Prince George, with a population of 70,981 (census agglomeration of 83,225), is the largest city in northern
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
and is known as "BC's Northern Capital". Situated at the confluence of the
FraserThe Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 km , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
and
NechakoThe Nechako River arises on the Nechako Plateau east of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia and flows north toward Fort Fraser, then east to Prince George where it enters the Fraser River...
Rivers, and the crossroads of Highway 16 and Highway 97, the city plays an important role in the province's economy and culture.
History
The origins of Prince George can be traced to the
North West CompanyThe North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
fur trading post of Fort George, which was established in 1807 by
Simon FraserSimon Fraser was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains...
and named in honour of King George III. The post was centred in the centuries-old homeland of the Lheidli T'enneh
First NationFirst Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada, who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 600 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread all across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia...
, whose very name means "people of the confluence".
1800s
Throughout the 1800s Fort George remained unchanged, while
Fort St. JamesFort St. James is a town and former fur trading post in north-central British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the south-eastern shore of Stuart Lake in the Omineca Country, at the northern terminus of Highway 27, which connects to Highway 16 at Vanderhoof...
reigned as the main trading post and capital of New Caledonia. Even during the
Cariboo Gold RushThe Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Although the first gold discovery was made in 1859 at Horsefly Creek by Peter Dunlevy, followed by more strikes at Keithley Creek and Antler Horns lake in 1860, the actual rush did not begin until 1861, when these...
, Fort George was isolated, although
QuesnelQuesnel is a small city that is part of the Cariboo District of British Columbia, Canada. Located nearly evenly between the cities of Prince George and Williams Lake, it is on the main route to northern British Columbia and the Yukon...
prospered as the
Cariboo RoadThe Cariboo Road was a project initiated in 1862 by the colonial Governor of British Columbia, James Douglas...
was built to its doorstep, making it the main staging area for the miners going to the goldfields at Barkerville. Then, when the
Collins Overland Telegraph TrailThe Russian American telegraph also known as the Western Union Telegraph Expedition and the Collins Overland telegraph was a $3,000,000 undertaking by the Western Union Telegraph Company in 1865-1867, to lay an electric telegraph line from San Francisco, California to Moscow, Russia.The route was...
was built in 1865-67, it bypassed Fort George, following the Blackwater Trail from Quesnel and continuing northwest towards
HazeltonHazelton is a small town located at the junction of the Bulkley and Skeena Rivers in northern British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1866 and has a population of 1356...
.
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
Finally in 1903, Fort George's fortune began to change when it was announced that the
Grand Trunk Pacific RailwayThe Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...
(later CN Rail) would pass near the fur post. In 1906, agricultural settlement began around Fort George and then in 1909, development of the town began as two rival land speculation companies built the communities of
South Fort GeorgeSouth Fort George is a suburb of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.Before the arrival of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1914, the Prince George area was known as Fort George and was a Lheidli T'enneh village and Hudson's Bay Company store....
and Central Fort George. South Fort George was built on the Fraser River near the
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world...
’s trading post and Central Fort George was built two miles (3 km) to the northwest on the Nechako River. Both communities flourished due to the marketing strategies of the land promoter for Central Fort George, George Hammond, who advertised the community all over Canada and
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, describing Fort George in glowing terms as being the future hub of British Columbia, having mild winters and being suitable for any agricultural endeavor (except for the growing of peaches). Ten
paddle steamerA paddle steamer is a ship or boat driven by a steam engine that uses one or more paddle wheels to develop thrust for propulsion. It is also a type of steamboat. Boats with paddle wheels on the sides are termed sidewheelers, while those with a single wheel on the stern are known as sternwheelers....
sternwheelers serviced the area, coming up on the Fraser River from
Soda CreekSoda Creek is a rural subdivision 38 km north of Williams Lakein British Columbia, Canada. Located on the east bank of the Fraser River, Soda Creek was originally the home of the Xat'sull First Nation....
.
Properties were sold in both of the main townsites and many others nearby, such as Birmingham, Fort Salmon, Nechako Heights and Willow City. By 1913, South and Central Fort George each had a population of 1500 and were booming as thousands of rail construction workers came to town for supplies and entertainment. Both communities believed that the Grand Trunk Pacific station and townsite would be built in their town, and both were disappointed when the railway purchased the of land in between them from the Lhiedli T'enneh instead, even though
Charles Vance MillarCharles Vance Millar was a Canadian lawyer and financier. However, he is now best known as for his penchant for practical jokes and his unusual will which reflected that sense of humor.-Early years:...
, then the owner of the BC Express Company, was well into negotiations to purchase that property himself. The railway compensated Millar by giving him of the property and, by 1914, when the railway was completed, there were four major communities in Fort George: South, Central,
Millar AdditionThe Millar Addition is a suburb of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It is named in honor of its developer, Charles Vance Millar, who later became famous for leaving behind the most notorious will in Canadian history, which was the catalyst for the Stork Derby.-History:When the construction...
and the railway's townsite, Prince George, where the station was built. And, although George Hammond fought a series of bitter legal battles for a station for Central and for the right to incorporate, the railway won in the end and the City of Prince George was incorporated on 6 March 1915. The actual history of where the city's name is derived from is under dispute, but it is likely that the most obvious name of Fort George wasn't chosen because the Grand Trunk Pacific wanted to take credence away from the two rival townsites. Prince George could simply have been named after the ruling
King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
or for
Prince George, Duke of KentThe Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck. He held the title of Duke of Kent from 1934 until his death in 1942....
the fourth son of King George V.
