British Columbia and Otala lactea: Difference between pages

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{{Taxobox
{{Infobox Province or territory of Canada
| name = ''Marmorana''
|Name = British Columbia
| image =
|AlternateName = Colombie-Britannique
| image_width =
|EntityAdjective = Provincial
| image_caption =
|Flag = Flag of British Columbia.svg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
|CoatOfArms = Coat of Arms of British Columbia.png
| phylum = [[Mollusca]]
|Map = British Columbia, Canada.svg
| classis = [[Gastropoda]]
|Motto = ''{{lang-la|Splendor sine occasu}}''<br /><small>({{lang-en|Splendour without diminishment}})</small>
| ordo = [[Pulmonata]]
|OfficialLang = [[English language|English]] (''[[de facto]]'')
| familia = [[Helicidae]]
|Slogan = [[Beautiful British Columbia]]
|Flower = [[Pacific dogwood]]
| genus = ''[[Otala]]''
| species = ''O. lactea''
|Tree = [[Western Redcedar]]
| binomial = '''''Otala lactea'''''
|Bird = [[Steller's Jay]]
| binomial_authority = (Müller, 1774)
|Animal = [[Spirit Bear]]
|Capital = [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]]
|LargestCity = [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]]
|LargestMetro = [[Metro Vancouver]]
|Premier = [[Gordon Campbell (Canadian politician)|Gordon Campbell]]
|PremierParty = [[British Columbia Liberal Party|BC Liberal]]
|Viceroy = [[Steven Point]]
|ViceroyType = Lieutenant-Governor
|PostalAbbreviation = BC
|PostalCodePrefix = [[List of V Postal Codes of Canada|V]]
|AreaRank = 5th
|TotalArea_km2 = 944735
|LandArea_km2 = 925186
|WaterArea_km2 = 19549
|PercentWater = 2.1
|PopulationRank = 3rd
|Population = 4,428,356 (est.)<ref>{{cite web | author= Statistics Canada|publisher= |title= Canada's population estimates 2008-06-25 |accessdate=2008-06-25 |url=http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080625/d080625b.htm}}</ref>
|PopulationYear = 2008
|DensityRank = 7th
|Density_km2 = 4.7
|GDP_year = 2006
|GDP_total = C$179.701&nbsp;billion<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/econ15.htm|title=Statistics Canada Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory}}</ref>
|GDP_rank = 4th
|GDP_per_capita = C$41,689
|GDP_per_capita_rank = 7th
|AdmittanceOrder = 6th province
|AdmittanceDate = 20 July 1871
|TimeZone = [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]−8 & −7
|HouseSeats = 36
|SenateSeats = 6
|ISOCode = CA-BC
|Website = www.gov.bc.ca

}}
}}
'''British Columbia''' ({{IPAEng|ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə}}) ('''BC''') ({{audio2|En-ca-BritishColumbia.ogg}} ({{lang-fr|la Colombie-Britannique}}, ''C.-B.'') is the westernmost of [[Canada]]'s [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provinces]] and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, ''Splendor sine occasu'' ("Splendour without Diminishment"). It was the sixth province to join the [[Canadian Confederation]].

The capital of British Columbia is [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]], the [[List of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada|15th largest metropolitan region]] in Canada. The largest city is [[Vancouver]], Canada's third-largest [[metropolitan area]] and the second-largest in the [[Pacific Northwest]].

==Etymology==
The province's name was chosen by [[Queen Victoria]] when [[Colony of British Columbia|the Mainland became a British colony]] in 1858. It references the [[Columbia District]], the British name for the territory drained by the [[Columbia River]], which has its origins and upper reaches in southeastern British Columbia, which was the namesake of the pre-[[Oregon Treaty]] [[Columbia District|Columbia Department]] of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]]. Queen Victoria chose ''British'' Columbia to distinguish what was the British sector of the Columbia District from that of the [[United States]] ("American Columbia" or "Southern Columbia"), which became the [[Oregon Territory]] in 1848 as a result of the treaty.<!--ref in Akriggs, not sure of pp. nos.--><!--alt names considered including New Caledonia, which the region had been known until its incorporation as a colony, and others, have to check-->

==Geography==
{{main|Geography of British Columbia}}
[[Image:Bcmap.PNG|left|thumb|200px|Cities of British Columbia; Regional District boundaries shown]]
[[Image:BC-relief.png|left|thumb|200px|Physical map of British Columbia]]
[[Image:Strait of Georgia.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[Strait of Georgia]], near [[Vancouver]]]]

British Columbia is bordered by the [[Pacific Ocean]] on the west, by the [[U.S. state]] of [[Alaska]] on the northwest, and to the north by the [[Yukon]] and the [[Northwest Territories]], on the east by the province of [[Alberta]], and on the south by the U.S. states of [[Washington]], [[Idaho]], and [[Montana]]. The current southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, although its history is tied with lands as far south as the [[California]] border. British Columbia's land area is 944,735 square kilometres (364,764 square miles). [[British Columbia Coast|British Columbia's rugged coastline]] stretches for more than {{convert|27000|km}}, and includes deep, mountainous fjords and about 6,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited.

[[Image:Cheakamuslake.JPG|left|thumb|200px|[[Cheakamus Lake]] at dawn, in [[Garibaldi Provincial Park]], B.C.]]

British Columbia's capital is Victoria, located at the southeastern tip of [[Vancouver Island]]. Its most populous city is Vancouver, located in southwest corner of the mainland called the [[Lower Mainland]]. Other major cities include [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]], [[Burnaby, British Columbia|Burnaby]], [[Coquitlam, British Columbia|Coquitlam]], [[Richmond, British Columbia|Richmond]], [[Delta, British Columbia|Delta]], and [[New Westminster, British Columbia|New Westminster]] in the [[Lower Mainland]]; [[Abbotsford, British Columbia|Abbotsford]], [[Pitt Meadows, British Columbia|Pitt Meadows]] and [[Langley, British Columbia (district municipality)|Langley]] in the [[Fraser Valley]]; [[Nanaimo, British Columbia|Nanaimo]] on [[Vancouver Island]]; and [[Kelowna, British Columbia|Kelowna]] and [[Kamloops, British Columbia|Kamloops]] in the [[Interior Plateau|Interior]]. [[Prince George, British Columbia|Prince George]] is the largest city in the northern part of the province, while a village northwest of it, [[Vanderhoof, British Columbia|Vanderhoof]], is near the geographic centre of the province.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Vanderhoof
| publisher = Tourism BC
| url = http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/RegionsCities/Vanderhoof.htm
| accessdate = 2007-04-26}}</ref>

[[Image:Mount Robson2.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[Mount Robson]], [[Canadian Rockies]], B.C.]]

The [[Coast Mountains]] and the [[Inside Passage]]'s many [[fjord|inlets]] provide some of British Columbia's renowned and spectacular scenery, which forms the backdrop and context for a growing outdoor adventure and [[ecotourism]] industry. Seventy-five percent of the province is mountainous (more than {{convert|1000|m}} above sea level); 60% is forested; and only about 5% is arable. The [[Okanagan]] area is one of three wine-growing regions in Canada and also produces excellent [[cider]]s. The city of [[Penticton, British Columbia|Penticton]], and rural towns of [[Oliver, British Columbia|Oliver]], and [[Osoyoos, British Columbia|Osoyoos]] have some of the warmest and longest summer climates in Canada, although their temperature ranges are exceeded by the warmer Fraser Canyon towns of [[Lillooet, British Columbia|Lillooet]] and [[Lytton, British Columbia|Lytton]], where shade temperatures on summer afternoons often surpass {{convert|40|°C}} but with very low humidity.

Much of the western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by [[temperate rain forest]]. This region, which includes parts of the west coast of the [[United States]], is one of a mere handful of such temperate rain forest [[ecosystem]]s in the world (notable others being in [[Turkey]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Chile]], [[New Zealand]], [[Tasmania]], and the [[Russian Far East]]). The province's mainland away from the coastal regions is not as moderated by the [[Pacific Ocean]] and ranges from desert and [[semi-arid]] plateau to the range and canyon districts of the interior plateau. A few [[British Columbia Southern Interior|southern interior]] valleys have short cold winters with infrequent heavy snow, while those in the Cariboo, the northern part of the Central Interior, are colder because of their altitude and latitude, but without the intensity or duration experienced at similar latitudes elsewhere in Canada. The northern two-thirds of the province is largely unpopulated and undeveloped, and is mostly mountainous except east of the Rockies, where the Peace River District <!--called Peace River Block historically...-->in the northeast of the province contains BC's portion of the Canadian Prairies.

===Parks and protected areas===
[[Image:TakakkawFalls2 edit.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Yoho National Park]]

There are 14 designations of parks and protected areas in the province that reflects the different administration and creation of these areas in a modern context. There are 141 ecological Reserves, 35 provincial marine parks, 7 Provincial Heritage Sites, 6 National Historic Sites, 4 National Parks and 3 National Park Reserves. 12.5% (114,000&nbsp;km²) of British Columbia is currently considered protected under one of the 14 different designations that includes over 800 distinct areas.

British Columbia contains seven of [[National Parks of Canada|Canada's national parks]]:
*[[Glacier National Park (Canada)|Glacier National Park]]
*[[Gulf Islands National Park Reserve]]
*[[Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site]]
*[[Kootenay National Park]]
*[[Mount Revelstoke National Park]]
*[[Pacific Rim National Park Reserve]]
*[[Yoho National Park]]

British Columbia also contains a large network of [[provincial park]]s, run by [[BC Parks]] of the Ministry of Environment. British Columbia's provincial parks system is the second largest parks system in Canada (the largest is Canada's National Parks system).

In addition to these areas, over 4.7 million hectares of arable land are protected by the [[Agricultural Land Reserve]].

