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Regional districts of British Columbia

 

 
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Regional districts of British Columbia
 
 
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The Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 Province of British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
 is divided into regional districts. Like counties in nearly all states of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and in Eastern Canada, regional districts serve as the local government
Local government

Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government....
 in areas not incorporated
Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of Real property that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city or town with its own government....
 into a municipality
Municipality

A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them....
 and in certain regional affairs of shared interest to the municipalities. In those predominantly rural areas, regional districts provide services such as land-use planning, building inspection and fire protection
Fire protection

Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of mitigating systems....
. Regional districts also provide some services, such as solid-waste management and emergency management
Emergency management

Emergency management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks. It is a discipline that involves preparing for disaster before it occurs, disaster response , as well as supporting, and rebuilding society after natural hazards or man-made hazards disasters have occurred....
, to their entire territory, including municipalities.






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The Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 Province of British Columbia
British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
 is divided into regional districts. Like counties in nearly all states of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and in Eastern Canada, regional districts serve as the local government
Local government

Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government....
 in areas not incorporated
Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of Real property that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city or town with its own government....
 into a municipality
Municipality

A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them....
 and in certain regional affairs of shared interest to the municipalities. In those predominantly rural areas, regional districts provide services such as land-use planning, building inspection and fire protection
Fire protection

Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of mitigating systems....
. Regional districts also provide some services, such as solid-waste management and emergency management
Emergency management

Emergency management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks. It is a discipline that involves preparing for disaster before it occurs, disaster response , as well as supporting, and rebuilding society after natural hazards or man-made hazards disasters have occurred....
, to their entire territory, including municipalities. They are not the equivalent of counties, however, and their powers and democratic mandate are substantially weaker.

Regional districts are governed by boards of directly and indirectly elected directors. Municipalities appoint directors to represent their populations (usually the mayors), while residents of unincorporated areas elect directors directly. The votes of directors from heavily populated areas sometimes count more than the votes of directors from sparser areas. For example, both North Saanich
North Saanich, British Columbia

North Saanich is located on the Saanich Peninsula, approximately 25 km north of Victoria, British Columbia on southern Vancouver Island. The District is surrounded on three sides by 20 km of ocean shoreline, and consists of rural/residential areas and a large agricultural base and is home to the Victoria International Airport and the Swartz...
 and Metchosin
Metchosin, British Columbia

The District of Metchosin is a small, coastal community in Greater Victoria, British Columbia's Western Communities. Many Metchosinites have hobby farms, typically of sheep or chickens....
 appoint one director to the Capital Regional District board of directors, but the vote of North Saanich's director counts three times as much as the vote of Metchosin's appointee.

Current regional districts

Census Divisions Bc Numbered
The current districts, shown with the location of their head offices:
  1. Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (Port Alberni
    Port Alberni, British Columbia

    Port Alberni is a city located in the province of British Columbia in Canada. It is the seat of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, British Columbia....
    )
  2. Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (Burns Lake
    Burns Lake, British Columbia

    Burns Lake is a rural village, incorporated in 1923, and situated at the geographical centre of the province of British Columbia. It is the seat of the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, British Columbia....
    )
  3. Capital Regional District (Victoria
    Victoria, British Columbia

    Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia. 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....
    )
  4. Cariboo Regional District (Williams Lake
    Williams Lake, British Columbia

    Williams Lake, colloquially as "Willy's Puddle", is a city in the British Columbia Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the Cariboo, it is the largest urban centre between Kamloops, British Columbia and Prince George, British Columbia....
    )
  5. Central Coast Regional District (Bella Coola
    Bella Coola, British Columbia

    Bella Coola is a community of approximately 600 at the western extremity of the Bella Coola valley. Bella Coola usually refers to the entire valley, encompassing the settlements of Bella Coola proper , Lower Bella Coola, Hagensborg, British Columbia, Saloompt, Nusatsum, Firvale and Stuie....
    )
  6. Regional District of Central Kootenay (Nelson
    Nelson, British Columbia

    Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the extreme west arm of Kootenay Lake in the British Columbia Interior of British Columbia, Canada....
    )
  7. Regional District of Central Okanagan (Kelowna
    Kelowna, British Columbia

    Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a native term for "grizzly bear". Kelowna ranks as the 22nd largest List of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada in Canada....
    )
  8. Columbia-Shuswap Regional District (Salmon Arm
    Salmon Arm, British Columbia

    Salmon Arm is a city in the interior of the Canada province of British Columbia that has a population of 16,205 . It is on the shores of Shuswap Lake, where the Salmon River empties into the Salmon Arm reach of the Lake....
    )
  9. Comox Valley Regional District (Courtenay
    Courtenay, British Columbia