War years
With the onset of the Great War in 1914, the local economy was devastated as many local men enlisted and the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway was halted, creating a massive drop in population, a problem that was exacerbated by the ensuing
Spanish FluThe 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic that spread to nearly every part of the world. It was caused by an unusually virulent and deadly influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin of the virus...
epidemic of 1918. Prince George persevered through the 1920s and the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
of the 1930s and did not experience any significant growth until
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when an army camp for 6,000 soldiers was built at the foot of Cranbrook Hill, bringing new life to the struggling businesses and service industries. After the war, as the ravaged European cities rebuilt, the demand for lumber skyrocketed and Prince George, with its abundance of
sawmillsSawmills may refer to;* A sawmill, a facility where logs are cut to length* Sawmills Studio, a famous UK music recording studio* Sawmills, North Carolina...
and spruce trees, prospered. Finally, in 1952, after 40 years of construction, the Pacific Great Eastern was completed and joined with the CN line at Prince George, and with the completion of Highways 16 and 97, Prince George finally fulfilled George Hammond’s long ago promise of being the hub of British Columbia.
Modern history
In 1964 the first
pulp millA pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber source into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
, Prince George Pulp and Paper was built, followed by two more in 1966, Northwood Pulp and Intercontinental Pulp.. New schools and more housing were needed and the new subdivisions of Spruceland, Lakeland, Perry and Highglen were built. Then, in 1975, Prince George amalgamated and extended its borders to include the Hart area to the north, Pineview to the south and the old town of South Fort George to the east. In 1981, Prince George was the second largest city in British Columbia with a population of 67,559, narrowly edging
VictoriaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is a major tourism destination seeing more than 3.65 million visitors a year who inject more than one billion dollars into the local economy. Victoria is a cruise ship port where...
out of the honor, whose population was then 64,379.
Due to its low-lying location at a confluence of rivers that can freeze, Prince George has suffered flooding on many occasions.
In late 2007 an ice jam formed on the Nechako River and soon grew to a length of more than 6 kilometres, causing widespread flooding in the town. Faster runoff due to devastation of nearby
lodgepole pineLodgepole Pine is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.There are three subspecies, one of them with two varieties. All the four taxa are sometimes treated at the rank of variety....
forests by the
mountain pine beetleThe mountain pine beetle , Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia...
was identified as a contributing factor. A state of emergency was declared on December 11. On January 14, 2008, with the ice jam still present, the Provincial Emergency Program approved an unprecedented plan to melt the ice by piping water from a pulp mill steam plant 2.7 km to the jam area where it would be mixed with well water and poured into the river at a temperature of 15°C. In the interim an amphibious excavator was used for 10 days to move some of the ice.
Costing
C$The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents...
400,000 to build and
C$The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents...
3,000 per day to run, the "Warm Water System" was completed on January 29, by which time the ice jam had grown to 25 km long.
Geography & climate
Prince George is located in the
Fraser-Fort George Regional DistrictThe Regional District of Fraser-Fort George is a regional district located in the Central Interior of British Columbia. It is bounded by the Alberta border to the east, the Columbia-Shuswap and Thompson-Nicola Regional Districts to the south/southeast, Cariboo Regional District to the southwest,...
near the transition between the northern and southern portions of the
Rocky Mountain TrenchThe Rocky Mountain Trench, or the Trench or The Valley of a Thousand Peaks, is a large valley in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains. It is both visually and cartographically a striking physiographic feature extending approximately 1600 km from Flathead Lake, Montana, to the Liard River, just...
. Prince George proper contains several areas: South Fort George, the Hart, the residential and light industrial neighbourhoods north of the
Nechako RiverThe Nechako River arises on the Nechako Plateau east of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia and flows north toward Fort Fraser, then east to Prince George where it enters the Fraser River...
; College Heights, the western part of the city used mostly for residence, and the Bowl, the valley that includes most of the city and the downtown. There are also a number of outlying areas that are also part of Prince George. Prince George encompasses two provincial electoral districts:
Prince George-MackenziePrince George-Mackenzie is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada established by the Electoral Districts Act, 2008. It came into effect upon the dissolution of the BC Legislature in April 2009, and was first contested in the 2009 provincial election...
and
Prince George-ValemountPrince George-Valemount is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia, Canada established by the Electoral Districts Act, 2008. It came into effect upon the dissolution of the BC Legislature in April 2009, and was first contested in the 2009 provincial election...
. Prior to 2008, these ridings were
Prince George NorthPrince George North was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 1979 to 2009.- Demographics :- History :*John Heinrich, Social Credit *Lois Boone, NDP...
and
Prince George-Mount RobsonPrince George-Mount Robson was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 1991 to 2009.- Member of Legislative Assembly :...
. The cutbanks of the Nechako River are one of Prince George's many interesting geological features.
Local wild edible fruit include bunchberries, rose hips, blueberries, huckleberries, cranberries, chokecherries, strawberries, raspberries, saskatoons, currants, gooseberries, and soapberries (from which "
Indian ice-creamSxusem or Indian ice-cream is a dessert made by native people throughout the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is made from the "soapberries" of the Canada Buffaloberry , which as their name suggests contain saponins...
" is made). Morel mushrooms are also native to this area.
Water quality
Drinking water in Prince George is recognized throughout British Columbia as among the top quality drinking water in municipal systems. Samples from Prince George taps are used as a comparison for other cities because of the quality of the pristine aquifers.
Air pollution
The Prince George Airshed has many local sources of various air pollutants including several major industrial sources (pulp mills, sawmills and an oil refinery), vehicle emissions, locomotives, unpaved and paved road surfaces, vegetative burning and residential and commercial heating. Because the city and its local sources of air pollution are contained within a valley, there are often meteorological conditions that trap pollutants and result in episodes of poor air quality and unhealthy levels of air pollution exposure.
More people die in Prince George every year due to diseases associated with air pollutants than any other community in the province, according to data gathered by two B.C. physicians.