==History==
{{main|History of British Columbia}}

===Fur trade and colonial eras===
The discovery of stone tools on the [[Beatton River]] near [[Fort St. John, British Columbia|Fort St. John]] date human habitation in British Columbia to at least 11,500 years ago. The [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast]] spread throughout the region, achieving a high [[population density]]; at the time of European contact, nearly half the aboriginal people in present-day Canada lived in the region.
[[Image:Kwakiutl house pole InvMH975-123-1 .jpg|thumb|right|100px|[[Kwakwaka'wakw]] house pole, second half of the 19th century]]

The explorations of [[James Cook]] in the 1770s and [[George Vancouver]] in 1792 established British jurisdiction over the coastal area north and west of the [[Columbia River]]. In 1793, [[Sir Alexander Mackenzie]] was the first European to journey across [[North America]] overland to the [[Pacific Ocean]], inscribing a stone marking his accomplishment on the shoreline of [[Dean Channel]] near [[Bella Coola, British Columbia|Bella Coola]]. His expedition theoretically established British sovereignty inland, and a succession of other fur company explorers charted the maze of rivers and mountain ranges between the [[Canadian Prairies]] and the Pacific. Mackenzie and these other explorers&mdash;notably [[John Finlay]], [[Simon Fraser (explorer)|Simon Fraser]], [[Samuel Black]], <!--also John Campbell and others but they're less well-known, though in some ways no less important; Black in particular-->and [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]]&mdash;were primarily concerned with extending the [[fur trade]], rather than political considerations. In 1794, by the third of a series of agreements knowns as the [[Nootka Conventions]], [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] conceded its claims of exclusivity in the Pacific. This opened the way for formal claims and colonization by other powers, including Britain, but because of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] there was little British action on its claims in the region until later.

Their establishment of trading posts under the auspices of the [[North West Company]] and the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (HBC), however, effectively established a permanent British presence in the region, which (south of 54°40′ north latitude, the southern limit of [[Russian colonization of the Americas|Russian America]]) was, as of the [[Anglo-American Convention of 1818]], under the "joint occupancy and use" of citizens of the United States and subjects of Britain (which is to say, the fur companies). This co-occupancy was ended with the Oregon Treaty of 1846.

Some of these early posts grew into settlements, communities, and cities. Among the places in British Columbia that began as fur trading posts are [[Fort St. John, British Columbia|Fort St John]] (established 1794); [[Hudson's Hope]] (1805); [[Fort Nelson, British Columbia|Fort Nelson]] (1805); [[Fort St. James]] (1806); [[Prince George, British Columbia|Prince George]] (1807); [[Kamloops]] (1812); [[Fort Langley, British Columbia|Fort Langley]] (1827); [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]] (1843); [[Yale, British Columbia|Yale]] (1848); and [[Nanaimo]] (1853). Fur company posts that became cities in what is now the United States include [[Vancouver, Washington]] ([[Fort Vancouver]]), formerly the "capital" of Hudson's Bay operations in the Columbia District, [[Colville, Washington]] and [[Walla Walla, Washington]].

With the amalgamation of the two fur trading companies in 1821, the region now comprising British Columbia existed in three fur trading departments. The bulk of the central and northern interior was organized into the [[New Caledonia (Canada)|New Caledonia]] district, administered from Fort St. James. The interior south of the [[Thompson River]] [[drainage basin|watershed]] and north of the Columbia was organized into the [[Columbia District]], administered from Fort Vancouver. The northeast corner of the province east of the [[Canadian Rockies|Rockies]], known as the [[Peace River Block]], was attached to the much larger Athabasca District, headquartered in [[Fort Chipewyan]], in present day Alberta.

Until 1849, these districts were a wholly unorganized area of [[British North America]] under the de facto jurisdiction of HBC administrators. Unlike [[Rupert's Land]] to the north and east, however, the territory was not a concession to the company. Rather, it was simply granted a monopoly to trade with the First Nations inhabitants. All that was changed with the westward extension of American exploration and the concomitant overlapping claims of territorial sovereignty, especially in the southern [[Columbia Basin|Columbia basin]] (within present day Washington state and [[Oregon]]). In 1846, the Oregon Treaty divided the territory along the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]] to [[Georgia Strait]], with the area south of this boundary, excluding Vancouver Island and the [[Gulf Islands]]) transferred to sole American sovereignty. The [[Colony of Vancouver Island]] was created in 1849, with Victoria designated as the capital. New Caledonia, as the whole of the mainland rather than just its north-central Interior came to be called, continued to be an unorganized territory of British North America, "administered" by individual HBC trading post managers.

With the [[Fraser Canyon Gold Rush]] in 1858, an influx of Americans into New Caledonia prompted the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|colonial office]] to formally designate the mainland as the [[Colony of British Columbia]], with [[New Westminster]] as its capital. A series of gold rushes in various parts of the province followed, the largest being the [[Cariboo Gold Rush]] in 1862, forcing the colonial administration into deeper debt as it struggled to meet the extensive infrastructure needs of far-flung boom communities like [[Barkerville]] and Lillooet, which sprang up overnight. The Vancouver Island colony was facing financial crises of its own, and pressure to merge the two eventually succeeded in 1866.

===Rapid growth and development===
[[Image:LastSpike Craigellachie BC Canada.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal|Lord Strathcona]] drives the Last Spike of the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], at [[Craigellachie, British Columbia|Craigellachie]], 7 November 1885. Completion of the [[transcontinental railroad]] was a condition of entry into [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]].]]

The Confederation League led by such figures as [[Amor De Cosmos]], [[John Robson]], and [[Robert Beaven]] had long led the chorus pressing for the colony to join Canada, which had been created out of three British North American colonies in 1867. Several factors motivated this agitation, including the fear of annexation to the United States, the overwhelming debt created by rapid population growth, the need for government-funded services to support this population, and the economic depression caused by the end of the gold rush. With the agreement by the Canadian government to extend the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] to British Columbia and to assume the colony's debt, British Columbia became the sixth province to join [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]] on 20 July 1871. The borders of the province were not completely settled until 1903, however, when the province's territory shrank somewhat after the [[Alaska Boundary Dispute]] settled the vague boundary of the [[Alaska Panhandle]].

Population in British Columbia continued to expand as the province's [[mining]], [[forestry]], [[agriculture]], and [[fishery|fishing]] sectors were developed. Mining activity was particularly notable in the [[Boundary Country]], in the [[Slocan]], in the [[West Kootenay]] around [[Trail, British Columbia|Trail]], the [[East Kootenay]] (the southeast corner of the province), the [[Fraser Canyon]], the [[Cariboo District|Cariboo]] and elsewhere. Agriculture attracted settlers to the fertile [[Fraser Valley]], and cattle ranchers and later fruit growers came to the drier grasslands of the Thompson River area, the [[Cariboo]], the [[Chilcotin District|Chilcotin]], and the [[Okanagan]]. Forestry drew workers to the lush [[temperate rain forest]]s of the coast, which was also the locus of a growing [[fishery]].

The completion of the railway in 1885 was a huge boost to the province's economy, facilitating the transportation of the region's considerable resources to the east. The booming logging town of Granville, near the mouth of the [[Burrard Inlet]] was selected as the terminus of the railway, prompting the incorporation of the community as Vancouver in 1886. The completion of the [[Port of Vancouver]] spurred rapid growth, and in less than fifty years the city surpassed [[Winnipeg, Manitoba]], as the largest in western Canada. The early decades of the province were ones in which issues of land use&mdash;specifically, its settlement and development&mdash;were paramount. This included expropriation from [[First Nations]] people of their land, control over its resources, as well as the ability to trade in some resources (such as the fishery). Establishing a [[labour force]] to develop the province was problematic from the start, and British Columbia was the locus of immigration from Europe, [[China]], and [[Japan]]. The influx of a non-Caucasian population stimulated resentment from the dominant ethnic groups, resulting in agitation (much of it successful) to restrict the ability of Asian people to immigrate to British Columbia through the imposition of a [[head tax]]. This resentment culminated in mob attacks against Chinese and Japanese immigrants in Vancouver in 1887 and 1907. By 1923, almost all [[Chinese Immigration Act, 1923|Chinese immigration had been blocked]] except for merchants and investors

Meanwhile, the province continued to grow. In 1914, the last spike of a second transcontinental rail line, the [[Grand Trunk Pacific Railway|Grand Trunk Pacific]], linking north-central British Columbia from the [[Yellowhead Pass]] through [[Prince George, British Columbia|Prince George]] to [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia|Prince Rupert]] was driven at [[Fort Fraser]]. This opened up the north coast and the [[Bulkley Valley]] region to new economic opportunities. What had previously been an almost exclusively fur trade and subsistence economy soon became a locus for forestry, farming, and mining.

===1920s through 1940s===
When the men returned from [[World War I]], they discovered the recently-enfranchised women of the province had helped vote in the [[prohibition]] of liquor in an effort to end the social problems associated with the hard-core drinking that Vancouver and the rest of the province was famous for until the war. Because of pressure from veterans, prohibition was quickly relaxed so that the "soldier and the working man" could enjoy a drink, but widespread unemployment among veterans was hardened by many of the available jobs being taken by European immigrants and disgruntled veterans organized a range of "soldier parties" to represent their interests, variously named Soldier-Farmer, Soldier-Labour, and [[Labour candidates and parties in Canada|Farmer-Labour]] Parties. These formed the basis of the fractured labour-political spectrum that would generate a host of fringe leftist and rightist parties, including those who would eventually form the [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation|Co-operative Commonwealth]] and the early [[British Columbia Social Credit Party|Social Credit]] splinter groups.
[[Image:Japanese internment camp in British Columbia.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Internment camp for the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] during [[World War II]]]]

The advent of [[prohibition in the United States]] created new opportunities, and many found employment or at least profit in cross-border liquor smuggling. Much of Vancouver's prosperity and opulence in the 1920s results from this "pirate economy", although growth in forestry, fishing and mining continued. The end of U.S. prohibition, combined with the onset of the [[Great Depression]], plunged the province into economic destitution. Compounding the already dire local economic situation, tens of thousands of men from colder parts of Canada swarmed into Vancouver, creating huge [[hobo]] jungles around [[False Creek]] and the Burrard Inlet [[Classification yard|rail yards]], including the old Canadian Pacific Railway mainline right-of-way through the heart of the city's downtown (at Hastings and Carrall). Increasingly desperate times led to intense political organizing efforts, an occupation of the main Post Office at Granville & Hastings which was violently put down by the police and an effective imposition of [[martial law]] on the docks for almost three years. A Vancouver contingent for the [[On-to-Ottawa Trek]] was organized and seized a train, which was loaded with thousands of men bound for the capital but was met by a [[Gatling gun]] straddling the tracks at Mission; the men were arrested and sent to work camps for the duration of the Depression.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}

There were some signs of economic life beginning to return to normal towards the end of the 1930s, but it was the onset of World War II which transformed the national economy and ended the hard times of the Depression. Because of the war effort, women entered the workforce as never before.

