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List of regional districts of British Columbia

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Regional Districts of British Columbia
LocationBritish Columbia
Number29
Populations683 (Stikine Region) – 2,642,825 (Metro Vancouver)
Areas1,697 km2 (655 sq mi) (Comox Valley) – 118,409 km2 (45,718 sq mi) (Stikine Region)
Government
Subdivisions

The Canadian province of British Columbia is divided into regional districts as a means to better enable municipalities and rural areas to work together at a regional level. These divisions also serve as the province's census divisions.

History

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Regional districts came into being via an order of government in 1965 with the enactment of amendments to the Municipal Act.[1] Until the creation of regional districts, the only local form of government in British Columbia was incorporated municipalities, and services in areas outside municipal boundaries had to be sought from the province or through improvement districts.[2]

Governance

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Similar to counties in other parts of Canada, regional districts serve only to provide municipal services as the local government in areas not incorporated into a municipality and in certain regional affairs of shared concern between residents of unincorporated areas and those in the municipalities, such as a stakeholder role in regional planning. In those predominantly rural areas, regional districts provide services such as land use planning, building inspection, solid-waste management, and some responsibility for community fire protection.

Most land nominally within a regional district is under the control of the provincial government, or in the case of national parks and offshore waters, the federal government. Indian reserves located within the boundaries of regional districts are likewise excluded from their jurisdiction and infrastructure, and there are varying levels of collaboration between First Nations governments and regional district boards.

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 (which are grouped into electoral areas) elect directors directly. The votes of directors from municipalities generally count more than those of directors from electoral areas, and larger municipalities have more votes than smaller ones. For example, both North Saanich and Metchosin 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.[3]

List

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British Columbia regional districts as of February 9, 2021[4]
Regional district Office location Established[5] Population (2021) Area (km2) Density (per km2)
Alberni–Clayoquot Port Alberni April 21, 1966 33,521 6,577 5.1
Bulkley–Nechako Burns Lake February 1, 1966 37,737 73,203 0.52
Capital Victoria February 1, 1966 415,451 2,338 177.7
Cariboo Williams Lake July 9, 1968 62,931 80,374 0.78
Central Coast Bella Coola July 16, 1968 3,582 24,434 0.15
Central Kootenay Nelson November 30, 1965 62,509 22,078 2.8
Central Okanagan Kelowna August 24, 1967 222,162 2,902 76.5
Columbia–Shuswap Salmon Arm November 30, 1965 57,021 28,886 2.0
Comox Valley Courtenay February 1, 2008 72,445 1,697 42.7
Cowichan Valley Duncan September 26, 1967 89,013 3,472 25.6
East Kootenay Cranbrook November 30, 1965 65,896 27,514 2.4
Fraser Valley Chilliwack December 12, 1995 324,005 13,319 24.3
Fraser–Fort George Prince George March 8, 1967 96,979 50,581 1.9
Kitimat–Stikine Terrace September 14, 1967 37,790 104,307 0.36
Kootenay Boundary Trail February 22, 1966 33,152 8,081 4.1
Metro Vancouver Burnaby June 29, 1967[6] 2,642,825 2,879 918.0
Mount Waddington Port McNeill June 13, 1966 10,839 20,186 0.54
Nanaimo Nanaimo August 24, 1967 170,367 2,036 83.7
North Coast Prince Rupert August 17, 1967 18,181 19,710 0.92
North Okanagan Coldstream November 9, 1965 91,610 7,497 12.2
Northern Rockies Fort Nelson January 29, 2009 4,478 84,859 0.05
Okanagan–Similkameen Penticton March 4, 1966 90,178 10,407 8.7
Peace River Dawson Creek October 31, 1967 61,532 117,217 0.52
qathet Powell River December 19, 1967[7] 21,496 5,068 4.2
Squamish–Lillooet Pemberton October 3, 1969 50,496 16,296 3.1
Stikine Region[a] (N/A) (N/A) 683 118,409 0.01
Strathcona Campbell River February 1, 2008 48,150 18,244 2.6
Sunshine Coast Sechelt January 4, 1967 32,170 3,767 8.5
Thompson–Nicola Kamloops November 24, 1967 143,680 44,347 3.2
  1. ^ The Stikine Region is not officially per se a regional district but is rather an unincorporated area;[8] it is administered directly by the provincial government.

Historical regional districts

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The first regional district was established in 1965, and the then-final regional district was established in 1968.

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

The western half of Dewdney–Alouette, consisting of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, was incorporated into the Greater Vancouver Regional District (now Metro Vancouver). Mission and the unincorporated areas east of the Chehalis River were incorporated into the Fraser Valley Regional District.

This amalgamation occurred due to the western part of Dewdney–Alouette becoming essentially a suburb of Vancouver and the thought that it would be better served within Metro Vancouver. The Central Fraser Valley RD would be nearly completely dominated by the newly amalgamated City of Abbotsford, bringing the regional district's role into question; similarly, the remnant of Dewdney-Alouette would be dominated by Mission. Given the rapid growth experienced in the Fraser Valley at the time, which was expected to continue for the foreseeable future, creating the Fraser Valley Regional District was seen as the best option.[citation needed]

The Comox–Strathcona Regional District was abolished in February 2008 and replaced by two successor regional districts: Comox Valley and Strathcona.[10]

The Peace River–Liard Regional District was created on October 31, 1967, when the regional district system was first established. On October 31, 1987, it was split into the Peace River Regional District and the Fort Nelson–Liard Regional District, which since has become the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Regional Districts in B.C." Regional Districts in B.C. Province of British Columbia. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  2. ^ Bish, Robert L.; Clemens, Eric G. (2008). Local Government in British Columbia (PDF). Richmond: Union of British Columbia Municipalities. p. 45.
  3. ^ British Columbia Ministry of Community Services, "Primer on Regional Districts in British Columbia," 2006. Archived 2007-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada and census divisions, 2021 and 2016 censuses – 100% data". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  5. ^ "BC Geographical Names".
  6. ^ As Greater Vancouver Regional District
  7. ^ As Powell River Regional District
  8. ^ BC STATS: Statistical Glossary Archived 2009-06-26 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed online June 13, 2009.
  9. ^ ALR Statistics Appendix 3 Archived 2006-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Regional District and Municipal Boundary Changes, 1996 to Present Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed online June 13, 2009.
  11. ^ BC Names/GeoBC "Peace River-Liard Regional District"
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