A village is a classification of municipalities used in the Canadian province of British Columbia. British Columbia's Lieutenant Governor in Council may incorporate a community as a village by letters patent, under the recommendation of the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development, if its population is not greater than 2,500 and the outcome of a vote involving affected residents was that greater than 50% voted in favour of the proposed incorporation.[1]

British Columbia has 42 villages[2] that had a cumulative population of 44,962 and an average population of 1,070 in the 2011 Census.[3] British Columbia's largest and smallest villages are Cumberland and Zeballos with populations of 3,398 and 125 respectively.[3]

Of British Columbia's current 42 villages, the first to incorporate as a village was Kaslo on August 14, 1893, while the most recent community to incorporate as a village was Queen Charlotte on December 5, 2005 (later renamed to Daajing Giids on July 13, 2022).[2][4]

List

Village Corporate
name[2] 		Regional
district[2] 		Incorporation
date[2] 		Population
(2011)[3] 		Population
(2006)[3] 		Change
(%)[3] 		Area
(km²)[3] 		Population
density[3]
Alert Bay Alert Bay, The Corporation of the Village of Mount Waddington January 14, 1946 445 456 −2.4 1.73 257.3
Anmore Anmore, Village of Greater Vancouver December 7, 1987 2,092 1,785 17.2 28.24 74.1
Ashcroft Ashcroft, The Corporation of the Village of Thompson-Nicola June 27, 1952 1,628 1,664 −2.2 50.90 32.0
Belcarra Belcarra, Village of Greater Vancouver August 22, 1979 644 676 −4.7 5.50 117.1
Burns Lake Burns Lake, The Corporation of the Village of Bulkley-Nechako December 6, 1923 2,029 2,107 −3.7 6.59 307.7
Cache Creek Cache Creek, Village of Thompson-Nicola November 28, 1967 1,040 1,037 0.3 10.25 101.5
Canal Flats Canal Flats, Village of East Kootenay June 29, 2004 715 700 2.1 10.86 65.8
Chase Chase, Village of Thompson-Nicola April 22, 1969 2,495 2,409 3.6 3.77 662.5
Clinton Clinton, Village of Thompson-Nicola July 16, 1963 636 598 6.4 7.89 80.6
Cumberland Cumberland, The Corporation of the Village of Comox Valley January 1, 1898 3,398 2,762 23.0 29.00 117.2
Daajing Giids[a] Daajing Giids, Village of North Coast December 5, 2005 944 948 −0.4 35.62 26.5
Fraser Lake Fraser Lake, Village of Bulkley-Nechako September 27, 1966 1,167 1,113 4.9 4.07 286.9
Fruitvale Fruitvale, The Corporation of the Village of Kootenay Boundary November 4, 1952 2,016 1,952 3.3 2.71 745.3
Gold River Gold River, Village of Strathcona August 26, 1965 1,267 1,362 −7.0 10.78 117.5
Granisle[b] Granisle, Village of Bulkley-Nechako June 29, 1971 303 364 −16.8 41.86 7.2
Harrison Hot Springs Harrison Hot Springs, Village of Fraser Valley May 27, 1949 1,468 1,573 −6.7 5.57 263.5
Hazelton Hazelton, The Corporation of the Village of Kitimat-Stikine February 15, 1956 300[6] 293 2.4 2.80 107.1
Kaslo Kaslo, Village of Central Kootenay August 14, 1893 1,026 1,072 −4.3 2.48 413.6
Keremeos Keremeos, The Corporation of the Village of Okanagan-Similkameen October 30, 1956 1,330 1,289 3.2 2.09 635.4
Lions Bay Lions Bay, Village of Greater Vancouver December 17, 1970 1,318 1,328 −0.8 2.53 520.2
Lumby Lumby, The Corporation of the Village of North Okanagan December 20, 1955 1,731 1,634 5.9 5.74 301.6
Lytton Lytton, The Corporation of the Village of Thompson-Nicola May 3, 1945 228 235 −3.0 6.54 34.8
Masset Masset, Village of North Coast May 11, 1961 884 940 −6.0 20.61 42.9
McBride McBride, The Corporation of the Village of Fraser-Fort George April 7, 1932 586 660 −11.2 4.64 126.4
Midway Midway, Village of Kootenay Boundary May 25, 1967 674 621 8.5 12.24 55.0
Montrose Montrose, The Corporation of the Village of Kootenay Boundary June 22, 1956 1,030 1,012 1.8 1.46 704.6
Nakusp Nakusp, Village of Central Kootenay November 24, 1964 1,569 1,524 3.0 8.05 194.8
New Denver New Denver, The Corporation of the Village of Central Kootenay January 12, 1929 504 512 −1.6 0.87 579.6
Pemberton Pemberton, Village of Squamish-Lillooet July 20, 1956 2,369 2,192 8.1 10.89 217.5
Port Alice Port Alice, Village of Mount Waddington June 16, 1965 805 821 −1.9 7.04 114.4
Port Clements Port Clements, Village of North Coast December 31, 1975 378 440 −14.1 13.04 29.0
Pouce Coupe Pouce Coupe, The Corporation of the Village of Peace River January 6, 1932 738 739 −0.1 2.06 358.5
Radium Hot Springs Radium Hot Springs, Village of East Kootenay December 10, 1990 777 735 5.7 6.34 122.5
Salmo Salmo, The Corporation of the Village of Central Kootenay October 30, 1946 1,139 1,007 13.1 2.44 466.2
Sayward Sayward, Village of Strathcona June 27, 1968 317 341 −7.0 4.51 70.3
Silverton Silverton, The Corporation of the Village of Central Kootenay May 6, 1930 195 185 5.4 0.35 550.5
Slocan Slocan, Village of Central Kootenay June 1, 1901 296 314 −5.7 0.78 381.7
Tahsis Tahsis, Village of Strathcona June 17, 1970 316 366 −13.7 5.26 60.0
Telkwa Telkwa, The Corporation of the Village of Bulkley-Nechako July 18, 1952 1,350 1,295 4.2 7.04 191.9
Valemount Valemount, Village of Fraser-Fort George December 13, 1962 1,020 1,018 0.2 5.17 197.4
Warfield Warfield, The Corporation of the Village of Kootenay Boundary December 8, 1952 1,700 1,729 −1.7 1.89 900.7
Zeballos Zeballos, The Corporation of the Village of Strathcona June 27, 1952 125 189 −33.9 1.56 80.3
Total villages — — — 44,962 43,997 2.2 393.76 114.2