    Courtenay is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest city in the area commonly known as the Comox Valley, and it is the location of the head offices of the Comox Valley Regional District, British Columbia....
    )
  10. Cowichan Valley Regional District (Duncan
    Duncan, British Columbia

    Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada....
    )
  11. Regional District of East Kootenay (Cranbrook
    Cranbrook, British Columbia

    Cranbrook, British Columbia is a city in southeast British Columbia, seat of the Regional District of East Kootenay, British Columbia. As of the Canada 2007 Census the population is 20,667, spread over an area of 25.14 square kilometres for a population density of 726.6 persons per square kilometre....
    )
  12. Fraser Valley Regional District
    Fraser Valley Regional District

    The Fraser Valley Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km? , which is more than twice that of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island....
     (Chilliwack
    Chilliwack, British Columbia

    Chilliwack is a Canada city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 70,000 people....
    )
  13. Regional District of Fraser-Fort George (Prince George
    Prince George, British Columbia

    Prince George, with a population of 70,981 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia and is known as "BC's Northern Capital". Situated at the confluence of the Fraser River and Nechako River Rivers, and the crossroads of British Columbia Highway 16 and British Columbia Highway 97, the city plays an important role in the province's ec...
    )
  14. Metro Vancouver (Greater Vancouver Regional District) (Burnaby
    Burnaby, British Columbia

    Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, is the city immediately east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey, British Columbia and Vancouver itself....
    )
  15. Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine (Terrace
    Terrace, British Columbia

    Terrace is a service community on the Skeena River in British Columbia, Canada. Tsimshian people have lived in the area for thousands of years. The community has a population of 12,109 with a regional population of 19,980 ....
    )
  16. Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
    Regional District of Kootenay Boundary

    The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2006 census, the population was 30,742....
     (Trail
    Trail, British Columbia

    Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the British Columbia Interior of British Columbia, Canada....
    )
  17. Regional District of Mount Waddington (Port McNeill
    Port McNeill, British Columbia

    Port McNeill Port McNeill is a town on the north-eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia ,Canada with a population of 2,623 . The area originally had been a basecamp for loggers....
    )
  18. Regional District of Nanaimo (Nanaimo
    Nanaimo, British Columbia

    Nanaimo is the second largest city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City"....
    )
  19. Regional District of North Okanagan (Coldstream
    Coldstream, British Columbia

    Coldstream is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada, located at the northern end of Kalamalka Lake in the Okanagan Valley. It is the seat of the Regional District of North Okanagan, British Columbia....
    )
  20. Northern Rockies Regional District (Fort Nelson
    Fort Nelson, British Columbia

    Fort Nelson is a town of approximately 5000 residents in British Columbia's northeastern corner. It is the seat, and only municipality in the Northern Rockies Regional District, British Columbia....
    )
  21. Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (Penticton
    Penticton, British Columbia

    Penticton is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia Interior, Canada between Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake. Its 2006 population was 31,909 ....
    )
  22. Peace River Regional District (Dawson Creek
    Dawson Creek, British Columbia

    The City of Dawson Creek is a small city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 11,811 in 2007. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community....
    )
  23. Powell River Regional District (Powell River
    Powell River, British Columbia

    Powell River is a city on the northern Sunshine Coast, British Columbia of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Most of its population lives near the eastern shores of Malaspina Strait, that part of the larger Gulf of Georgia between Texada Island and the Mainland....
    )
  24. Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District (Prince Rupert
    Prince Rupert, British Columbia

    Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia Coast, and home to some 12,815 people ....
    )
  25. Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (Pemberton
    Pemberton, British Columbia

    Pemberton is a village north of Whistler, British Columbia in the Pemberton Valley of British Columbia in Canada, with a population of 2,192. Until the 1960s the village could be accessed only by train but that changed when British Columbia Highway 99 was built through Whistler and Pemberton....
    )
  26. Stikine Region (n/a)
  27. Strathcona Regional District (Campbell River
    Campbell River, British Columbia

    Campbell River is a Canada/cities in British Columbia on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the important coastal Inside Passage shipping route....
    )
  28. Sunshine Coast Regional District (Sechelt
    Sechelt, British Columbia

    The district municipality of Sechelt is a community on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia of British Columbia. Located approximately 50 km northwest of Vancouver, Sechelt is accessible to mainland British Columbia via a 40 minute ferry trip between Horseshoe Bay, British Columbia and Langdale, British Columbia, and a 25 minute drive from...
    )
  29. Thompson-Nicola Regional District (Kamloops
    Kamloops, British Columbia

    Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake....
    )