British Columbia has long taken advantage of its location on the Pacific Ocean to have close relations with [[East Asia]]. However, this has often caused friction between cultures which have caused occasional displays of animosity toward Asian immigrants. This was most manifest during the Second World War when many people of [[Japan]]ese descent were relocated or interned in the Interior of the province. Conversely, there have also been historically high rates of intermarriage and other examples of inter-racial harmony, cooperation and integration

===Coalition and the post-War boom===
During [[World War II]] the mainstream [[Liberal|British Columbia Liberal Party]] and [[Conservative|British Columbia Conservative Party]] Parties of British Columbia united in a formal [[coalition government]] under new Liberal leader [[John Hart (premier)|John Hart]], who replaced [[Duff Pattullo]] when the latter failed to win a majority in the [[British Columbia general election, 1941|1941 election]]. While the Liberals won the most number of seats, they actually received fewer votes than the socialist [[New Democratic Party of British Columbia|Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]] (CCF). Pattullo was unwilling to form a coalition with the rival Conservatives led by [[Royal Lethington Maitland]] and was replaced by Hart who formed a coalition cabinet made up of five Liberal and three Conservative ministers.<ref name=con/> The CCF was invited to join the coalition but refused.<ref name=con/> The pretext for continuing the coalition after the end of World War II was to prevent the CCF, which had won a surprise victory in [[Saskatchewan]] in 1944, from ever coming to power in British Columbia. The CCF's popular vote was high enough in the [[British Columbia general election, 1945|1945 election]] that they were likely to have won three-way contests and could have formed government. However, the coalition prevented that by uniting the anti-[[socialism|socialist]] vote.<ref name=con/> In the post-war environment the government initiated a series of infrastructure projects, notably the completion of [[British Columbia Highway 97|Highway 97]] north of Prince George to the Peace River Block, a section called the John Hart Highway and also public hospital insurance.

In 1947 the reins of the Coalition were taken over by [[Byron Ingemar Johnson]]. The Conservatives had wanted their new leader [[Herbert Anscomb]] to be premier, but the Liberals in the Coalition refused. Johnson led the coalition to the highest percentage of the popular vote in British Columbia history (61%) in the [[British Columbia general election, 1949|1949 election]]. This victory was attributable to the popularity of his government's spending programmes, despite rising criticism of corruption and abuse of power. During his tenure, major infrastructure continued to expand, and the agreement with [[Alcan]] to build the [[Kemano]]-[[Kitimat]] [[hydroelectricity|hydro]] and aluminum complex was put in place. Johnson achieved popularity for flood relief efforts during the 1948 flooding of the Fraser Valley, which was a major blow to that region and to the province's economy.

Increasing tension between the Liberal and Conservative coalition partners led the Liberal Party executive to vote to instruct Johnson to terminate the arrangement. Johnson ended the coalition and dropped his Conservative cabinet ministers, including [[Deputy Prime Minister|Deputy Premier]] and [[Finance minister|Finance Minister]] Herbert Anscomb, precipitating the [[British Columbia general election, 1952|general election of 1952]].<ref name=con>Hans J. Michelmann, David E. Smith, Cristine De Clercy ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=d7iLYjWHvS8C&pg=PA184&lpg=PA184&dq=herbert+anscomb+conservative&source=web&ots=KTErt15MJo&sig=5RoPyZ9ETqJHuxFIwKJGsSzGsG4#PPA184,M1 Continuity And Change in Canadian Politics: Essays in Honour of David E. Smith]'', University of Toronto Press (2006), page 184</ref> A referendum on electoral reform <!--in 1950? I think; BC referenda/plebiscites need a history/list article of their own--> prior to this election had instigated an elimination ballot (similar to a [[preferential voting|preferential ballot]]), where voters could select second and third choices. The intent of the ballot, as campaigned for by Liberals and Conservatives, was that their supporters would list the rival party in lieu of the CCF, but this plan backfired when a large group of voters from all major parties, including the CCF, voted for the fringe [[British Columbia Social Credit Party]] (Socreds), who wound up with the largest number of seats in the House (19), only one seat ahead of the CCF, despite the CCF having 34.3% of the vote to Social Credit's 30.18%. The Social Credit Party, led by rebel former Conservative MLA [[W.A.C. Bennett]], formed a [[minority government]] backed by the Liberals and Conservatives (with 6 and 4 seats respectively). Bennett began a series of fiscal reforms, preaching a new variety of [[populism]] as well as waxing eloquent on progress and development, laying the ground for a [[British Columbia general election, 1953|second election in 1953]] in which the new Bennett regime secured a majority of seats, with 38% of the vote.

===Growth of government in the economy===
[[Image:I 61926.gif|left|thumb|Premier [[W.A.C. Bennett]] and his wife accompany [[Princess Margaret]] in Victoria, August 1958. Bennett governed the province for an unprecedented twenty years]]

With the election of the Social Credit Party, British Columbia embarked a phase of rapid [[economic development]]. Bennett and his party governed the province for the next twenty years, during which time the government initiated an ambitious programme of infrastructure development, fuelled by a sustained economic boom in the forestry, mining, and energy sectors.

During these two decades, the government [[nationalization|nationalized]] British Columbia Electric and the British Columbia Power Company, as well as smaller electric companies, renaming the entity [[BC Hydro]]. By the end of the 1960s, several major dams had been begun or completed in — among others — the [[Peace River (Canada)|Peace]], [[Columbia River|Columbia]], and [[Nechako River]] watersheds. Major transmission deals were concluded, most notably the [[Columbia River Treaty]] between Canada and the United States. The province's economy was also boosted by unprecedented growth in the forest sector, as well as oil and gas development in the province's northeast.

The 1950s and 1960s were also marked by development in the province's transportation infrastructure. In 1960, the government established [[BC Ferries]] as a [[crown corporation]], in order to provide a marine extension of the provincial highway system. That system was improved and expanded through the construction of new highways and bridges, and paving of existing highways and provincial roads.

Vancouver and Victoria become cultural centres as poets, authors, artists, musicians, as well as dancers, actors, and ''haute cuisine'' chefs flocked to the beautiful scenery and warmer temperatures. Similarly, these cities have either attracted or given rise to their own noteworthy academics, commentators, and creative thinkers. Tourism also began to play an important role in the economy. The rise of Japan and other Pacific economies was a great boost to British Columbia's economy.

Politically and socially, the 1960s brought a period of significant social ferment. The divide between the [[Left-wing politics|political left]] and right, which had prevailed in the province since the Depression and the rise of the [[labour movement]], sharpened as so-called [[Capitalism|free enterprise]] parties coalesced into the defacto coalition represented by Social Credit — in opposition to the [[social democratic]] [[New Democratic Party]], the successor to the [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]]. As the province's economy blossomed, so did labour-management tensions. Tensions emerged, also, from the counterculture movement of the late 1960s, of which Vancouver and Nanaimo were centres. The conflict between [[hippies]] and Vancouver mayor [[Tom Campbell (mayor)|Tom Campbell]] was particularly legendary, culminating in the so-called [[Gastown Riots]] of 1971. By the end of the decade, with social tensions and dissatisfaction with the [[status quo]] rising, the Bennett government's achievements could not stave off its growing unpopularity.

===1970s and 1980s===
On 27 August 1969, the Social Credit Party was re-elected in a general election for what would be Bennett's final term in power. At the start of the 1970s, the economy was quite strong because of rising coal prices and an increase in annual allowable cuts in the forestry sector. However, [[BC Hydro]] reported its first loss, which was [[Beginning of the End|the beginning of the end]] for Bennett and the Social Credit Party.<ref>{{Cite web | url= http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/PubDocs/bcdocs/37907/electoral_history.pdf | title= Electoral History of British Columbia 1871-1986 | author= Elections BC | year= 1998 | accessdate= 2007-04-26}}</ref>

The Socreds were forced from power in the August 1972 election, paving the way for a provincial [[New Democratic Party of British Columbia|New Democratic Party]] (NDP) government under [[Dave Barrett]]. Under Barrett, the large provincial surplus soon became a deficit, although changes to the accounting system makes it likely that some of the deficit was carried over from the previous Social Credit regime. The brief three year ("Thousand Days") period of NDP governance brought several lasting changes to the province, most notably the creation of the [[Agricultural Land Reserve]], intended to protect farmland from redevelopment, and the [[Insurance Corporation of British Columbia]], a crown corporation charged with a monopoly on providing single-payer basic automobile insurance.

Perceptions that the government had instituted reforms either too swiftly or that were too far-reaching, coupled with growing labour disruptions led to the ouster of the NDP in the [[British Columbia general election, 1975|1975 general election]]. Social Credit, under W.A.C. Bennett's son, [[Bill Bennett]], was returned to office. Under the younger Bennett's government, the province completed several projects, most notably the [[British Columbia Highway 5|Coquihalla Highway]] and [[Expo 86]] in Vancouver. The Coquihalla Highway project became the subject of a scandal after revelations that the premier's brother bought large tracts of land needed for the project before it was announced to the public. Nonetheless, the Socreds were re-elected in 1979 under Bennett, who led the party until 1986.
[[Image:DSCF1855.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The [[Coquihalla Highway]] was one of the legacies of [[Expo 86]]. The creation of the province's first (and so far only) [[toll road|toll highway]] sparked controversy]]

As the province entered a sustained [[recession]], the Socreds instituted a programme of fiscal restraint. This sparked a backlash, the so-called 1983 [[Solidarity Crisis]], when a huge grassroots opposition movement mobilized, consisting of organized labour and community groups. Tens of thousands participated in protests and many felt that a [[general strike]] would be the inevitable result unless the government backed down from its policies of restraint. The movement collapsed after an apparent deal was struck by union leader and [[International Woodworkers of America|IWA]] president, Jack Munro and Premier Bennett.<ref>{{cite book| last =Palmer| first =Bryan| title =Solidarity: The Rise and Fall of an Opposition in British Columbia| publisher =New Star Books| year= 1987| location =Vancouver| id = ISBN }}</ref>

[[Bill Vander Zalm]] became the new Socred leader and Premier in 1986 and led the party to victory in the election of that year. Vander Zalm was later involved in a [[conflict of interest]] scandal following the sale of [[Fantasy Gardens]], a [[Christian]] and [[Culture of the Netherlands|Dutch culture]] [[theme park]] built by the Premier, to [[Tan Yu]], a Taiwanese gambling kingpin. There were also concerns over Yu's application to the government for a bank licence. These scandals forced Vander Zalm's resignation, and [[Rita Johnston]] became premier of the province.

