Vancouver

Vancouver (, ) is a coastal city and major seaport on the mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city has a population of over 630,000 and is the most populous city in British Columbia. Metro Vancouver has a population of over 2 million people, which makes it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, after Greater Toronto and Greater Montreal. Vancouver has a mix of people from different cultures, and 52% of its residents have a first language that is not English.

 History 

Native people began living in this area around 10,000-8,000 years ago.  These people were part of three main groups: the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh.

The city was incorporated in 1886 under the name "Vancouver", and was named after a British naval captain George Vancouver, who explored the area around Vancouver and Vancouver Island in the 1790s.

 Cityscape 
The University of British Columbia is in Vancouver.

Vancouver also has Stanley Park, which has beaches and totem poles. Nearby is Grouse Mountain, which has good skiing and has a  hiking trail which is known as the Grouse Grind. Grouse Mountain also has an animal sanctuary, including wolves and bears.

The Lions Gate Bridge is also in Stanley Park.

 Sports 
Vancouver has two ice hockey teams: the Vancouver Canucks, who play for the National Hockey League, and the Vancouver Giants, who play for the Western Hockey League.

The BC Lions of the Canadian Football League are based in Vancouver. The team has won six Grey Cups.

In soccer, Vancouver is home to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who play in the Major League Soccer (MLS).

The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, and it was the first time Canada won a gold medal in the Olympics on Canadian soil.

 Geography 

Lying within the Coast Mountains, Vancouver is located on the Burrard Peninsula on the West Coast of Canada, less than a one-hour drive north of the Canada–United States border, and is about  north of Seattle, Washington. Between mainland British Columbia and the Pacific Ocean, to the west, is a large island called Vancouver Island, which includes British Columbia's capital city, Victoria. Until the city was named in 1885, "Vancouver" referred to Vancouver Island; some people mistakenly think that the city is on Vancouver Island. Vancouver is also situated within the Pacific Maritime Ecozone, southwest of Calgary, Alberta. On the south shore of Vancouver is the Fraser River, which flows west into the Strait of Georgia. The water along the north shore of the city is called Burrard Inlet. The Trans-Canada Highway (TCH), Canada's longest national highway, passes through the northeastern portion of Vancouver. The city has an area of 114 square kilometres (44 square miles); the larger metropolitan area is 2,878 square kilometres (1,111 square miles). As with most of British Columbia, Vancouver is in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8). The North Shore Mountains dominate Vancouver's cityscape.

 Climate 
Vancouver has an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen climate classification). The average precipitation per year is 1189 millimetres, mostly from October to April. High temperatures in the summer average 22 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded was 34.4 °C on July 30, 2009. On average, snow falls on only 11 days per year. Usually, the snow is wet and not deep and quickly melts in the rain. On average, the temperature does not rise above freezing on only 4.5 days a year.

Housing
Vancouver has had a housing affordability crisis for many years.Douglas Todd: Vancouver's housing crisis four decades in the making It was the second-least affordable housing market compared to 90 other metropolitan areas in different countries. The only place that was less affordable was Hong Kong.Why Ottawa’s attempts to help young Canadians afford housing simply won’t work

The coiy has been criticized for saying that it provides many social housing units to residents. However social housing can refer to small apartments renting for $1,700 per month. There are people with household incomes of up to $120,000 living in social housing in Vancouver.Dan Fumano: 'Call it what it is' — Most Vancouver 'social housing' geared to $50,000+ incomes

The government has been attempting to address the housing crisis situation by imposing a series of taxes such as the foreign-buyers tax and the Empty Homes Tax in 2016 and the speculation tax in 2018.

Rents in Vancouver were very high and apartment vacancies very low in 2019.A desperate housing situation calls for desperate measures

 Media 

 Television 
CBC Radio
CKGO (730)
CKNO (Knowledge Network)
CIVT (CTV Television Network)

 Newspapers 

 The Vancouver Sun
 The Globe and Mail
 The Province
 The National Post

 Internet Media 

 The Tyee
 NowPublic
 Daily Hive

 Notable people 

Notes

 References 

 Other websites 

Official City of Vancouver website
Tourism Vancouver 

Category:1886 establishments in Canada

Category:Olympic cities
Category:Settlements in Greater Vancouver