As many as 81 deaths each year in Prince George may be attributed to fine particulate exposure in the air.
Demographics
| Canada 2001 Census The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
|
| |
Prince George |
British Columbia |
| Median age |
33.9 years |
38.4 years |
| Under 15 years old |
21% |
18% |
| Over 65 years old |
7.6% |
14% |
| Visible minority |
6% |
21% |
| Protestant |
31% |
31% |
| Catholic |
21% |
17% |
According to the
2001 Canadian censusThe Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
, there were 72,406 people living in 27,605 households within the city. Of these households, 23% were one-person households, below the 27% average provincewide, and 31% married couples with children, above the 26% average. Prince George had a smaller proportion of married couples than the province, 47% compared to 51%, but very similar persons per households. With 90% of Prince George residents being Canadian-born, and 87% with an English-only mother tongue, the city has few visible minorities. However, 10% identified themselves as Aboriginal, much higher than the 4% provincewide. Only 14% of residents between 20 and 64 years of age completed university, almost half the provincial average, and 22% did not complete high school, similar to the 19% provincial average.
In 2005, with a budget of $15,524,482 ($201 per capita) the 121 officer Prince George
Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body...
municipal detachment reported 13,800
Criminal Code of CanadaThe Criminal Code of Canada is the codification of most of the criminal offences and procedure in Canada...
offenses. This translated into a crime rate of 179 Criminal Code offenses per 1,000 people, down from the previous year's rate of 177, but still much higher than the provincial average rate of 125. In 2005, on the per 1,000 people basis, the city had higher crime rates compared to the provincial averages on all criminal code offenses except impaired driving (2.9 city, 3.1 provincially), theft from motor vehicles (17.1 city, 17.3 provincially), cannabis-related (3.3 city, 3.8 provincially), and business break and enters ( 3.45 city, 3.96 provincially). The city had slightly higher but comparable levels on all other offenses except arson (2.1 city, 0.7 provincially), motor vehicle thefts (12.1 city, 8.2 provincially), non-sexual assaults (17.6 city, 10.1 provincially), and shoplifting (8.5 city, 4.6 provincially).
Economy
The economy of Prince George in the 21st century has come to be dominated by service industries. The Northern Health Authority, centred in Prince George, has a $450Mn annual budget and is investing more than $100Mn in infrastructure over the coming years, as Prince George builds the radiation therapy and associated buildings for modern cancer care.
Education is another key dominant part of this city. With the
University of Northern British ColumbiaThe University of Northern British Columbia is a small, research-intensive university whose main campus is in Prince George, British Columbia. UNBC also has regional campuses in the northern British Columbia cities of Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, and Fort St. John. Nearly 4200 students were...
, and its medical school, the
College of New CaledoniaThe College of New Caledonia is a post-secondary educational institution that serves the residents of the Central Interior of British Columbia. The college was established in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada in 1969 as a successor to the BC Vocational School. The first convocation of 37...
and School District #57, education adds more than $780 Mn into the local economy annually.
ForestryForestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. The main goal of forestry is to create and implement systems that allow forests to continue a sustainable continuation of environmental supplies and services...
dominated the local economy throughout the twentieth century, including
plywoodPlywoodis a type of engineered wood made from thin sheets of wood, called plies or wood veneers. The layers are glued together so that adjacent plies have their grain at right angles to each other for greater strength. There are usually an odd number of plies, as the symmetry makes the board less...
manufacture, numerous sawmills and three pulp mills as major employers and customers. The
Mountain pine beetleThe mountain pine beetle , Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia...
epidemic of the late 1980s and 1990s resulted in a short term boom in the forest industry as companies rushed to cut dead standing trees before the trees lost value. Sawmill closures and the creation of 'supermills' is already being seen in the area and more closures are expected.
Mining exploration and development may become the future of Prince George. Initiatives Prince George estimates that the Nechako Basin contains over 5 million barrels of oil.
Other industry includes two chemical plants, an oil refinery,
breweryA brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made in the home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
,
dairyA dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. Typically it is a farm or section of a farm that is concerned with the production of milk, butter and...
, machine shops, aluminum boat building, log home construction, value added forestry product and specialty equipment manufacturing. Prince George is also a staging centre for mining and prospecting, and a major regional transportation, trade and government hub. Several major retailers are expanding into the Prince George market, a trend expected to persist. In recent years, several market research
call centreA call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
s have opened in Prince George.
Heritage, College Heights, Hart Highlands and St. Lawrence Heights are prime residential areas, both commercial and residential development are growing at an accelerated rate and more subdivisions are planned for St. Lawrence Heights, West Cranbrook Hill and East Austin Road.
Education
Prince George's
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
system encompasses 37 elementary, eight secondary, two junior secondary, one middle school and eight private schools. The public schools are all part of
School District 57 Prince GeorgeSchool District 57 Prince George is a school district in central British Columbia. It covers a large area of the province around the city of Prince George. This includes communities of McBride, Valemount, and Mackenzie.-Schools:
...
. It is also home to a public Francophone elementary and secondary school, both of which are part of
School District 93 Conseil scolaire francophoneThe Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britanique is the French-language school board for all French schools located in British Columbia...
, a province wide Francophone school district. Post-secondary education choices include the regional
College of New CaledoniaThe College of New Caledonia is a post-secondary educational institution that serves the residents of the Central Interior of British Columbia. The college was established in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada in 1969 as a successor to the BC Vocational School. The first convocation of 37...
(CNC), which offers two-year university courses plus vocational and professional programs. Several BC universities,
British Columbia Institute of TechnologyThe British Columbia Institute of Technology is an institute of technology in Burnaby, British Columbia. It provides full- and part-time polytechnic education leading to certificates, diplomas, bachelor's degrees in technologies and trades. Dr. Don Wright joined BCIT as President in March, 2008...