In 1988, [[David Lam|David See-Chai Lam]] was appointed by the [[Queen of Canada]] to become British Columbia’s twenty-fifth Lieutenant-Governor, and was the Province's first Lieutenant-Governor of Chinese origin.

===1990s to present===
Johnston lost the [[British Columbia general election, 1991|1991 general election]] to the NDP, under the leadership of [[Michael Harcourt|Mike Harcourt]], a former [[List of mayors of Vancouver|mayor of Vancouver]]. Although the unprecedented creation of new parkland and protected areas was popular and helped boost the province's growing [[tourism]] sector, the economy continued to struggle against the backdrop of a weak resource economy. Harcourt ended up resigning over "[[Bingogate]]"&mdash;a political scandal involving the funnelling of charity bingo receipts into the premier's party's coffers. Harcourt was not directly implicated, but he resigned nonetheless. [[Glen Clark]], a former president of the [[BC Federation of Labour]], was chosen the new leader of the party, which won a second term in 1996, even though it secured fewer total votes than the opposition BC Liberals. Clark's tenure marked a change in British Columbia. Unemployment and taxes rose and key industries struggled, which amounted to low economic growth levels.<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/pubs/lfs/lfs9812.pdf | title= BC Labour Market in 1998 | author= BC Statistics | year= 1998 | accessdate= 2007-04-26}}</ref> More scandals dogged the party, most notably the [[Fast Ferry Scandal]], involving the province trying to rebuild a shipbuilding industry in British Columbia. An allegation (never explicitly substantiated) that the Premier had received a favour in return for granting a gaming licence led to Clark's resignation as Premier. He was succeeded on an interim basis by [[Dan Miller]] who was in turn followed by [[Ujjal Dosanjh]]. For Dosanjh and the NDP, however, it was too late to save the party from near-oblivion in the next election.

In the 2001 general election [[Gordon Campbell (Canadian politician)|Gordon Campbell's]] [[British Columbia Liberal Party|BC Liberals]] soundly defeated the NDP party, gaining 77 out of 79 seats. Campbell instituted various reforms including scrapping the "fast ferries" project, lowering income taxes and selling [[BC Rail]] to CN Rail (sparking yet another scandal). Campbell was also the subject of scandal after he was arrested for [[driving under the influence]] during a vacation in [[Hawaii]]. However, Campbell still managed to lead his party to victory in the 2005 general election against a substantially strengthened NDP opposition, making him the first elected premier in over a decade to finish a term as premier without resigning, and the first premier to win back to back elections since Bill Bennett. Campbell's government successfully led the coalition to bring the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] to Vancouver. Under the Campbell regime the economy of British Columbia has revived substantially, aided significantly by improvements in global resource markets.<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://www.gov.bc.ca/bvprd/bc/content.do?brwId=%402IgL4%7C0YQtuW&navId=NAV_ID_province | title= Positive Economic Indicators | author= Government of British Columbia| accessdate= 2007-04-26}}</ref>

British Columbia has also been significantly affected by demographic changes within Canada and around the world. Vancouver (and to a lesser extent some other parts of British Columbia) was a major destination for many of the emigrants from [[Hong Kong]] who left the former UK colony (either temporarily or permanently) in the years immediately prior to its handover to the [[People's Republic of China]]. British Columbia has also been a significant destination for internal Canadian migrants. This has been the case throughout recent decades, because of its image of natural beauty, mild climate and relaxed lifestyle, but is particularly true during periods of economic growth. As a result, British Columbia has moved from approximately 10% of Canada's population in 1971 to approximately 13% in 2006. The final fundamental demographic shift is that away from rural British Columbia to urban centres, particularly the Lower Mainland. This trend has reversed itself to a limited degree in recent years with improved resource-economy prospects, but the [[Greater Vancouver]] metro area now includes 52% of the Province's population, followed in second place by [[Greater Victoria]].

===150th Anniversary of British Columbia (2008)===
In 2008, British Columbia celebrated the 150th anniversary of its designation as a [[Colony of British Columbia|crown colony]] (strictly speaking, it marks the anniversary of the mainland portion of the province gaining such status, [[Colony of British Columbia]]). At the same time, Victoria celebrated its 165th anniversary of its founding on the formerly separate [[Colony of Vancouver Island]]. On August 4, 2008, the main birthday party took place on the grounds of the [[British Columbia Parliament Buildings|legislature]] in Victoria, with approximately 40,000 people in attendance, along with Premier [[Gordon Campbell]], Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]], and others. Afterwards, [[Sarah McLachlan]], [[Burton Cummings]], [[Colin James]], and [[Feist]] performed for the crowd at a free concert.

Canadian [[Amateur radio operator|Amateur radio operators]] may also use special [[call sign]] prefixes from October 1 to November 30 as part of the annerversary.<ref>[http://www.rac.ca/regulatory/specialcalls.htm Special Event Callsigns - Radio Amatuers of Canada]</ref>
{{anchor|Culture}}

==Demographics==
[[Image:Yellowhead-pass sign.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Welcome sign at the province's border]]
{{main|Demographics of British Columbia}}
{{seealso|Cities in British Columbia|List of communities in British Columbia}}

===Population since 1851===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
!Year
!Population
!Five Year <br /> % change
!Ten Year <br /> % change
!Rank Among<br /> Provinces
|-
|1851 ||55,000 ||n/a ||n/a ||6
|-
|1861 ||51,524 ||n/a ||-6.3 ||6
|-
|1871 ||36,247 ||n/a ||-29.7 ||7
|-
|1881 ||49,459 ||n/a ||36.4 ||8
|-
|1891 ||98,173 ||n/a ||98.5 ||8
|-
|1901 ||178,657 ||n/a ||82.0 ||6
|-
|1911 ||392,480 ||n/a ||119.7 ||6
|-
|1921 ||524,582 ||n/a ||33.7 ||6
|-
|1931 ||694,263 ||n/a ||32.3 ||6
|-
|1941 ||817,861 ||n/a ||17.8 ||6
|-
|1951 ||1,165,210 ||n/a ||42.5 ||3
|-
|1956 ||1,398,464 ||20.0 ||n/a ||3
|-
|1961 ||1,629,082 ||16.5 ||39.8 ||3
|-
|1966 ||1,873,674 ||15.0 ||34.0 ||3
|-
|1971 ||2,184,620 ||16.6 ||34.1 ||3
|-
|1976 ||2,466,610 ||12.9 ||31.6 ||3
|-
|1981 ||2,744,467 ||11.3 ||25.6 ||3
|-
|1986 ||2,883,370 ||5.1 ||16.9 ||3
|-
|1991 ||3,282,061 ||13.8 ||19.6 ||3
|-
|1996 ||3,724,500 ||13.5 ||29.2 ||3
|-
|2001 ||3,907,738 ||4.9 ||19.1 ||3
|-
|2006 ||4,113,487 ||5.3 ||10.4 ||3
|}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62k.htm|title=Statistics Canada - Population}}</ref><ref>[http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060927/d060927a.htm Canada's population]. [[Statistics Canada]]. Last accessed September 28, 2006.</ref>

===Religion===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|+align=top|Religious groups in BC (1991 & 2001) & Canada (2001)
!
! 1991 BC %||2001 BC % ||2001 Canada % ||BC 2001 number
|-
| align=left | '''Total population''' ||100% ||100%||100%|| 3,868,875
|
|-
| align=left | '''Total Christian'''|| 64.3% || 55.7%||77%|| 2,124,615||
|-
| align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Protestant|| 41.9% || 31.4%||29%|| 1,213,295
|-
| align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Catholic||18.3%||17.2%||44%|| 675,320
| Align=left width=35% style="font-size:70%"|includes Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic .
|-
| align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Christian Orthodox||0.7%||0.9%||2%||35,655
|-
| align=left style="text-indent:10px"| Christian n. i. e.|| 2.7% || 5.2%||3%|| 200,345
| Align=left style="font-size:70%"|Includes mostly answers of 'Christian', not otherwise stated
|-
| align=left | Sikh||2.3%|| 3.5% ||6%||450,310
|-
|align=left | Buddhist||1.1%|| 2.2%||1%||85,540
|-
| align=left | Muslim||0.8%|| 1.5%||2%||56,220
|-
| align=left | Hindu|| 0.6%|| 0.8%||1%||31,500
|-
| align=left | Jewish|| 0.5% || 0.5%||1%||21,230
|-
| align=left | Eastern religions|| || 0.3%||0.1%|| 9,970
| Align=left style="font-size:70%"|includes Baha'i, Eckankar, Jains, Shinto, Taoist, Zoroastrian and Eastern religions, not identified elsewhere
|-
| align=left | Other religions|| || 0.4%||0.2%||16,205
| Align=left style="font-size:70%"|includes Aboriginal spirituality, Pagan, Wicca, Unity - New Thought - Pantheist, Scientology, Rastafarian, New Age, Gnostic, Satanist, etc.
|-
| align=left | No religious affiliation|| 30.0% || 35.9% || 17% || 1,388,300
| Align=left style="font-size:70%"|includes Agnostic, Atheist, Humanist, and No religion, and other responses, such as Darwinism, etc.
|-
|}<ref>[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/rel/tables/provs/bcmajor.cfm Statistics Canada].</ref><ref>[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/prprofile/prprofile.cfm?G=59 Statistics Canada].</ref>

The largest denominations by number of adherents according to the 2001 census were none (atheist, agnostic, etc) with 1,388,300 (35.9%); the [[Roman Catholic Church]] with 666,905 (17 %); the [[United Church of Canada]] with 361,840 (9 %); and the [[Anglican Church of Canada]] with 298,375 (8 %).<ref>http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/Religion/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&View=1a&Code=59&Table=1&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=59&B2=All</ref>

