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Website. victoria .ca. Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The city of Victoria is the seventh most densely populated city in Canada with 4,406 ...
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Victoria, city, capital of British Columbia, Canada, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island between the Juan de Fuca and Haro straits, approximately 60 miles (100 km) south-southwest of the province’s largest city, Vancouver. Victoria is the largest urban area on the island. It has the mildest winter climate of any city in Canada, and its ...
The history of settlement by Coast Salish (Salishan) First Nations (Native American) people in the Victoria region dates back well over 10,000 years. The site of the future city was known to the Coast Salish as Camosun or Camosack. In 1778 explorer Capt. James Cook reached the island. English navigator George Vancouver was with Cook on that voyage and returned in 1792 to circumnavigate and survey the island, which was later named for him. As fur trading became established in the region, the Hudson’s Bay Company came to dominate the island and in 1843 established Fort Camosun—later called Fort Albert and then Fort Victoria, for the British queen—at the city’s present site.
In 1849 Vancouver Island became a British crown colony with Fort Victoria as its capital. More settlers arrived, and a small village arose near the fort. By the early 1850s the village site had been formally surveyed, and in 1852 the settlement was named Victoria. Agriculture, forestry, and coal interests were by then replacing those of fur, but there were never more than several hundred residents until the discovery of gold in 1858 along the banks of the Fraser River and later in the interior Cariboo region, both in mainland British Columbia. The region, including Victoria, was transformed instantly by an influx of some 25,000–30,000 gold seekers (many of them American and Chinese), most of whom used Victoria as the port of entry to the mainland and as the supply centre for their mining ventures. (In 1858 British Columbia also was made a crown colony.)
Gold fever was thus responsible for Victoria’s rapid growth from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants. It was incorporated as a city in 1862. In 1865 the Royal Navy designated an existing naval base at Esquimalt (now a suburb of Victoria), on the west side of the harbour, as its Pacific headquarters, further spurring population growth in the region. During this period Victoria became the most important city in Canada’s western region. It was made the capital of the combined colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in 1866, and by 1871 the city of Victoria’s population was 3,630. The city’s protected harbour facilitated import and export services for the whole colony, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing provided additional employment. Victoria became the colony’s financial centre and a focus of industry, with a flour mill, soap works, gasworks, tanneries, shipyards, and brickyards, as well as baking, brewing, and distilling plants.
The arrival in 1886 of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) at Burrard Inlet, near Vancouver, made that city an international port connected to the rest of North America by rail. As a result, Victoria’s commercial activities and population soon took a backseat to booming Vancouver, although Victoria and its surrounding region experienced steady growth.
- Brett Mcgillivray
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Oct 18, 2011 · Victoria (BC) Victoria, BC, incorporated as a city in 1862, population 91,867 (2021 census ), 85,792 (2016 census). The capital of British Columbia, the City of Victoria is situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, about 100 km south of Vancouver. Occupying a peninsular site, Victoria is bordered by the Juan de Fuca and Haro straits.
Apr 16, 2024 · Things to Do in Victoria – Last updated: April 21, 2024. When it comes to beautiful Canadian cities, Victoria is definitely high on the list. Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is British Columbia’s capital and one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest.
Victoria, BC, as the capital city of British Columbia, has a significant British heritage that has impacted its relationship with other Canadian cities and regions in various ways. The city, formerly known as Fort Victoria, was established in 1843 as a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post and later became a British colony in 1858.
Victoria is the capital city of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is named after Queen Victoria. Over 350,000 people live in the Victoria area. Many people work for the government or in tourism. It is warmer than other Canadian cities in the winter, so many Canadians move there when they retire. Victoria is on Vancouver Island.
Aug 15, 2023 · Victoria is famous for the Butchart Gardens, the Fairmont Empress, and the oldest Chinatown in Canada. Victoria is known as Canada’s Garden City and as the most romantic city in Canada. Victoria is a city of contrasts: it’s home to a great afternoon tea, but also 17 craft breweries. The seafood is next-level fresh, and the Chinese food is ...