(
BCITBCIT may refer to:*British Columbia Institute of Technology*Burlington County Institute of Technology*BC Rail...
) and the
Open Learning AgencyThe Open Learning Agency was a Crown Agency of the province of British Columbia, Canada.Its primary function is the management of the Knowledge, a public television station in BC, although it once played a larger role in education and a university function, before being scaled back by the BC...
have integrated their local programs with CNC.
The
University of Northern British ColumbiaThe University of Northern British Columbia is a small, research-intensive university whose main campus is in Prince George, British Columbia. UNBC also has regional campuses in the northern British Columbia cities of Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, and Fort St. John. Nearly 4200 students were...
(UNBC) is the second new university to be built in Canada in over 25 years. A total of 55 undergraduate programs, 15 masters programs and two PhD programs are now offered at UNBC as well as the new Northern Medical Program,
a joint program with the University of British Columbia intended to alleviate the shortage of physicians in the north. A degree-granting institution with regional teaching centres in nine BC communities and a sponsor for several research institutes, UNBC has recently completed the construction of the I.K. Barber Enhanced Forestry Lab. UNBC's hilltop campus overlooks the City of Prince George and offers spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains to the east. In 2005 and 2006, UNBC was ranked by
Maclean's Magazine as being the best small university in Western Canada.
The
College of New CaledoniaThe College of New Caledonia is a post-secondary educational institution that serves the residents of the Central Interior of British Columbia. The college was established in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada in 1969 as a successor to the BC Vocational School. The first convocation of 37...
(CNC) is a post-secondary educational institution that serves the residents of central British Columbia. It was established in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada in 1969, and has since expanded across central British Columbia, with campuses in Quesnel, Mackenzie, Burns Lake, Valemount, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake and Vanderhoof. CNC enrolls about 5,000 students each year in approximately 90 distinct programs in business and management, community and continuing education, health sciences, adult basic education / upgrading, trades and industry, social services, and technologies. About 75 of these programs are available at CNC Prince George. As well, CNC offers university classes leading to degrees and professional programs in more than 50 subjects, with excellent transferability to universities in BC, Alberta, and elsewhere. All university classes are available at CNC Prince George, and many are available at other campuses.
Sports and recreation
| Club |
Sport |
League |
Venue |
Prince George CougarsThe Prince George Cougars are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The team is based in Prince George, British Columbia, and plays its home games at the CN Centre...
|
Ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
|
Western Hockey LeagueThe Western Hockey League is a Major Junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
(WHL) |
CN Centre The CN Centre, formerly the Prince George Multiplex, is a 5,967-seat multi-purpose arena in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Prince George Cougars Ice hockey team. It was built in 1995. In 2005, Canadian National Railway purchased the naming rights to the building. 2009...
|
| Prince George Spruce Kings The Prince George Spruce Kings are a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team from Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League and the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.-History:...
|
Ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
|
British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League is a Junior "A" ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada, a subsection of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 17 teams. These teams play in two conferences, known as the Coastal and the Interior...
(BCHL) |
Prince George Coliseum |
| UNBC Timberwolves |
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
|
British Columbia College Athletic Association (BCCAA) |
Northern Sports Center |
Prince George's teams include the
Prince George CougarsThe Prince George Cougars are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The team is based in Prince George, British Columbia, and plays its home games at the CN Centre...
of the
Western Hockey LeagueThe Western Hockey League is a Major Junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
(WHL), the
Prince George Spruce KingsThe Prince George Spruce Kings are a Tier II Junior "A" ice hockey team from Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League and the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.-History:...
of the
British Columbia Hockey LeagueThe British Columbia Hockey League is a Junior "A" ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada, a subsection of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 17 teams. These teams play in two conferences, known as the Coastal and the Interior...
(BCHL), Youth Bowling Club (YBC) bowling teams (Nechako Bowling, 5th Avenue, and also a ten pin team), and Prince George Curling (Prince George Golf and Curling Club). Recently, the Duchess Park Secondary School Senior boys basketball team won the provincial AA title for the first time in 26 years.
The Spruce Kings hosted the RBC Royal Bank Cup May 5-13, 2007.
Prince George has been home to several NHLers including
Murray BaronMurray McElwain Baron is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman.-Playing career:...
,
Turner StevensonTurner Stevenson is a retired professional ice hockey player. He played in 644 NHL games over parts of 13 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. He won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003...
and
Darcy RotaDarcy Rota is a retired professional ice hockey player who spent eleven seasons in the National Hockey League. He is currently the president of the Burnaby Express of the BCHL.-Playing career:...
. Eric Brewer and
Zdeno CharaZdeno Chára is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman and team captain of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League . At 6 ft 9 in , he is the tallest player ever to play in the NHL.- Playing career :...
were teammates on the Cougars in 1995 and 1996.
Prince George Citizen Field opened in the spring of 2006. The baseball facility has established itself as one of the most unusual diamonds in British Columbia.
Recreation facilities include 116 playgrounds and parks, baseball, soccer and lacrosse fields, eight golf courses, plus tennis courts, ice rinks and roller rinks, a new modern Aquatic Centre as well as an older swimming pool and the
CN CentreThe CN Centre, formerly the Prince George Multiplex, is a 5,967-seat multi-purpose arena in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Prince George Cougars Ice hockey team. It was built in 1995. In 2005, Canadian National Railway purchased the naming rights to the building. 2009...
, which is a 5,995-seat multi-purpose arena. For hikers there is an 11 kilometer riverfront system of urban hiking trails called the Heritage Trails. Four provincial parks in the region provide downhill, cross-country and heli-skiing.