===Ethnic groups===
The following statistics represent both single (e.g., "German") and multiple (e.g., "part Chinese, part English") responses to the 2001 Census, and thus do not add up to 100%. Likewise "Canadian" is not necessarily associated with any ethnic or racial group, but simply with self-identification as a Canadian, of whatever ethnic backgrounds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo26k.htm|title=2001 Canadian Census}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" align="left"
!Ethnic Origin
!Population
!Percent
|-
|[[English people|English]]
|1,144,335
|29.6%
|-
|[[English Canadian|Canadian]] / [[Canadien]]
|939,460
|24.3%
|-
|[[Scottish people|Scottish]]
|748,905
|19.4%
|-
|[[Irish people|Irish]]
|562,895
|14.5%
|-
|[[Ethnic German|German]]
|500,675
|12.9%
|-
|[[Overseas Chinese|Chinese]]
|373,830
|9.7%
|-
|[[French people|French]]
|331,535
|8.6%
|-
|[[Indo-Canadian|East Indian]]
|183,650
|4.75%
|-
|[[Dutch people|Dutch (Netherlands)]]
|180,635
|4.7%
|-
|[[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]]
|178,880
|4.6%
|-
|[[First Nations|North American Indian]]
|175,085
|4.5%
|-
|[[Italian people|Italian]]
|126,420
|3.3%
|-
|[[Norwegian people|Norwegian]]
|112,045
|2.9%
|-
|[[Poles|Polish]]
|107,340
|2.8%
|-
|[[Swedish people|Swedish]]
|89,630
|2.3%
|-
|[[Welsh people|Welsh]]
|86,710
|2.2%
|-
|[[Russians|Russian]]
|86,110
|2.2%
|-
|[[Filipino people|Filipino]]
|69,345
|1.8%
|-
|[[Demographics of the United States|American (USA)]]
|59,075
|1.5%
|-
|[[Danish people|Danish]]
|49,685
|1.3%
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
!Ethnic Origin
!Population
!Percent
|-
|[[Métis people (Canada)|Métis]]
|45,455
|1.2%
|-
|[[Hungarians|Hungarian]]
|43,515
|1.1%
|-
|[[Japanese people|Japanese]]
|37,385
|1.0%
|-
|[[Austrian people|Austrian]]
|36,850
|1.0%
|-
|[[Spanish people|Spanish]]
|33,945
|0.9%
|-
|[[Korean people|Korean]]
|32,200
|0.8%
|-
|[[Jewish people|Jewish]]
|31,280
|0.8%
|-
|[[British people|British]]
|30,630
|0.8%
|-
|[[Portuguese people|Portuguese]]
|30,085
|0.8%
|-
|[[Finnish people|Finnish]]
|27,270
|0.7%
|-
|[[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]]
|27,190
|0.7%
|-
|[[Swiss people|Swiss]]
|23,895
|0.6%
|-
|[[Iranian people|Iranian]]
|21,910
|0.6%
|-
|[[Romanians|Romanian]]
|19,910
|0.5%
|-
|[[Icelanders|Icelandic]]
|19,155
|0.5%
|-
|[[Czech people|Czech]]
|17,865
|0.5%
|-
|[[Greeks|Greek]]
|17,705
|0.5%
|-
|[[Punjabi people|Punjabi]]
|16,565
|0.4%
|-
|[[Croatian people|Croatian]]
|16,285
|0.4%
|-
|[[Belgian people|Belgian]]
|14,555
|0.4%
|-
|}
British Columbia has a very [[Multiculturalism|diverse ethnic]] population, with a large number of [[Immigration to Canada|immigrants]] having lived in the province for 30 years or less. [[Asians]] are by far the largest [[visible minority]] demographic, with many of the [[Lower Mainland]]'s large cities having sizable Chinese, [[South Asian]], Japanese, [[Philippines|Filipino]], and [[Korea]]n communities. Within the South Asian communities, the [[Sikh]] population is the most notable in extent, especially in [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]] and [[South Vancouver]].

Also present in large numbers relative to other cities in Canada (except [[Toronto]]), and ever since the province was first settled (unlike Toronto), are many European ethnicities of the first and second generation, notably [[German Canadians|Germans]], [[Scandinavians]], [[Demographics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavs]] and [[Italian Canadians|Italians]]; third-generation Europeans are generally of mixed lineage, and traditionally intermarried with other ethnic groups more than in any other Canadian province. First-generation [[British people|Britons]] remain a strong component of local society despite limitations on [[immigration]] from Britain since the ending of special status for British subjects in the 1960s. It is the only province where "English" ethnicity gets more response than "Canadian". [[American ancestry]] is under-reported; many Americans crossed into British Columbia during 19th century gold rushes and political turmoil like the [[Vietnam War]].

The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "[[French-Canadian]]" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Figures shown are the total number of responses and the percentage of the 3,868,875 responses to this question in the 2001 Census. Groups with more than 12,000 responses are included.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/ETO/Table1.cfm?T=501&Lang=E&GV=1&GID=59&S=1&O=D|1|title=Statistics Canada. "British Columbia ethno-cultural profile"}}</ref>

===Language===
Of the 4,113,847 population counted by the 2006 census, 4,074,385 people completed the section about language. Of these 4,022,045 gave singular responses to the question regarding [[First language|mother tongue]]. The languages most commonly reported were the following:

{| class="wikitable" align="left"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
!Language
!Number of <br />native speakers
!Percentage of <br />singular responses
|-
|[[English language|English]]
|2,875,770
|71.5%
|-
|[[Chinese languages]]
|342,920
|8.5%
|-
|[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
|158,750
|4.0%
|-
|[[German language|German]]
|86,690
|2.2%
|-
|[[French language|French]]
|54,745
|1.4%
|-
|[[Tagalog language|Tagalog (Filipino/Philipino)]]
|50,425
|1.3%
|-
|[[Korean language|Korean]]
|46,500
|1.2%
|-
|[[Spanish language|Spanish]]
|34,075
|0.9%
|-
|[[Persian language|Persian (Farsi)]]
|28,150
|0.7%
|-
|[[Italian language|Italian]]
|27,020
|0.7%
|-
|[[Dutch language|Dutch (Nederlands)]]
|26,355
|0.7%
|-
|[[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]
|24,560
|0.7%
|-
|[[Hindi]]
|23,240
|0.6%
|-
|[[Japanese language|Japanese]]
|20,040
|0.5%
|-
|[[Russian language|Russian]]
|19,320
|0.5%
|-
|[[Polish language|Polish]]
|17,565
|0.4%
|-
|[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
|14,385
|0.4%
|-
|[[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
|12,285
|0.3%
|-
|[[Hungarian language|Hungarian (Magyar)]]
|10,670
|0.3%
|-
|[[Croatian language|Croatian]]
|8,505
|0.2%
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" align="left"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
!Language
!Number of <br />native speakers
!Percentage of <br />singular responses
|-
|[[Arabic language|Arabic]]
|8,440
|0.2%
|-
|[[Urdu]]
|7,025
|0.2%
|-
|[[Danish language|Danish]]
|6,720
|0.2%
|-
|[[Greek language|Greek]]
|6,620
|0.2%
|-
|[[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
|6,565
|0.2%
|-
|[[Romanian language|Romanian]]
|6,335
|0.2%
|-
|[[Serbian language|Serbian]]
|6,180
|0.2%
|-
|[[Czech language|Czech]]
|6,000
|0.1%
|-
|[[Finnish language|Finnish]]
|4,770
|0.1%
|-
|[[Athabaskan languages]]
|3,500
|0.1%
|-
|[[Slovak language|Slovak]]
|3,490
|0.1%
|-
|[[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]
|3,275
|0.1%
|-
|[[Tamil language|Tamil]]
|3,200
|0.1%
|-
|[[Salishan languages|Salish languages]]
|3,190
|0.1%
|-
|[[Ilokano language|Ilocano]]
|3,100
|0.1%
|-
|[[Malay language|Malay]]
|3,100
|0.1%
|-
|[[Visayan languages|Bisayan languages]]
|3,035
|0.1%
|-
|[[Swedish language|Swedish]]
|2,875
|0.1%
|-
|[[Turkish language|Turkish]]
|2,255
|0.1%
|-
|[[Tsimshianic languages|Tsimshian languages]]
|2,125
|0.1%
|-
|}
<br clear=left>
Numerous other languages were also counted, but only languages with more than 2,000 native speakers are shown. <br />(Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses)<ref>{{cite paper|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?ALEVEL=3&APATH=3&CATNO=&DETAIL=0&DIM=&DS=99&FL=0&FREE=0&GAL=0&GC=99&GK=NA&GRP=1&IPS=&METH=0&ORDER=1&PID=89186&PTYPE=88971&RL=0&S=1&ShowAll=No&StartRow=1&SUB=701&Temporal=2006&Theme=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&GID=838062 | title=Detailed Mother Tongue (148), Single and Multiple Language Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data |year=2007}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[Image:Seabus Vancouver.jpg|Seabus leaving for North Vancouver.|thumb|right|[[Vancouver]] is the business capital of British Columbia]]
British Columbia has a resource dominated economy, centred on the [[forestry]] industry but also with increasing importance in [[mining]]. While employment in the resource sector has fallen steadily, unemployment is currently at a 30-year low of 4.5%.<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/ | title= BC Statistics | author= Ministry of Labour | accessdate= 2007-04-26}}</ref> New jobs are mostly in the construction and retail/service sectors. Known as [[Hollywood North]], the Vancouver region is the third-largest feature film production location in North America, after [[Los Angeles]] and [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://www.vancouvereconomic.com/key_sectors/film_tv.htm Film and Development | title= Film and TV | author= Vancouver Economic Development | yar= 2005 | accessdate= 2007-04-26}}</ref> [[Cannabis (drug) cultivation|Marijuana cultivation]] also plays an important role in British Columbia's economy, and according to some it plays a bigger role than forestry.<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://cannabisnews.com/news/15/thread15232.shtml | title= B.C. -- a Pot-Friendly, Pot-Profitable Province | author= Cannabis News | yar=2003 | accessdate= 2007-12-10}}</ref>

The economic history of British Columbia is replete with tales of [[economic cycle|dramatic upswings and downswings]], and this [[boom and bust]] pattern has influenced the politics, culture and business climate of the province. Economic activity related to mining in particular has widely fluctuated with changes in commodity prices over time, with documented costs to community health.<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/ubcreports/2005/05oct06/mining.html | title= Hard on Health of Mining Communities | author= University of British Columbia | authorlink = University of British Columbia | month= September | year=2006 | accessdate= 2007-04-26}}</ref>

==Transportation==
Transportation played a major role in British Columbia history. The Rocky Mountains and the ranges west of them constituted a significant obstacle to overland travel until the completion of the transcontinental railway in 1885. The Peace River Canyon through the Rocky Mountains was the route that the earliest explorers and fur traders used. Fur trade routes were only marginally used for access to British Columbia through the mountains. Travel from the rest of Canada before 1885 meant the difficulty of overland travel via the United States, around [[Cape Horn]] or overseas from Asia. Nearly all travel and freight to and from the region occurred via the Pacific Ocean, primarily through the ports of Victoria and New Westminster.

