August 17, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The GCAP was approved by Vancouver city council in July 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Greenest City Action Plan |url=https://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/greenest-city-action-plan.aspx |publisher=City of Vancouver |access-date=August 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723194605/https://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/greenest-city-action-plan.aspx |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2018, the [[Zero Waste]] 2040 Strategy was passed<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/vancouver-votes-to-ban-single-use-straws-foam-cups-and-take-out-containers/ |title=Vancouver votes to ban single-use straws, foam cups and take-out containers |date=May 17, 2018 |work=[[CTV News]] |access-date=July 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729081424/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/vancouver-votes-to-ban-single-use-straws-foam-cups-and-take-out-containers-1.3933955 |archive-date=July 29, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The city began work the same year on decreasing the amount of single-use items distributed in the city. It intended to ban these items by 2021 if businesses do not meet reduction targets. As part of the plan, a ban on [[drinking straw|plastic straws]], [[polystyrene]] food packaging and free shopping bags was to go into effect in mid-2019.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-vancouver-to-be-first-major-canadian-city-to-ban-plastic-straws/ |title=Vancouver to be first major Canadian city to ban plastic straws |last=Woods |first=Melanie |date=May 17, 2018 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |access-date=July 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810193203/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-vancouver-to-be-first-major-canadian-city-to-ban-plastic-straws/ |archive-date=August 10, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2022, the city council passed a regulation mandating that businesses charge a $0.25 fee on single-use cups. This decision was criticized because the fees stayed within the business and were not re-invested in city-wide environmental efforts. On March 28, 2023, the council enacted a by-law that repealed all single-use cup fees.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouvers-single-use-cup-fee-to-be-dropped-may-1 |title=Vancouver's single-use cup fee to be dropped May 1 |date=March 28, 2023 |work=[[Vancouver Sun]] |access-date=December 15, 2023 |archive-date=March 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329052950/https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouvers-single-use-cup-fee-to-be-dropped-may-1 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Twin towns – sister cities==
The City of Vancouver was one of the first cities in Canada to enter into an international [[sister cities]] arrangement.<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Smith |first1=Patrick J. |last2=Stewart |first2=Kennedy |author-link2=Kennedy Stewart (Canadian politician) |year=2003 |title=Beavers and Cats Revisited: Creatures and Tenants versus Municipal Charter(s) and Home Rule |url=http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/Arch/03/03-2/Kennedy_and_Stewart.pdf |conference=Municipal–Federal–Provincial Relations Conference |publisher=School of Public Policy, Queen's University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726045528/http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/Arch/03/03-2/Kennedy_and_Stewart.pdf |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |access-date=December 1, 2009}}</ref> Special arrangements for cultural, social and economic benefits have been created with these sister cities.<ref name="aboutvancouver" /><ref name="Vancouver">{{cite web |url=http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20080311/documents/a14.pdf |title=Vancouver Twinning Relationships |publisher=City of Vancouver |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205010523/http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20080311/documents/a14.pdf |archive-date=February 5, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Yokohama">{{cite web |url=http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/tourism/mame/a3000.html |title=Eight Cities/Six Ports: Yokohama's Sister Cities/Sister Ports |publisher=Yokohama Convention & Visitors Bureau |access-date=December 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827064945/http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/tourism/mame/a3000.html |archive-date=August 27, 2009}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" "text-align:left;"
! scope="col"|Country
! scope="col"|Municipality<ref name="YVRS">{{cite web |title=International and consular relationships |url=http://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/international-relationships.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228041514/http://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/international-relationships.aspx |archive-date=February 28, 2018 |access-date=April 8, 2016 |publisher=City of Vancouver}}</ref>
! scope="col"|Year
|-
| Ukraine
| [[Odesa]]
| 1944
|-
| Japan
| [[Yokohama]]
| 1965
|-
| Scotland
| [[Edinburgh]]
| 1978
|-
| China
| [[Guangzhou]]
| 1985
|-
| United States
| [[Los Angeles]]
| 1986
|}

== Notable people ==
{{Main|List of people from Vancouver}}

==See also==
{{portal|border=no|Canada|Cities|Pacific Northwest}}
* [[East Vancouver]]
* [[Gentrification of Vancouver]]
* [[Leaky condo crisis]]
* [[History of Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh longshoremen, 1863–1963]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Constance |first=Brissenden |year=2006 |title=Vancouver: A Pictorial Celebration Including Vancouver Island, Victoria, and Whistler |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RueT_ObLDlUC&q=Vancouver&pg=PP1 |publisher=Penn Publishing Ltd |isbn=1-4027-2386-5 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213155302/https://books.google.com/books?id=RueT_ObLDlUC&q=Vancouver&pg=PP1 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Jollota |first=Pat |year=2007 |title=Downtown Vancouver |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZqR-XpI9esC&q=Vancouver&pg=PP1 |publisher=Arcadia |isbn=978-0-7385-2959-2 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-date=October 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019152140/https://books.google.com/books?id=oZqR-XpI9esC&q=Vancouver&pg=PP1 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Lance |first=Berelowitz |year=2005 |title=Dream City: Vancouver and the Global Imagination |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=57KZJ-aKlScC&q=Vancouver&pg=PP1 |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |isbn=1-55365-170-7 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-date=August 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815114212/https://books.google.com/books?id=57KZJ-aKlScC&q=Vancouver&pg=PP1 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Vogel |first1=Aynsley |first2=Dana |last2=Wyse |year=2009 |title=Vancouver : a history in photographs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O1PUPDLl8z0C&q=Vancouver&pg=PP1 |publisher=Heritage House Pub. Co |isbn=978-1-894974-88-2 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213155302/https://books.google.com/books?id=O1PUPDLl8z0C&q=Vancouver&pg=PP1 |url-status=live}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|Vancouver|voy=Vancouver|collapsible=collapsed}}
*{{official website}}

{{Adjacent communities <!-- for directly adjacent jurisdictions -->
| NW = [[West Vancouver]]<br />''[[Burrard Inlet]]''
| North = [[Capilano Indian Reserve No.5|Capilano IR No.5]], [[North Vancouver (district municipality)|District of N. Vancouver]], [[North Vancouver (city)|City of N. Vancouver]]<br />''[[Burrard Inlet]]''
| NE = [[North Vancouver (district municipality)|District of North Vancouver]]<br />''[[Burrard Inlet]]''
| W = [[University Endowment Lands]]
| Centre = Vancouver
| E = [[Burnaby]]
| SW = [[Musqueam 2]]
| South = ''[[Fraser River]] (North Arm)''<br />[[Richmond, British Columbia|Richmond]]
| SE = 
}}
{{Vancouver|state=autocollapse}}
<!--- {{Census metropolitan areas in Canada by size}} --->
{{Navboxes|list =
{{Vancouver landmarks}}
{{Metro Vancouver}}
{{VancouverNeighbourhoods}}
{{Subdivisions of British Columbia|city=yes}}
{{Olympic Winter Games Host Cities}}
{{Paralympic Winter Games Host Cities}}
{{Commonwealth Games Host Cities}}
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{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vancouver| ]]
[[Category:1886 establishments in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Cities in British Columbia]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Canada]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1886]]
[[Category:Populated places in Greater Vancouver]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Fraser River]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns on the Canadian Pacific coast]]