Parks include Fort George Park,
Paddlewheel ParkPaddlewheel Park is a small city park on the Fraser River in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.The park was built in honor of the upper Fraser River sternwheelers that landed there from 1909 until 1921....
, Rainbow Park, Connaught Hill, Foot Park, L.C. Gunn Park, Ginter's Property, Eskers Park,
Forests for the WorldForests for the World is a park located in Prince George, British Columbia. It has over 15km of multi-use trails which pass both Small Reflection Lake and Shane Lake. Facilities include firepits, picnic tables, and a look-out tower.-External links:...
, and Cottonwood Island Park. North of Prince George is the Huble Homestead and
Giscome PortageThe Giscome Portage was a portage between the Fraser River and Summit Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The south end of the portage is now the location of a heritage site, the Huble Homestead, which is located on the Fraser River, 40 km north of Prince George and 6 km off Highway 97.-1800s:The...
. The Otway Nordic Centre, operated by the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club, is home to one of the largest Nordic ski clubs in the province, and boasts more than 40 km of groomed trails (5 km of lit trails for evening skiing), a biathlon range, and a 1400 sq. ft. day lodge.
For race fans, the Prince George Auto Racing Association (PGARA) offers a variety of racing events at the PGARA Speedway including the locally famous hit-to-pass races.
Prince George offers several nightclubs, sports bars, pubs and fine dining facilities.
The Treasure Cove Hotel and Casino is located at the junction of Highways 16 and 97.
Moviegoers can choose between the Famous Players six-plex or the
Park Drive-in Theatre, which also offers mini-golf facilities and a go-kart track.
Arts and culture
The official mascot of Prince George is Mr. P. G., an
anthropomorphicAnthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Examples include animals and plants depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse and forces of nature such as...
assortment of logs who greets newcomers to the city at the intersection of Highways 97 and 16. Mr. P.G. will be one of four roadside attractions featured on the first series of the Canadian Roadside Attractions Series to be issued by
Canada Post stampsIn the latter half of the decade, Canada Post continued to issue a large number of stamps with different designs and themes. One of the key changes in the decade was that Canada Post issued series of stamps on a yearly basis. An example is the 400th Anniversary of the French Settlement in North...
on July 6, 2009.
Museums and libraries
- The Fraser Fort George Regional Museum and Exploration Place is located in Fort George Park and offers a wide variety of galleries and exhibits, including a paleontology
Paleontology
[from Greek: παλαιός "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought"] is the study of prehistoric life, including organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
exhibit, First Nations exhibit, children's gallery and the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame.
- The Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum opened in July 1986, coinciding with Expo'86 and 150 years of rail travel in Canada. The museum has one of the largest vintage rail collections in the province, including vintage rail cars, locomotives and historical buildings. Most of the museum pieces are located outdoors on the lot. Some historical buildings include a building showing the advancement of the telephone and a building that was once a train stop. There is also old firetrucks and forestry equipment. As well, there is a mini-train that goes around the museum lot for the kids.
- The Prince George Public Library has two branches in the city, the Bob Harkins branch in the downtown area and the Nechako branch in the Hart.
Art galleries and studios
- Two Rivers Gallery, which opened in June 2000, has two exhibition galleries named the North and South Canfor Galleries, a gift shop and a galleria
Galleria , or The Galleria, is a common name for a shopping mall, ultimately deriving from the 19th-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.-Norway:*Galleria Kunstfestival , Norway...
. It offers guided tours and art classes for both adults and children.
- Studio 2880 houses the Artists' Workshop, the Quilt
A quilt is a type of bedding— a bed covering composed of a quilt top, a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing, generally combined using the technique of quilting. Another technique for securing the quilt layers is tying. Tying refers to the technique of using thread, yarn or ribbon to...
ers', PottersPottery is the ceramic ware made by potters. Major types of pottery include earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. The places where such wares are made are called potteries. Pottery is one of the oldest human technologies and art-forms, and remains a major industry today...
', WeaveWeave may refer to:*Hair weave*Mozilla Weave*Weaving...
rs' and Spinners' Guilds. Its sister building, Studio 2820, is a TicketmasterTicketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is a ticket sales and distribution company based in West Hollywood, California, USA, with operations in many countries around the world. All US ticket sales for US venues are fulfilled at the Ticketmaster sole fulfillment center located in Charleston, West Virginia...
outlet and houses the Artisan Gift Shoppe.
Live theatre and symphony
- Theatre Northwest is a professional theatre company producing stage productions throughout the year.
- The Prince George Theatre Workshop Society is a stage production company founded in the 1960's which puts on amateur theatre events throughout the year.
- The Prince George Playhouse (originally built by the Prince George Theatre Workshop Society, now owned by the City of Prince George) has many different uses such as amateur and professional theatre, musical events and major plays put on by local small businesses.
- The Prince George Symphony Orchestra (PGSO) is a mixed professional and semi-professional orchestra
An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. The orchestra plays a number of concerts each year at venues around the city and occasionally tours other communities in northern British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
. A majority of its concerts are held at the Vanier Hall, which is attached to the Prince George Secondary SchoolPrince George Secondary School is a public high school in Prince George, British Columbia , Canada, part of School District 57 Prince George. It has been at its present campus since 1968.-Academic programmes:...
.
A 2005 cultural project that involved Prince George had 'Spirit Bears' placed throughout various locations around the city. The 'Spirit Bear' is a fiberglass statue of a bear that has various sceneries painted on it.
Notable residents
- Murray Baron
Murray McElwain Baron is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman.-Playing career:...
; former NHL defenceman, played for the Vancouver Canucks
- Shirley Bond
Shirley Bond is the current Deputy Premier of British Columbia, Canada. She also serves as Minister of Transportation.She was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the British Columbia general election, 2001, and re-elected in 2005 with a substantially reduced plurality....