Until the 1930s, rail was the only means of overland travel to and from the rest of Canada; travellers using motor vehicles needed to journey through the United States. With the construction of the Inter-Provincial Highway in 1932 (now known as the [[Crowsnest Pass Highway]]), and later the [[Trans-Canada Highway]], road transportation evolved into the preferred mode of overland travel to and from the rest of the country.

===Roads and highways===
{{main|List of British Columbia provincial highways}}
[[Image:AlexFraserBridge.jpg|right|thumb|320px|[[Alex Fraser Bridge]] on [[British Columbia Highway 91|Highway 91]] in Richmond/Delta]]

Because of its size and rugged, varying topography, British Columbia requires thousands of kilometres of provincial highways to connect its communities. British Columbia's roads systems were notoriously poorly maintained and dangerous until a concentrated programme of improvement was initiated in the 1950s and 1960s. There are now freeways in the Lower Mainland and Central Interior of the province, and much of the rest of the province is accessible by well-maintained two lane arterial highways with additional passing lanes in mountainous areas. The building and maintenance of provincial highways is the responsibility of the provincial government.

There are four major routes through the Rocky Mountains to the rest of Canada. From south to north they are: The Crowsnest Pass Highway through [[Sparwood, British Columbia|Sparwood]], the Trans-Canada Highway through [[Banff National Park]], the [[Yellowhead Highway]] through [[Jasper National Park]], and [[British Columbia Highway 2|Highway 2]] through [[Dawson Creek, British Columbia|Dawson Creek]]. There are also several highway crossings to the adjoining American states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The longest highway is [[British Columbia Highway 97|Highway 97]], running {{convert|2081|km}} from the British Columbia-Washington border at [[Osoyoos]] north to [[Watson Lake, Yukon]].

As of 2008, provincial labour standards require that fuel purchases must be prepaid.{{Fact|date=August 2008}} The regulation - nicknamed "Grant's Law" - was enacted following the death of gas station employee Grant DePatie, who attempted to stop a theft of gasoline in 2005. British Columbia is the first province in Canada to enact such a rule.

====Public transit====
Prior to 1978, surface [[Public transport|public transit]] was administered by BC Hydro, the provincially-owned electricity utility. Subsequently, the province established [[BC Transit]] to oversee and operate all municipal transportation systems. In 1998, [[Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority]] ([[TransLink]]) (now South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority), a separate authority for the [[Greater Vancouver Regional District]] (now Metro Vancouver), was established.

Public Transit in British Columbia consists mainly of diesel buses, although Vancouver is also serviced by a fleet of [[trolleybus]]es. TransLink operates [[Vancouver SkyTrain|SkyTrain]], a [[Bombardier Advanced Rapid Transit|light rapid transit]] system serving Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and North Surrey. Presently, extensions of the line south to Richmond (the [[Canada Line]]) and east to Coquitlam and [[Port Moody, British Columbia|Port Moody]] (the [[Evergreen Line (Vancouver)|Evergreen Line]]) are being developed.

===Rail===
[[Image:Eastbound over SCB.jpg|thumb|right|200px|CPR train traversing the Stoney Creek Bridge]]

Rail development expanded greatly in the decades after the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885 and was the chief mode of long-distance surface transportation until the expansion and improvement of the provincial highways system began in the 1950s. Two major routes through the [[Yellowhead Pass]] competed with the Canadian Pacific Railway&mdash;the [[Grand Trunk Pacific Railway|Grand Trunk Pacific]], terminating at [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia|Prince Rupert]], and the [[Canadian National Railway]], terminating at Vancouver. The [[Pacific Great Eastern]] line supplemented this service, providing a north-south route between Interior resource communities and the coast. The Pacific Great Eastern(later known as British Columbia Railway and now owned by Canadian National Railway) connects [[Fort St. James, British Columbia|Fort St James]], [[Fort Nelson, British Columbia|Fort Nelson]], and [[Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia|Tumbler Ridge]] with [[North Vancouver, British Columbia (city)|North Vancouver]].

===Water===
[[BC Ferries]] was established as a provincial crown corporation in 1960 to provide passenger and vehicle ferry service between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland as a cheaper and more reliable alternative to the service operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It now operates 25 routes among the islands of British Columbia, as well as between the islands and the mainland. Ferry service to Washington is offered by the [[Washington State Ferries]] (between [[Sidney, British Columbia|Sidney]] and [[Anacortes, Washington|Anacortes]]) and [[M/V Coho|Black Ball Transport]] (between Victoria and [[Port Angeles, Washington]]). Ferry service over inland lakes and rivers is provided by the provincial government.

Commercial ocean transport is of vital importance. Major ports are located at Vancouver, Roberts Bank (near [[Tsawwassen, British Columbia|Tsawwassen]]), Prince Rupert, and Victoria. Of these, the [[Port of Vancouver]] is the most important, being the largest in Canada and the most diversified in North America. Vancouver, Victoria, and Prince Rupert are also major ports of call for [[cruise ship]]s. In 2007, a large maritime [[Containerization|container port]] will be opened in [[Prince Rupert]] with an inland sorting port located in [[Prince George, British Columbia|Prince George]].

===Air===
There are over 200 airports located throughout British Columbia, the major ones being the [[Vancouver International Airport]], the [[Victoria International Airport]], the [[Kelowna International Airport]], and the [[Prince George Airport|Prince George International Airport]], the first three of which each served over 1,000,000 passengers in 2005. Vancouver International Airport is the second [[World's busiest airport|busiest airport]] in the country with an estimated 16 million travellers passing through in 2005.

==Government and politics==
{{main|Politics of British Columbia |Monarchy in British Columbia}}
[[Image:BC Legislature Buildings and Undersea Gardens.jpg|thumb|right|The Parliament Buildings in [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]]]]
[[Image:BC-Legislature.jpg|thumb|right|The chamber of the provincial legislature]]

The [[Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia]], [[Steven Point]], is the [[Queen of Canada]]'s representative in the Province of British Columbia. During the absence of the [[Lieutenant governor|lieutenant-governor]], the [[Cabinet of Canada|Governor General in Council]] may appoint an administrator to execute the duties of the office. In practice, this is usually the [[British Columbia Court of Appeal|Chief Justice of British Columbia]].<ref> [http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/const/c1867_e.html#provincial Executive Power in the Provinces] under the Constitutional Act, 1867.</ref>

British Columbia has a 79-member elected [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia|Legislative Assembly]], elected by the [[First Past the Post|plurality]] voting system, though in recent years there has been significant debate about switching to a [[BC-STV|single transferable vote]] system.

Currently, the province is governed by the [[British Columbia Liberal Party]] under Premier [[Gordon Campbell (Canadian politician)|Gordon Campbell]]. Campbell won the largest landslide election in British Columbia history in 2001 (77 of 79 seats), but the legislature is more evenly divided between Liberals and members of the [[social democracy|social democratic]] [[New Democratic Party of British Columbia|New Democratic Party]] (NDP) following the 2005 provincial election. Recent years have seen the [[Green Party of British Columbia]] becoming a serious contender with double digit support, though they have not yet won a seat in the legislature.

The British Columbia Liberal Party is not related to the federal Liberal Party and does not share the same ideology. Instead, the BC Liberal party is a rather diverse coalition, made up of the remnants of the Social Credit Party, many [[Liberal Party of Canada|federal Liberals]], federal Conservatives, and those who would otherwise support right-of-centre or free enterprise parties. Historically, there have commonly been [[third parties]] present in the legislature (including the Liberals themselves from 1952 to 1975), but there are presently none.

Prior to the rise of the Liberal Party, British Columbia's main political party was the [[British Columbia Social Credit Party]] which ruled British Columbia for 20 continuous years. While sharing some ideology with the current Liberal government, they were more right-wing although undertook [[nationalization]] of various important monopolies, notably [[BC Hydro]] and [[BC Ferries]]. In an April poll by polling firm [[Ipsos-Reid]], the BC Liberals were shown as having the support of 49% of voters, compared to 32% for the [[New Democratic Party of British Columbia|NDP]]. The next election is scheduled for May 2009.

British Columbia is known for having politically active labour [[trade union|unions]] who have traditionally supported the NDP or its predecessor, the CCF, although resource union members in many areas have in recent years shifted away from the NDP because of its environmental policies and the pro-industry ideology of the Liberals.

British Columbia's political history is typified by scandal and a cast of colourful characters, beginning with various colonial-era land scandals and abuses of power by early officials (such as those that led to [[McGowan's War]] in 1858-59). Notable scandals in Social Credit years included the [[Robert Bonner]] Affair, the [[Fantasy Gardens]] scandal which forced Premier [[William Vander Zalm|Bill Vander Zalm]] to resign and ended the Social Credit era, the [[Bingogate]] scandal which brought down NDP Premier [[Mike Harcourt]], the alleged scandal named [[Casinogate]] which drove NDP Premier [[Glen Clark]] to resign. A variety of scandals have plagued the current Liberal government, but with little apparent effect on the electorate, including the Premier's arrest for drunk driving in Maui and the resignation of various cabinet ministers because of conflict-of-interest allegations. A Christmas Eve [[BC Legislature Raids|raid on the Parliament Buildlings]] in Victoria, including the Premier's Office, has resulted in charges only for ministerial aides, although key cabinet members from the time have since resigned. The case, currently in preliminary hearings in the courts and relating to the sale of [[BC Rail]] to an American company, may not reach trial because of the mass of evidence and various procedural problems.

