The North Coast Regional District (until 2016 known as the Skeena–Queen Charlotte Regional District) is a quasi-municipal administrative area in British Columbia. It is located on British Columbia's west coast and includes Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands), the largest of which are Graham Island and Moresby Island. Its administrative offices are in the City of Prince Rupert.
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the North Coast Regional District, previously the Skeena–Queen Charlotte Regional District, had a population of 18,181 living in 7,661 of its 9,082 total private dwellings, a change of 0.3% from its 2016 population of 18,133. With a land area of 19,710.3 km2 (7,610.2 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.9/km2 (2.4/sq mi) in 2021.[3]
Panethnic groups in the North Coast Regional District (1996−2021)
In addition to 7,700 aboriginal persons listed in the regional district's community profile at Statistics Canada,[16] there are four separate Indian reserve communities within the regional district whose populations are not included within the regional district's figures, and which are governed separately by their respective band governments. These Indian reserves are:
The Regional District had historically been called the Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District, referring to its location on the Skeena River and the Queen Charlotte archipelago. Once the Queen Charlottes were renamed Haidi Gwaii to reflect their Indigenous heritage, discussions began about renaming the Regional District to reflect the update. In September 2016, letters patent were granted renaming it to the North Coast Regional District [17]