May 2018
In this issue
A city between two rivers (the Quesnel and Fraser), Quesnel first made it onto the map as Gold Pan City, thanks to its status as a gateway to gold-mining centre Barkerville. It quickly became the commercial axis of the Cariboo gold rush, which lasted from 1860 to 1863. Four years after that fever died down, the Hudson’s Bay Co. store...
Halfway between the Kamloops sun and the Prince George snow lies Williams Lake. Incorporated as a city in 1929, it takes its name from a nearby lake that in turn was named in honour of Chief William of the Sugar Cane Indian Reserve. For many years, Williams Lake’s economy leaned heavily on agriculture, thanks to numerous local cattle ranches. But...
Tradition runs deep in Prince Rupert. More than a third of the 12,000-plus people who call the city home identify as Indigenous, and with that sense of history comes a respect for nature and the land. One of the best ways get to Prince Rupert is via the longest route offered by BC Ferries. From Vancouver Island, you sail through the...
Some places naturally inherit a vibe that ends up defining them. Smithers, sandwiched between the two largest cities in the province’s Northwest region (Prince George and Prince Rupert), has made the most of its surroundings. B.C.’s first incorporated village officially became a town in 1967, and its success as a regional centre for the Bulkley Valley hinged on forestry and its...
The largest population centre in northern British Columbia, Prince George is located smack-dab in the middle of the province. It’s also far bigger than any other city in the region. Prince George owes its prominence to a 1908-14 land boom linked to the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (now part of the Canadian National Railway). As the story...
“The Energetic City,” Fort St. John is the province’s largest centre north of Prince George. Though many British Columbians have never paid it a visit, the trading hub has thrived in recent years. At a respectable 3.4 percent from 2012 to 2017, Fort St. John’s population growth outpaced the B.C. average. The city’s slogan is a double entendre: one of B.C.’s...
New Westminster is more than booming—it’s blossoming into a nexus of urban cool. Chic bistros, cocktail bars and juice cafés spill out from once-empty storefronts on downtown Columbia Street and in other neighbourhoods. A street-food truck festival rolls in every summer. The skyline is sprouting numerous new offices and condo towers that quickly fill with new occupants. These are dramatic changes...
Dawson Creek is often thought of as the start or the end of a journey. That has much to do with its advantageous position on the Alaska Highway, which, depending on your view, begins or stops here. The Mile 0 City rose to prominence with the highway’s construction during the Second World War, when American soldiers and workers came to...
The largest city in the Okanagan Valley, Kelowna often wins praise for its natural beauty and geographical attractions. What else would you expect from a place with neighbourhood names like Big White and Lake Country? In fact, it’s reasonable to think you’ve arrived in some kind of Merlot-fuelled paradise when you drop in on the perfectly manicured orchards and fields...
Kamloops bills itself as Canada’s Tournament Capital, so much so that the athletic complex near local Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is called Tournament Capital Centre. Besides hosting competitions ranging from the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships to the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games, the city embraces nature, as one does in the Thompson-Okanagan’s copious sunshine. Residents have plenty of...