==Cities==
[[Image:BC-flag.jpg|right|thumb|The [[flag of British Columbia]] flying aboard the [[BC Ferries]] vessel ''MV [[Queen of Oak Bay]]'']]
{{seealso|List of British Columbia Regional Districts}}
Half of all British Columbians live in the [[Greater Vancouver Regional District]], which includes [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]], [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]], [[New Westminster, British Columbia|New Westminster]], [[West Vancouver, British Columbia|West Vancouver]], [[North Vancouver, British Columbia (city)|North Vancouver (city)]], [[North Vancouver, British Columbia (district municipality)|North Vancouver (district municipality)]], [[Burnaby, British Columbia|Burnaby]], [[Coquitlam, British Columbia|Coquitlam]], [[Port Coquitlam, British Columbia|Port Coquitlam]], [[Maple Ridge, British Columbia|Maple Ridge]], [[Langley, British Columbia (city)|Langley (city)]], [[Langley, British Columbia (district municipality)|Langley (district municipality)]], [[Delta, British Columbia|Delta]], [[Pitt Meadows, British Columbia|Pitt Meadows]], [[White Rock, British Columbia|White Rock]], [[Richmond, British Columbia|Richmond]], [[Port Moody, British Columbia|Port Moody]], [[Anmore, British Columbia|Anmore]], [[Belcarra, British Columbia|Belcarra]], [[Lions Bay, British Columbia|Lions Bay]] and [[Bowen Island, British Columbia|Bowen Island]], as well as 17 [[Indian reserve|Native reserves]] and the unincorporated [[regional district electoral area]] known as [[Greater Vancouver Electoral Area A, British Columbia|Greater Vancouver Electoral Area A]].

The second largest concentration of British Columbia population is located at the southern tip of [[Vancouver Island]], which is made up of the 13 municipalities of [[Greater Victoria]], ([[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]], [[Saanich, British Columbia|Saanich]], [[Esquimalt, British Columbia|Esquimalt]], [[Oak Bay, British Columbia|Oak Bay]], [[View Royal, British Columbia|View Royal]], [[Highlands, British Columbia|Highlands]], [[Colwood, British Columbia|Colwood]], [[Langford, British Columbia|Langford]], [[Central Saanich, British Columbia|Central Saanich]]/[[Saanichton, British Columbia|Saanichton]], [[North Saanich, British Columbia|North Saanich]], [[Sidney, British Columbia|Sidney]], [[Metchosin, British Columbia|Metchosin]], [[Sooke, British Columbia|Sooke]] and several [[Indian reserve|Native reserves]]), or the [[Capital Regional District, British Columbia|Capital Regional District]]. Almost half of the Vancouver Island population is located in Victoria.

<div style="clear: both"></div>
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=40%}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:20px;"
|+ Ten Largest Metropolitan Areas in BC by Population<ref>{{Cite web | url= http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CMA-P.cfm?T=1&SR=1&PR=59&S=3&O=D StatsCan | title= Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations | author= Statistics Canada | authorlink= Statistics Canada | year= 2002 | accessdate= 2007-04-26}}</ref>
!align=left|Community (includes metro areas)
!2006
!1996
|-
|align=left|[[Metro Vancouver|Vancouver]]
|align=right|2,215,200
|align=right|1,831,665
|-
|align=left|[[Greater Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]]
|align=right|330,088
|align=right|304,287
|-
|align=left|[[Regional District of Central Okanagan, British Columbia|Kelowna]]
|align=right|162,276
|align=right|136,349
|-
|align=left|[[Abbotsford, British Columbia|Abbotsford]]
|align=right|159,020
|align=right|136,480
|-
|align=left|[[Kamloops, British Columbia|Kamloops]]
|align=right|92,882
|align=right|85,407
|-
|align=left|[[Nanaimo, British Columbia|Nanaimo]]
|align=right|92,361
|align=right|82,691
|-
|align=left|[[Prince George, British Columbia|Prince George]]
|align=right|83,225
|align=right|87,731
|-
|align=left|[[Chilliwack, British Columbia|Chilliwack]]
|align=right|80,892
|align=right|66,254
|-
|align=left|[[Vernon, British Columbia|Vernon]]
|align=right|55,418
|align=right|49,701
|-
|align=left|[[Courtenay, British Columbia|Courtenay]]
|align=right|49,214
|align=right|46,297
|}
{{col-break|width=30%}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:20px;"
|+ Ten Largest Municipalities in BC by Population
!align=left|Municipality
!2006
!1996
|-
|align=left|[[Vancouver]]
|578,041
|514,008
|-
|align=left|[[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]] (Metro Vancouver)
|394,976
|304,477
|-
|align=left|[[Burnaby, British Columbia|Burnaby]] (Metro Vancouver)
|202,799
|179,209
|-
|align=left|[[Richmond, British Columbia|Richmond]] (Metro Vancouver)
|174,461
|148,867
|-
|align=left|[[Abbotsford, British Columbia|Abbotsford]]
|123,864
|104,403
|-
|align=left|[[Coquitlam, British Columbia|Coquitlam]] (Metro Vancouver)
|114,565
|101,820
|-
|align=left|[[Saanich, British Columbia|Saanich]]
|108,265
|101,388
|-
|align=left|[[Kelowna, British Columbia|Kelowna]]
|106,707
|89,422
|-
|align=left|[[Delta, British Columbia|Delta]] (Metro Vancouver)
|96,723
|95,411
|-
|align=left|[[Langley, British Columbia (district municipality)|Langley Township]] (Metro Vancouver)
|93,726
|80,179
|}
{{col-break|width=33%}}
[[Image:Okanagan Valley, overlooking Skaha Lake.jpg|thumb|200px|A view overlooking [[Skaha Lake]] in the [[Okanagan]] Valley, one of the driest regions of the [[British Columbia Interior|province's Interior.]]]]
{{col-end}}

;Other municipalities:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
: [[Abbotsford, British Columbia|Abbotsford]]
: [[Campbell River, British Columbia|Campbell River]]
: [[Chilliwack, British Columbia|Chilliwack]]
: [[Colwood, British Columbia|Colwood]]
: [[Courtenay, British Columbia|Courtenay]]
: [[Cranbrook, British Columbia|Cranbrook]]
: [[Dawson Creek, British Columbia|Dawson Creek]]
: [[Fernie, British Columbia|Fernie]]
: [[Fort St. John, British Columbia|Fort St. John]]
: [[Kamloops, British Columbia|Kamloops]]
: [[Kelowna, British Columbia|Kelowna]]
: [[Kimberley, British Columbia|Kimberley]]
{{col-break}}
: [[Langford, British Columbia|Langford]]
: [[Mission, British Columbia|Mission]]
: [[Nanaimo, British Columbia|Nanaimo]]
: [[North Cowichan, British Columbia|North Cowichan]]
: [[Penticton, British Columbia|Penticton]]
: [[Prince George, British Columbia|Prince George]]
: [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia|Prince Rupert]]
: [[Quesnel, British Columbia|Quesnel]]
: [[Saanich, British Columbia|Saanich]]
: [[Vernon, British Columbia|Vernon]]
: [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria (provincial capital)]]
: [[Williams Lake, British Columbia|Williams Lake]]
{{col-end}}
{{seealso|List of communities in British Columbia}}

==Ecology==
Much of the province is wild or semi-wild, so that populations of very many mammalian species that have become rare in much of the United States still flourish in British Columbia. Watching animals of various sorts, including a very wide range of [[birds]], has also long been popular. [[Bears]] (grizzly, black, and the [[Kermode bear]] or spirit bear—only found in British Columbia) live here, as do [[deer]], [[elk]], [[moose]], [[caribou]], [[big-horn sheep]], [[mountain goats]], [[marmots]], [[beavers]], [[muskrat]], [[coyotes]], [[wolves]], [[mustelids]] (such as [[wolverines]], [[badgers]] and [[fishers]]), [[mountain lions]], [[eagles]], [[osprey]]s, [[herons]], [[Canada geese]], [[swan]]s, [[loons]], [[hawks]], [[owls]], [[ravens]], [[harlequin duck]]s, and many other sorts of ducks. Smaller birds ([[American Robin|robins]], [[jays]], [[grosbeak]]s, [[chickadees]], etc.) also abound.

Healthy populations of many sorts of fish are found in the waters (including salmonids such as several species of [[salmon]], [[trout]], [[Salvelinus|char]], etc.). Besides salmon and trout, sport-fishers in B.C. also catch [[halibut]], [[steelhead]], [[Bass (fish)|bass]], and [[sturgeon]]. On the coastlines, [[harbour seal]]s and [[river otter]]s are common. [[Cetacean]] species native to the coast include the [[Orca]], [[Gray Whale]], [[Harbour Porpoise]], [[Dall's Porpoise]], [[Pacific White-Sided Dolphin]] and [[Minke Whale]].

British Columbian introduced species include: common [[dandelion]], [[ring-necked pheasant]], [[Pacific oyster]], [[brown trout]], black [[slug]], European [[starling]], [[cowbird]], [[knapweed]], [[bullfrog]], [[purple loosestrife]], [[Scotch broom]], European [[earwig]], [[tent caterpillar]], [[sowbug]], gray [[squirrel]], Asian long-horn [[beetle]], English [[ivy]], [[fallow deer]], [[thistle]], [[gorse]], Norway [[rat]], crested [[mynah]], and Asian or European [[gypsy moth]].

Some endangered species in British Columbia are: [[Vancouver Island Marmot]], spotted [[owl]], white [[pelican]], and [[badgers]].

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Type of organism
! Red-listed species in BC
! Total number of species in BC
|-
| Freshwater fish
| 24
| 80
|-
| Amphibians
| 5
| 19
|-
| Reptiles
| 6
| 16
|-
| Birds
| 34
| 465
|-
| Terrestrial mammals
| 11
| 104
|-
| Marine mammals
| 3
| 29
|-
| Plants
| 257
| 2333
|-
| Butterflies
| 12
| 187
|-
| Dragonflies
| 9
| 87
|}
As of 2001<ref>BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, Conservation Data Centre</ref>

==Recreation==
Given its varied mountainous terrain and its coasts, lakes, rivers, and forests, British Columbia has long been enjoyed for pursuits like hiking and camping, rock climbing and mountaineering, [[hunting]] and [[fishing]].