; politician
- Dean Butler
Dean Butler is an American film actor and television actor who was born in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. He was raised in Piedmont, California, and graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California....
; actor
- Denise Chong
- Early Life and Schooling :A third generation Chinese Canadian, Chong was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on 9 June, 1953, and was raised in Prince George. She studied economy at the University of British Columbia, earning her bachelor degee in 1975. She received an MA from the University of...
; writer
- Brian Fawcett
Brian Fawcett is a Canadian writer and cultural analyst who currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.He was born and raised in Prince George, in northwest British Columbia, and graduated from Simon Fraser University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. Before becoming a full time writer, he worked as an urban...
; writer
- Morgan Fox
Morgan Fox is a Canadian model and actress.In 1988 she became Miss World Canada. In 1989, she played the role of "Robunda Hooters" in the film Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders. She was chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month for December, 1990 and has appeared in numerous Playboy...
; former Playboy Playmate and actress
- Charles Jago
Charles Jago is an academic and university administrator.He was born and raised in St. Catharines, Ontario. He received his BA in Honors English and History from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario in 1965 and his PhD in History from Cambridge University in 1969...
; University President, founder of medical school, Member of Order of Canada
- Bill Mahood
Bill "The Butcher" Mahood is a Canadian mixed martial arts fighter. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division. He won his last fight at KOTC Canada - Turbulenceagainst Marcus Hicks on March 13, 2009.-Mixed martial arts record:...
; professional mixed martial arts competitor
- Barry McKinnon
Barry Benjamin McKinnon is a Canadian poet.Born in Calgary, Alberta, he taught English at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George, British Columbia.-Bibliography:* The Golden Daybreak Hair. Toronto, ON: Aliquondo Press, 1967....
; writer
- Bridget Moran
Bridget Moran , née Drugan, was a prominent social activist and author in British Columbia. Born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland,...
; social activist and writer
- Mayo Moran
Mayo Moran , a native of the Canadian province of British Columbia and daughter of author Bridget Moran and Pat Moran, has been Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Toronto since January 1, 2006, the first ever female dean of the Faculty of Law. She replaced former dean Ronald J...
; legal scholar
- Nilesh Patel
-Early life:Patel was raised in Prince George, British Columbia and attended Duchess Park Secondary School, where he was first exposed to the Brocket 99 audio tape. He attended the city's College of New Caledonia and then obtained a degree in molecular biology from the University of Victoria...
; filmmaker
- Paul Ramsey
Paul Ramsey is a Canadian academic and politician. A member of the New Democratic Party, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Prince George-North in 1991 and re-elected in 1996, serving until 2001....
; politician
- Daryl Reaugh
Daryl "Razor" Reaugh , born February 13, 1965, in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender, now a color commentator for the Dallas Stars of the NHL and for The NHL on Versus.-Playing career:...
; former NHL goaltender, commentator
- Anthony Sedlak
Anthony L. Sedlak is a Canadian chef, and the host of Food Network Canada's The Main. He was born in Prince George, British Columbia and grew up in North Vancouver....
; chef and host of Food Network Canada's The Main
- Marylin Star
Marilyn Star is an adult film actress.She worked as a stripper in Calgary, before moving to Los Angeles and entering adult films. Her first film was More Dirty Debutantes 30 produced by Ed Powers...
; adult film actress
- Turner Stevenson
Turner Stevenson is a retired professional ice hockey player. He played in 644 NHL games over parts of 13 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, and Philadelphia Flyers. He won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003...
; former NHL forward
- Lynda Williams
Lynda Williams is a science fiction author, blogger and an educational technologist.Williams' fiction is centered around a series of ten novels set in the fictional Okal Rel Universe and published by Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing...
; writer
- Darcy Rota
Darcy Rota is a retired professional ice hockey player who spent eleven seasons in the National Hockey League. He is currently the president of the Burnaby Express of the BCHL.-Playing career:...
; former NHL forward, played for the Vancouver Canucks
Transportation
Located at the intersection of Highways 97 and 16, Prince George is the hub for northern British Columbia. Considerable truck traffic passes through Prince George, which also has extensive facilities for maintenance of trucks and heavy equipment. Greyhound Bus Lines provides daily bus service south to
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
, west to Prince Rupert, east to
EdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies...
,
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
and north to
Fort St. JohnThe City of Fort St. John is a small city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, the city covers an area of about 22 km² with 17,402 residents . Located at Mile 47, it is the second largest city along the Alaska Highway, after...
.
There is an
inland portThe term inland port is used in two different but related ways to mean either a port on an inland waterway or an inland site carrying out some functions of a seaport.- As a port on an inland waterway :...
to
Prince RupertPrince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
in Prince George which is served by CN Rail.
Prince George AirportPrince George Airport is an airport that serves Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, and the surrounding area. It is located just within the southern boundary of the city, southeast, and is run by the Prince George Airport Authority....
, located from the city centre, is an airport with customs facilities. The primary air connection to the rest of the world is provided by multiple daily flights to
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
on
Air CanadaAir Canada is Canada's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to 96 destinations worldwide. Its largest hub is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario. Its main base is Montreal-Pierre...
and
WestjetWestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier based in Calgary, Alberta that flies within Canada and to the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. WestJet is the second largest Canadian carrier behind Air Canada. WestJet is a rarity in the airline industry in that it is non-unionized....
. Westjet's service also includes a weekly direct flight to
Puerto VallartaPuerto Vallarta is a Mexican resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2005 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 177,830 making it the fifth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
, Mexico during the winter months.
Central Mountain AirCentral Mountain Air is an airline based in Smithers, British Columbia, Canada. It operates scheduled and charter services and transborder services...
and Northern Thunderbird fly to regional and smaller centres.
