The Fraser Gold Rush of 1858 brought over 25,000 men, mainly from California, to nearby New Westminster (founded February 14, 1859) on the Fraser River, on their way to the Fraser Canyon, bypassing what would become Vancouver. Gastown was a settlement that quickly became a centre for trade and commerce on Burrard Inlet. View of Gastown from Carrall and Water Street in 1886. The indigenous Squamish people who reside in a region that encompasses southwestern British Columbia including this city gave the name K'emk'emeláy̓ which means 'place of many maple trees' this was originally the name of a village inhabited by said people where a sawmill was established by Edward Stamp as part of the foundations to the British settlement later becoming part of Vancouver.

The explorer's ancestors came to England 'from Coevorden', which is the origin of the name that eventually became 'Vancouver'. The family name 'Vancouver' itself originates from the Dutch 'van Coevorden', denoting somebody from the city of Coevorden, Netherlands.

The city takes its name from George Vancouver, who explored the inner harbour of Burrard Inlet in 1792 and gave various places British names. Major film production studios in Vancouver and nearby Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest film production centres in North America, earning it the nickname ' Hollywood North'. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. The city became the permanent home to TED conferences in 2014.Īs of 2016, the Port of Vancouver is the fourth-largest port by tonnage in the Americas, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America. In 1969, Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver. Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 Commonwealth Games, UN Habitat I, Expo 86, APEC Canada 1997, the World Police and Fire Games in 19 several matches of 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup including the finals at BC Place in Downtown Vancouver, and the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics which were held in Vancouver and Whistler, a resort community 125 km (78 mi) north of the city. The city's large natural seaport on the Pacific Ocean became a vital link in the trade between Asia-Pacific, East Asia, Europe, and Eastern Canada. The Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway was extended to the city by 1887. The city was renamed 'Vancouver' in 1886, through a deal with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Gastown then formally registered as a townsite dubbed Granville, Burrard Inlet. The original site is marked by the Gastown steam clock.

The beginnings of the modern city, which was originally named Gastown, grew around the site of a makeshift tavern on the western edges of Hastings Mill that was built on July 1, 1867, and owned by proprietor Gassy Jack. Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 10,000 years ago, and included the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples. Vancouverism is the city's urban planning design philosophy. Vancouver plans to become the greenest city in the world. In terms of housing affordability, Vancouver is also one of the most expensive cities in Canada and in the world. It has been consistently ranked one of the most livable cities in Canada and in the world. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada: 49.3 percent of its residents are not native English speakers, 47.8 percent are native speakers of neither English nor French, and 54.5 percent of residents belong to visible minority groups. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over 5,700 people per square kilometre, and fourth highest in North America (after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City). Greater Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley, comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3 million. The Greater Vancouver area had a population of 2.6 million in 2021, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Vancouver ( / v æ n ˈ k uː v ər/ ( listen) van- KOO-vər) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia.

Hotels near peace arch park