Water sports, both motorized and non-motorized, are enjoyed in many places. Sea [[kayak]]ing opportunities abound on the British Columbia coast with its [[fjords]]. [[Whitewater rafting]] and [[kayak]]ing are popular on many inland rivers. [[Sailing]] and [[sailboarding]] are widely enjoyed.
[[Image:Whistler ice sailor.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Ice sailing in [[Whistler, British Columbia|Whistler]]]]

In winter, cross-country and telemark skiing are much enjoyed, and in recent decades high-quality downhill skiing has been developed in the Coast Mountain range and the Rockies, as well as in the southern areas of the Shuswap Highlands and the [[Columbia Mountains]]. Snowboarding has mushroomed in popularity since the early 1990s. The [[2010 Winter Olympics]] downhill events will be held in [[Whistler-Blackcomb]] area of the province, while the indoor events will be in the Vancouver area.

In Vancouver and Victoria (as well as some other cities), opportunities for joggers and bicyclists have been developed. Cross-country bike touring has been popular since the ten-speed bike became available many years ago. Since the advent of more robust mountain bikes, trails in more rugged and wild places have been developed for them. Some of the province's retired rail beds have been converted and maintained for hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. [[Longboarding]] is also a popular activity because of the hilly geography of the region.

[[Horseback riding]] is enjoyed by many British Columbians. Opportunities for [[trail riding]], often into especially scenic areas, have been established for tourists in numerous areas of the province.

British Columbia also has strong participation levels in many other sports, including [[golf]], [[tennis]], [[Association football|soccer]], [[ice hockey|hockey]], [[Canadian football]], [[rugby union]], [[softball]], [[basketball]], [[curling]] and [[figure skating]]. British Columbia has produced many outstanding athletes, especially in aquatic and winter sports.

Consistent with both increased tourism and increased participation in diverse recreations by British Columbians has been the proliferation of [[Luxury resort|lodges]], [[chalet]]s, [[bed and breakfast]]s, motels, hotels, fishing camps, and park-camping facilities in recent decades.
[[Image:Cannabis sativa.jpg|130px|thumb|A crop of Cannabis Sativa, or "[[BC Bud]]"]]
In certain areas, there are businesses, non-profit societies, or municipal governments dedicated to promoting [[ecotourism]] in their region. A number of British Columbia farmers offer visitors to combine tourism with farm work, e.g. through the [[WWOOF]] Canada program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwoof.ca/|title=WWOOF - Willing Workers on Organic Farms, Canada}}</ref>


'''''Otala lactea''''', [[common name]]s, the milk snail, or Spanish snail, is a large, edible [[species]] of air-breathing land [[snail]], a [[terrestrial]] [[pulmonate]] [[gastropod]] [[mollusk]] in the family [[Helicidae]].
===Recreational cannabis===
A 2004 study (published 2006) by the [[University of Victoria]] Centre for Addictions Research of BC and [[Simon Fraser University]] Applied Research on Mental Health and Addictions indicated [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] use is more widespread among British Columbians than other Canadians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://communications.uvic.ca/releases/release.php?display=release&id=758|title=Cannabis Use Highest in BC}}</ref> However, a UN report published in July 2007 actually placed Quebec as the highest consumption province, citing 15.8% of Quebecers having used marijuana in a single year, versus 14.1% of Canadians nationally,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=89dd1b3f-eaf2-4945-99d9-de420f19dbd5&k=64745|title=Quebec gone to pot}}</ref> and resulted in Canada being placed first in the [[Developed country|industrialized world]] in marijuana use. With the actual growing of marijuana, British Columbia is responsible for 40% of all cannabis produced in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=21fd2469-4720-417e-b4ff-9e889f5588e8|title=Canada leads 'rich' world in using marijuana: UN}}</ref>


Synonyms include ''Helix lactea'' and ''Iberus alonensis''.
==See also==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
*Predating the Province of British Columbia:
**[[Oregon Country]]
**[[Oregon boundary dispute]]
**[[United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia]]
**[[Stikine Territory]]
*[[List of British Columbia-related topics]]
**[[List of British Columbians]]
***[[List of British Columbia premiers]]
***[[List of Lieutenant-Governors of British Columbia]]
**[[List of airports in British Columbia]]
**[[List of communities in British Columbia]]
**[[List of British Columbia Universities]]
**[[List of law enforcement agencies in British Columbia]]
**[[List of emergency organizations in British Columbia]]
**[[List of ghost towns in British Columbia]]
**[[List of Royal Navy ships in the Pacific Northwest]]
**[[Same-sex marriage in British Columbia]]
**[[Higher Education in British Columbia]]
{{col-break}}
*List of British Columbia-related topics-continued
**British Columbia health authorities
***[[Fraser Health]]
***[[Interior Health]]
***[[Provincial Health Services Authority]]
***[[Northern Health]]
***[[Vancouver Coastal Health]]
***[[Vancouver Island Health Authority]]
**[[Geography of British Columbia]]
***[[List of British Columbia rivers]]
***[[Kootenays]]
***[[Queen Charlotte Islands]]
***[[Sunshine Coast, British Columbia|Sunshine Coast]]
***[[Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains]]
**[[Scouting in British Columbia]]
**[[British Columbia Government Agencies and Crown Corporations]]
***[[British Columbia Utilities Commission]]
***[[Medical Services Plan]]
***[[Okanagan]]
{{col-end}}


==References==
==Distribution==
This species of snail is native to Europe. It has been introduced to the [[USA]], including [[Arizona]] and [[Florida]], and to [[Bermuda]], [[Cuba]], southeastern [[Australia]], etc.
{{reflist|2}}
*{{BCGNIS|39106}}


==External links==
==Anatomy==
This snail creates and uses [[love darts]] as part of its mating behavior.
{{Wikisource1911Enc|British Columbia}}
{{commons}}
* [http://www.hellobc.com/ Tourism British Columbia official website]
* [http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca Provincial Archives including online photo database]
* [http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/vpl B.C. Multicultural Photographs from the Vancouver Public Library - searchable photo database]
* [http://maps.gov.bc.ca/ BC Govt online map archive (free)]
* [http://bcprogressboard.com/ BC Progress Board (tracks economic and social indicators)]
{{portal}}
{{Subdivisions of British Columbia}}
{{Provinces and territories of Canada}}
{{coord|54|54|N|124|30|W|display=title|name=British Columbia}}


==References ==
[[Category:British Columbia]]
* http://www.jaxshells.org/706ut.htm]
[[Category:Provinces and territories of Canada]]
* http://www.manandmollusc.net/molluscan_food_files/molluscan_food_terrestrial_one.html]
* http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Zoo/9522/Otalalactea.html
* http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/225486


[[Category:Helicidae]]
[[af:Brits-Kolombië]]
[[ar:كولومبيا البريطانية]]
[[az:Britaniya Kolumbiyası]]
[[zh-min-nan:British Columbia]]
[[be:Правінцыя Брытанская Калумбія]]
[[bs:Britanska Kolumbija]]
[[br:Kolombia Vreizhveuriat]]
[[bg:Британска Колумбия]]
[[ca:Colúmbia Britànica]]
[[cs:Britská Kolumbie]]
[[cy:British Columbia]]
[[da:Britisk Columbia]]
[[de:British Columbia]]
[[et:Briti Columbia]]
[[el:Βρετανική Κολομβία]]
[[es:Columbia Británica]]
[[eo:Brita Kolumbio]]
[[eu:Britainiar Kolunbia]]
[[fa:بریتیش کلمبیا]]
[[fr:Colombie-Britannique]]
[[fy:Britsk-Kolumbia]]
[[ga:An Cholóim Bhriotanach]]
[[gd:Columbia Bhreatannach]]
[[gl:Columbia Británica - British Columbia]]
[[ko:브리티시컬럼비아 주]]
[[hr:Britanska Kolumbija]]
[[io:British Columbia]]
[[id:British Columbia]]
[[ia:Columbia Britannic]]
[[os:Бритайнаг Колумби]]
[[is:Breska Kólumbía]]
[[it:Columbia Britannica]]
[[he:קולומביה הבריטית]]
[[pam:British Columbia]]
[[ka:ბრიტანეთის კოლუმბია]]
[[kw:Kolombi Bredennek]]
[[la:Columbia Britannica]]
[[lt:Britų Kolumbija]]
[[lij:Columbia Britannega]]
[[hu:Brit Columbia]]
[[mk:Британска Колумбија]]
[[mr:ब्रिटिश कोलंबिया]]
[[nl:Brits-Columbia]]
[[ja:ブリティッシュコロンビア州]]
[[no:Britisk Columbia]]
[[nn:Britisk Columbia]]
[[pms:Columbia Britànica]]
[[pl:Kolumbia Brytyjska]]
[[pt:Colúmbia Britânica]]
[[ro:Columbia Britanică]]
[[ru:Британская Колумбия]]
[[simple:British Columbia]]
[[sk:Britská Kolumbia]]
[[sl:Britanska Kolumbija]]
[[sr:Британска Колумбија]]
[[sh:Britanska Kolumbija]]
[[fi:Brittiläinen Kolumbia]]
[[sv:British Columbia]]
[[ta:பிரிட்டிஷ் கொலம்பியா]]
[[th:รัฐบริติชโคลัมเบีย]]
[[vi:British Columbia]]
[[tr:Britanya Kolombiyası]]
[[uk:Британська Колумбія]]
[[vo:British Columbia]]
[[yi:בריטיש קאלאמביע]]
[[zh-yue:卑詩省]]
[[bat-smg:Brėtu Kolumbėjė]]
[[zh:不列颠哥伦比亚]]

Revision as of 20:57, 13 October 2008

Marmorana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
Order:
Pulmonata
Family:
Helicidae
Genus:
Otala
Species:
O. lactea
Binomial name
Otala lactea
(Müller, 1774)

Otala lactea, common names, the milk snail, or Spanish snail, is a large, edible species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae.

Synonyms include Helix lactea and Iberus alonensis.

Distribution

This species of snail is native to Europe. It has been introduced to the USA, including Arizona and Florida, and to Bermuda, Cuba, southeastern Australia, etc.

Anatomy

This snail creates and uses love darts as part of its mating behavior.

References

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