Horizon AirHorizon Air Industries, Inc. is a regional airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States. It is the eighth largest regional airline in the USA, serving 52 cities in the United States and Canada....
provided daily service to
SeattleSeattle-Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea-Tac Airport, is located in SeaTac, Washington, United States at the intersections of State Route 518, State Route 99 and State Route 509, about east of Interstate 5. It serves Seattle and Tacoma, Washington as well as the rest of western...
for a few months in 2008, but the service no longer exists as of 2009. Charter services provide flights to outlying areas primarily by float plane though helicopter service is also available. An expansion study is currently underway will allow 747s to land and take off.
CNRThe Canadian National Railway is a Canadian Class I railway operated by the Canadian National Railway Company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec....
freight lines operate out of Prince George as well as
VIA RailVIA Rail Canada is an independent Crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada....
passenger service the
SkeenaThe Skeena is a passenger train service operated by Via Rail between Jasper, Prince George and Prince Rupert.- Introduction :The Skeena operates three times weekly, departing Jasper on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, the return service departs Prince Rupert on the same days of the week.The Skeena...
.
Local public transportation consists of the PG Transit bus service.
Annual events
- The Prince George Exhibition, also known as the PGX started in 1912 and is the city's largest summer event. The four day show is held each August and attractions include a large midway, food fair, trade show, art and horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
exhibitions, 4-h4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." ...
exhibitions and many other attractions.
- The Forest Expo was started in 1985 and provides a showcase to educate the general public about the importance of our forests, while displaying the latest in forestry technology, supplies and services.
- The Prince George Folkfest is a national folk music
The term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
festival held annually in the summer at historic Fort George Park on the banks of the Fraser River. Past artists have included John DenverJohn Denver was an American country music/folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician. He was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the 1970s in terms of record sales, recording and releasing around 300 songs, of which about 200 were composed by him. He was named Poet Laureate of Colorado...
, Bruce CockburnBruce Douglas Cockburn, OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His 29th album was released in summer 2006, and he has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
, Sarah HarmerSarah Harmer is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.-Biography:Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the then-unknown Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she was invited to join a Toronto band,...
, Janis IanJanis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumental musician, columnist, and science fiction fan-turned-author. She had a highly successful singing career in the 1960s and 1970s, and has continued recording into the 21st century...
, Alpha Ya Ya Diallo. 2006 saw Matthew GoodMatthew Frederick Robert Good is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer for the Matthew Good Band, one of Canada's most successful alternative rock bands in the 1990s, before dissolving the band in 2002...
, Fred EaglesmithFred Eaglesmith is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. Some of his albums have been credited to Fred J. Eaglesmith.Eaglesmith was one of nine children raised by a farming family in rural Southern Ontario...
, The PaperboysThe Paperboys are a Canadian folk music band from Vancouver that formed in 1991. The Paperboys blend Celtic folk with bluegrass, Mexican, Eastern European, African, zydeco, soul and country influences...
, and many others.. Local musicians include: The Goat Island Extrapolation, The Lines We Drew, Versus, DJ Frozen IceCube and Young, Rich & Free.
- Canadian Northern Children's Festival is held in Fort George Park and features many hands-on activities for children, roving performers, face painting and clowns.
- Prince George celebrates BC River's Day on the last Sunday in September at Fort George Park with a live free music festival. 2006's performers included Marcel Gagnon and Fear Zero among many others.
- The Father's Day Show and Shine is held in downtown Prince George and features street vendors, live performers and both vintage and modern cars. 2007's event saw an estimated 25,000 visitors and 365 cars were on display.
- The Snow Daze Winter Festival is held each February. Some of the featured events include the Mr.PG pageant, curling, bed races, OTL (over the line) baseball, Texas hold'em poker tournament and snow golf.
Government and politics
The City of Prince George's council-manager form of municipal government is governed by a mayor and an eight-member council; these positions are subject to
at-largePlurality-at-large voting, commonly referred to as block voting or bloc voting, is a voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
elections every three years. Dan Rogers was elected mayor in November 2008, after Colin Kinsley, who had been mayor since 1997, decided to retire. Rogers, who had been a perennial top vote-getter in the races for council seats, narrowly lost to Kinsley in the 2005 race.
Prince George holds four of the fourteen seats at the
Regional District of Fraser - Fort GeorgeThe Regional District of Fraser-Fort George is a regional district located in the Central Interior of British Columbia. It is bounded by the Alberta border to the east, the Columbia-Shuswap and Thompson-Nicola Regional Districts to the south/southeast, Cariboo Regional District to the southwest,...
. School District 57, which includes not only the city of Prince George but a large, sparsely populated area to the East and North, is governed by seven elected school trustees.
Prince George is divided into three different provincial electoral districts:
Prince George-Mount RobsonPrince George-Mount Robson was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 1991 to 2009.- Member of Legislative Assembly :...
represented by
Shirley BondShirley Bond is the current Deputy Premier of British Columbia, Canada. She also serves as Minister of Transportation.She was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the British Columbia general election, 2001, and re-elected in 2005 with a substantially reduced plurality....
,
Prince George NorthPrince George North was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 1979 to 2009.- Demographics :- History :*John Heinrich, Social Credit *Lois Boone, NDP...
represented by
Pat BellPat Bell is British Columbia's Minister of Forests and Range. He is the British Columbia Liberal Party MLA for the riding of Prince George North....
, and
Prince George-OminecaPrince George-Omineca was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 1991 to 2009.- Demographics :- Member of Legislative Assembly :Its MLA is John Rustad, whose experience is in the forest industry...
represented by
John RustadJohn Rustad is a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia. He currently represents the constituency of Prince George-Omineca, which he has held since the 2005 election....