Notes:

  1. ^ Daajing Giids was formerly known as Queen Charlotte prior to July 13, 2022.[4]
  2. ^ Granisle was founded as a company town by Granisle Copper Ltd. prior to its incorporation in 1971.[5]

Former villages

Fort Nelson held village status between April 8, 1971, and October 31, 1987, after which it was classified as a town[7] before ultimately amalgamating with the Northern Rockies Regional District on February 6, 2009, to form the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.[8][9]

Kinnaird held village status between August 6, 1947, and August 5, 1967, after which it was classified as a town before ultimately amalgamating with the Town of Castlegar on January 1, 1974, to form the City of Castlegar.[10]

Mission City held village status between December 12, 1939, and January 1, 1958, after which it was classified as a town before ultimately amalgamating with the District of Mission on November 1, 1969.[11]

Town status eligibility

As of the 2021 Census, two of the above villages – Cumberland and Pemberton – meet the requirement of having a population greater than 2,500 to incorporate as a town.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Local Government Act: Part 2 — Incorporation of Municipalities". Government of British Columbia Queen's Printer. November 12, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (British Columbia)". Statistics Canada. May 28, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Ministry of Municipal Affairs (July 13, 2022). "Ancestral Haida name restored to Haida Gwaii village". BC Gov News. Government of British Columbia. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "Name Details: Granisle". GeoBC. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  6. ^ "Corrections and updates: Population and dwelling count amendments, 2011 Census". Statistics Canada. March 21, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  7. ^ "Name Details: Fort Nelson". GeoBC. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  8. ^ "Fort Nelson". Northern Rockies Regional Municipality. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  9. ^ "Statistics Relating to Regional and Municipal Governments in BC 2011" (PDF). Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. p. 21 of 30. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  10. ^ "Name Details: Kinnaird". GeoBC. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  11. ^ "Name Details: Mission City". GeoBC. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
Categories