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]
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:
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]
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.