The West Coast of Canada

British Columbia –

The capital city is Victoria which is located on Vancouver Island, although Vancouver is the largest city and the third largest in Canada. Located on the pacific coast, it is the most western province in Canada. It has a large Asian community making Chinese and Punjabi the most spoken languages after English in the province.

It has the most clement weather, due to the protection of the coastal mountains which protect the Lower Mainland and the coast from the cold Arctic air masses in the winter and a diversity of geographical attributes. The three main mountain ranges are the Coastal Mountains in the west, the Columbia Mountains in the centre, and the Rocky Mountains in the east of the province.

There are thousands of islands along the coastline, including the Queen Charlotte Islands in the north and the Gulf Islands near the southern end of Vancouver Island. There are seven national parks in British Columbia that encompass the beauty of the province.

British Columbia’s main industry is forestry. It has thriving fishing and agriculture industries and mining is its third largest industry. Tourism also contributes significantly to the province’s economy and interestingly British Columbia is the third largest film and television production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York.

The average hourly wage of full time employees in the province is $25.03 and the province’s average house price is $494,000.

Find out about the other regions in Canada