Lower Mainland
The
Lower Mainland is the name that residents of
British Columbia apply to the region surrounding the City of
Vancouver. According to the 2001 census, over two million people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there
[Statistics Canada and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses". Accessed 2006-06-08.]While the term
Lower Mainland has been recorded from the earliest period of non-native settlement in British Columbia, it has never been officially defined in legal terms. However, the term has historically been in popular usage for over a century to describe a region that extends from
Horseshoe Bay south to the U.S. boundary and east to
Hope at the eastern end of the
Fraser Valley.
[Gentilcore, R.L., ed. 1993. Historical Atlas of Canada, Vol II, The Land Transformed 1800-1891. Plate 36, "Lower Mainland 1881." Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3447-0.]"Lower Mainland" is also the name of an
ecoregion — a biogeoclimatic region — that comprises the eastern part of the
Georgia Depression and extends from
Powell River, British Columbia on the
Sunshine Coast to
Hope at the eastern end of the
Fraser Valley. The Lower Mainland Ecoregion is a part of the Pacific Maritime Ecozone
[Environment Canada "Narrative Descriptions of Terrestrial Ecozones and Ecoregions of Canada". Accessed 2006-06-08.] The provincial Ministry of Environment bases its Lower Mainland Region on this ecoregion, rather than on the traditional Lower Mainland alone.
Today, the
Lower Mainland includes two
Regional Districts: The
Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), and the
Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD).
The Greater Vancouver Regional District is made up of 21 municipalities:
Anmore,
Belcarra,
Bowen Island,
Burnaby,
Coquitlam,
Delta,
Langley City,
Langley Township,
Lions Bay,
Maple Ridge,
New Westminster,
North Vancouver City,
North Vancouver District,
Pitt Meadows,
Port Coquitlam,
Port Moody,
Richmond,
Surrey,
Vancouver,
West Vancouver, and
White Rock. The
Greater Vancouver Regional District is bordered on the west by the
Strait of Georgia, to the north by the
Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, on the east by the
Fraser Valley Regional District, and to the south by
Whatcom County, Washington in the
United States. The traditional territories of the
Musqueam and
Tsleil'waututh lie completely within the GVRD; the southern portion of
Squamish First Nation traditional territory is also in the GRVD — its claims overlap those of the Tsleil-waututh and Musqueam (and also, therefore, the Sto:lo).
The Fraser Valley Regional District is comprised of the cities of
Abbotsford and
Chilliwack, the districts of
Mission,
Kent, and
Hope, and the village of
Harrison Hot Springs. It also includes a series of electoral areas throughout the Fraser Valley and along the west side of the
Fraser Canyon. The traditional territory of the is partly within this regional district, as is the entirety of the
Chehalis First Nation. Sto:lo traditional territory more or less exactly coincides with the traditional conception of the Lower Mainland, except for their inclusion of
Yale and
Port Douglas, at the head of Harrison Lake.
According to the most recent census
there were 2,209,080 people living in the communities of the Lower Mainland. This is comprised of:
*222,115 in the
Fraser Valley Regional District*1,986,965 in the
Greater Vancouver Regional DistrictThe population in the Greater Vancouver Regional District is up 8.5% from the 1996 Census figures. For the population of the cities within the GVRD, see
Greater Vancouver Regional District#MunicipalitiesFraser Valley Regional District: http://www.fvrd.com/index.php
*Abbotsford: http://www.city.abbotsford.bc.ca/
*Chilliwack: http://www.gov.chilliwack.bc.ca/main/
*Mission: http://www.city.mission.bc.ca/welcome.htm
Greater Vancouver Regional District: http://www.gvrd.bc.ca
*Anmore: http://www.anmore.com
*Belcarra: http://www.belcarra.ca
*Bowen Island: http://www.bowen-island-bc.com
*Burnaby: http://www.city.burnaby.bc.ca
*Coquitlam: http://www.coquitlam.ca
*Delta: http://www.corp.delta.bc.ca
*Langley City: http://www.city.langley.bc.ca
*Langley Township: http://www.township.langley.bc.ca
*Lions Bay: http://www.lionsbay.citymax.com
*Maple Ridge: http://district.maple-ridge.bc.ca
*New Westminster: http://www.city.new-westminster.bc.ca
*North Vancouver City: http://www.cnv.org
*North Vancouver District: http://www.district.north-van.bc.ca
*Pitt Meadows: http://www.pittmeadows.bc.ca
*Port Coquitlam: http://www.city.port-coquitlam.bc.ca
*Port Moody: http://www.city.port-moody.bc.ca
*Richmond: http://www.richmond.ca
*Surrey: http://www.surrey.ca/
*Vancouver: http://vancouver.ca
*West Vancouver: http://www.westvancouver.net
*White Rock: http://www.city.whiterock.bc.ca