Historical regional districts


The following regional districts were dissolved in December 1995, and amalgamated largely into the newly formed Fraser Valley Regional District
Fraser Valley Regional District

The Fraser Valley Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km? , which is more than twice that of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island....
:

  • Dewdney-Alouette Regional District
    Dewdney-Alouette Regional District

    The Dewdney-Alouette Regional District was a regional district in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, comprising the district municipalities of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Maple Ridge, British Columbia and Mission, British Columbia and uncincorporated areas east to the Harrison River and north to the southern end of Lillooet L...
    : Mission
    Mission, British Columbia

    Mission, the core of which was formerly known as Mission City, is a district municipality, in the Provinces of Canada of British Columbia, Canada, is situated on the north bank of the Fraser River, overlooking the Fraser Valley....
    , Pitt Meadows
    Pitt Meadows, British Columbia

    Pitt Meadows is a city in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and a member municipality in Metro Vancouver. Incorporated in 1914, it has a land area of 85.38 square kilometers and a population of Pitt Meadows was approximately 16,757....
    , and Maple Ridge
    Maple Ridge, British Columbia

    Maple Ridge is a District Municipality in British Columbia, located in the northeastern section of Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge has a population of approximately 73,000....
    , and unincorporated areas north of the Fraser River
    Fraser River

    The Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia, Canada, rising near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 km , into the Pacific Ocean at the city of Vancouver, British Columbia....
     and west of the District of Kent
    Kent, British Columbia

    The District of Kent is a district municipality located 116 kilometres east of Vancouver, British Columbia. Part of the Fraser Valley Regional District, Kent consists of several communities, the largest and most well-known being Agassiz, British Columbia, the only town in the municipality, and several Indian reserves....
  • Central Fraser Valley Regional District: The modern City of Abbotsford
    Abbotsford, British Columbia

    Abbotsford is a Canada/cities in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, adjacent to Metro Vancouver. It is the 5th largest municipality in British Columbia and the 37th largest in Canada, home to 123,864 people ....
     (itself newly formed at the time) and adjacent unincorporated areas - Sumas Mountain (now FVRD Electoral H
    Fraser Valley Regional District

    The Fraser Valley Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km? , which is more than twice that of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island....
    , west of Chilliwack
    Chilliwack, British Columbia

    Chilliwack is a Canada city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 70,000 people....
     and south of the Fraser River
    Fraser River

    The Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia, Canada, rising near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 km , into the Pacific Ocean at the city of Vancouver, British Columbia....
    .
  • Fraser-Cheam Regional District: The eastern 2/3 of the modern Fraser Valley Regional District, including Chilliwack, Kent, Harrison Hot Springs
    Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia

    The Village of Harrison Hot Springs is a small community at the southern end of Harrison Lake in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. It is a member of the Fraser Valley Regional District, British Columbia; its immediate neighbour is Kent, British Columbia and included in it, the town of Agassiz, British Columbia....
    , Hope
    Hope, British Columbia

    Hope is a district municipality located at the confluence of the Fraser River and Coquihalla River rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada....
     and the Fraser Canyon
    Fraser Canyon

    The Fraser Canyon is a stretch of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley....
     unincorporated areas.


The western half of Dewdney-Alouette, comprising Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, was incorporated into the Greater Vancouver Regional District
Greater Vancouver Regional District

Metro Vancouver, legally titled the Greater Vancouver Regional District, is the inter-municipal body, or Regional districts of British Columbia, charged with certain aspects of governance for the metropolitan area surrounding and including the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....
 (now Metro Vancouver). Mission and the unincorporated areas east to the Chehalis River were incorporated into the Fraser Valley Regional District.

This amalgamation took place due to the western part of Dewdney-Alouette had become essentially a suburb of Vancouver and would be better served by being within Metro Vancouver. The Central Fraser Valley RD would be nearly completely dominated by the newly amalgamated City of Abbotsford, bringing its role as into question; similarly the remnant of Dewdney-Alouette would be dominated by Mission. Given the rapid growth being experienced in the Fraser Valley at the time, and expected to continue for the foreseeable future, the creation of the Fraser Valley Regional District was seen as the best option.

External links



See also

  • List of regional district electoral areas in British Columbia
    List of regional district electoral areas in British Columbia

    This is a list of Regional District Electoral Areas in the Canada province of British Columbia. They are sorted by List of British Columbia Regional Districts....
  • Subdivisions of Canada
  • List of communities in British Columbia
    List of communities in British Columbia

    This is a list of communities in British Columbia, a Provinces and territories of Canada in Canada. For the purposes of this list, a community is defined as either an incorporation municipality , or an unincorporated area town inside or outside of a municipality....