. All three
MembersA Member of the Legislative Assembly, or MLA, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to the legislature or legislative assembly of a subnational jurisdiction.-Australia:...
of the
Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaThe Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....
belong to the
British Columbia Liberal PartyThe British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected as the government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
with Rustad first being elected in
2005The 38th British Columbia general election was held on May 17, 2005, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia , Canada. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...
and Bond and Bell in
2001The British Columbia general election of 2001 was the 37th provincial election in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The election was called on April 18, 2001, and held on May 16, 2001...
. Bond has been serving as the Deputy Premier of British Columbia since 2004 and the Minister of Education since 2005, while Bell has been serving as the Minister of Agriculture and Lands since 2005.
Federally, Prince George is divided between the
Cariboo—Prince GeorgeCariboo—Prince George is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.- History :...
and
Prince George—Peace RiverPrince George—Peace River is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.- Geography :Communities include the oil-and-gas exploration centre of Fort St...
ridings. They are represented in the
Canadian House of CommonsThe House of Commons is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate.
The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament .
Members are elected by simple...
by
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. The party is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
Members of Parliament
Dick HarrisRichard M. "Dick" Harris is a Canadian politician. He is a Member of Parliament and member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He also was a member of the Reform Party of Canada and the Canadian Alliance. He represents the electoral district of Cariboo—Prince George, and formerly Prince...
and
Jay HillJay D. Hill, PC, MP is a Canadian politician and member of the Conservative Party of Canada...
. Harris and Hill were both first elected in
1993The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
. Harris defeated the
New Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a social democratic political party in Canada. In the Canadian House of Commons, it holds a centre-left position in the Canadian political spectrum. The leader of the federal NDP is Jack Layton...
incumbent
Brian GardinerBrian L. Gardiner was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1993. His background included publishing, administration and management....
in the
Prince George—Bulkley ValleyPrince George—Bulkley Valley was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 2004.- History :...
riding. Hill succeeded
Frank OberleFrank Oberle, Sr., PC is a businessman and former Canadian politician.Born in Forchheim, Germany, Oberle moved with his family German-occupied Poland in 1941. There he was placed in a Hitler Youth indoctrination program. Later, he fled the Red Army advance, surviving on grass and stolen eggs while...
who held his riding since 1972 for the
Progressive Conservative PartyThe Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and a centrist stance on social issues....
and served as the Minister of Science and Technology and the Minister of Forestry.
| style="width: 150px" |ConservativeThe Conservative Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. The party is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
| style="width: 90px" |Dick Harris
|align="right"|7452
|style="width: 65px" align="right"|41%
|style="width: 65px" align="right"|45%
|LiberalThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is a major political party in Canada. The party sits between the centre-left and centre of the Canadian political spectrum. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in the Parliament of Canada since the 2006 federal election...
|Simon Yu
|align="right"|5005
|align="right"|28%
|align="right"|24%
|NDPThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a social democratic political party in Canada. In the Canadian House of Commons, it holds a centre-left position in the Canadian political spectrum. The leader of the federal NDP is Jack Layton...
|Alfred Trudeau
|align="right"|4287
|align="right"|24%
|align="right"|23%
|GreenThe Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens, as their name indicates, advocate green politics and are the largest party in Canada to focus primarily on green politics, though other parties...
|Alex Bracewell
|align="right"|933
|align="right"|5.2%
|align="right"|5.5%
|Christian HeritageThe Christian Heritage Party of Canada is a federal political party that advocates that Canada be governed according to biblical teaching, which it describes as "the inspired, inerrant written Word of God"....
|Chris Kempling
|align="right"|133
|align="right"|0.7%
|align="right"|1.2%
|Canadian ActionThe Canadian Action Party is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997. It promotes Canadian nationalism, monetary reform, and electoral reform and opposes neoliberal globalization and free trade agreements.- Background :The Canadian Action Party was founded by Paul T...
|Bev Collins
|align="right"|117
|align="right"|0.7%
|align="right"|0.6%
| style="width: 160px"|First PeoplesThe First Peoples National Party of Canada is a registered federal political party in Canada. It intends to advance the issues of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada by nominating candidates for election in electoral districts with large Aboriginal populations.The FPNPC held its first organizational...
|Don Roberts
|align="right"|40
|align="right"|0.2%
|align="right"|0.2%
|Marxist-Leninist
|Carol Lee Chapman
|align="right"|35
|align="right"|0.2%
|align="right"|0.2%
|}
| style="width: 150px" |ConservativeThe Conservative Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. The party is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
| style="width: 90px" |Jay Hill
|align="right"|4441
|style="width: 65px" align="right"|46%
|style="width: 65px" align="right"|60%
|NDPThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a social democratic political party in Canada. In the Canadian House of Commons, it holds a centre-left position in the Canadian political spectrum. The leader of the federal NDP is Jack Layton...
|Malcolm Crockett
|align="right"|2170
|align="right"|23%
|align="right"|17%
|LiberalThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is a major political party in Canada. The party sits between the centre-left and centre of the Canadian political spectrum. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in the Parliament of Canada since the 2006 federal election...
|Nathan Bauder
|align="right"|2120
|align="right"|22%
|align="right"|16%
|GreenThe Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens, as their name indicates, advocate green politics and are the largest party in Canada to focus primarily on green politics, though other parties...
|Hilary Crowley
|align="right"|748
|align="right"|7.8%
|align="right"|6.4%
|Independent
|Donna Young
|align="right"|76
|align="right"|0.8%
|align="right"|0.9%
|}
See also
- Simon Fraser (explorer)
Simon Fraser was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains...
- Weather radar in Prince George
The Canadian weather radar network consists of 31 weather radars spanning Canada's most populated regions. Their primary purpose is the early detection of precipitation, its motion and the threat it poses to life and property...
- Monarchy in British Columbia
External links