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Interesting Facts About Vancouver

by Brandon and Melissa Cornett

Vancouver is a coastal city located in British Columbia, Canada. It's also an important seaport and a major metropolitan city. Here are some more facts about Vancouver you might find interesting.

21 Vancouver Facts

1. Vancouver is the busiest port city in Canada. It's also the fourth-largest port in all of North America, when measured by cargo tonnage.
2. Vancouver is located in the southwest corner of Canada, on the pacific coast.
3. In terms of population, Vancouver is the largest city in British Columbia (BC) and the third-largest city in Canada. The last official census was in 2006, at which time the city's population was more than 578,000. When you factor in the entire metro area surrounding Vancouver, the population exceeds two million.
4. The city was named after British Naval Captain George Vancouver, who explored the area in 1792. The city was originally named Granville and was incorporated in 1886 and renamed to Vancouver.
5. Evidence shows that coastal Indians originally settled in the area around 500 B.C.
6. There are more than 200 parks in the Vancouver area. Stanley Park, the city's first park, officially opened in 1888 and is named after Lord Stanley, the Governor General of Canada. It is the largest of Vancouver's parks, at approximately 1,000 acres.
7. The Vancouver Aquarium is located within Stanley Park. The aquarium houses more than 70,000 species of marine life and educates more than 80,000 schoolchildren each year.
8. In 2009, Vancouver was ranked #4 on a list of cities with the best quality of life. The list was compiled by a human resources and financial consulting firm called Mercer.
9. In addition to the Mercer report cited above, Vancouver often appears on similar quality-of-life rankings.
10. In June 1886, Vancouver suffered from a massive fire that nearly destroyed the entire city. Workers were using a "controlled" burn to clear brush, when the wind suddenly rose up and spread the flames beyond their control. Nearly 1,000 buildings were lost in the span of 45 minutes.
11. In 2004, Vancouver was selected as the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games.
12. Popular attractions in the city include Stanley Park, Granville Island and Robson Street.
13. Vancouver is an ethnically diverse city with a large immigrant population. During the 2001 census, nearly half of the city's residents (46%) claimed to be immigrants from somewhere else.
14. Vancouver has a large Asian population. Over the last decade or so, the majority of immigrants have come from Asian countries. Chinese immigrants make up the largest percentage of this group.
15. The University of British Columbia is located in the western part of the city. The campus offers some of Vancouver's most popular attractions, such as the Museum of Anthropology and the UBC Botanical Gardens.
16. In addition to the University of British Columbia, there are five others colleges and universities in the city. These include Langara College, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Simon Fraser University, and Vancouver Community College.
17. From a climate perspective, Vancouver has one of the mildest climates of any Canadian cities. This is partly because it borders the Pacific Ocean. As a result, Vancouver does not get very much snow -- especially the parts of the city that are at sea level. Average winter temperatures are 3 to 8 degrees Celsius (or 37º to 46º Fahrenheit).
18. In 2007, Vancouver was ranked as the second most expensive city in Canada, after Toronto.
19. A partial list of famous people who lived in Vancouver at some point in their lives: Seth Rogen (actor), Bryan Adams (singer), Ryan Reynolds (actor), and Pamela Anderson (so-called actress).
20. The Port of Vancouver is one of the most popular starting points for Alaskan cruises. In 2008 alone, more than 250 cruises originated from the Vancouver area.
21. Vancouver is home to several professional sports teams including the BC Lions (of the Canadian Football League) and the Vancouver Canucks (of the National Hockey League).

We hope you enjoyed these interesting facts about Vancouver, and that you're able to visit this beautiful city at some point in your life.

References: Much of this fact sheet was compiled from widely available information. Sources of specific facts are cited in hyperlink format within the article above.

About the Author
This fact sheet was provided by Brandon Cornett. Brandon is the creator of 21Facts.com. He is also a freelance writer and the author of many articles that can be found all over the Internet.