Queen Victoria chose British Columbia to distinguish what was the British sector of the Columbia District from the United States ('American Columbia' or 'Southern Columbia'), which became the Oregon Territory on August 8, 1848, as a result of the treaty. It refers to the Columbia District, the British name for the territory drained by the Columbia River, in southeastern British Columbia, which was the namesake of the pre- Oregon Treaty Columbia Department of the Hudson's Bay Company. The province's name was chosen by Queen Victoria, when the Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866), i.e., 'the Mainland', became a British colony in 1858. 3.3 Colony of British Columbia (1858–66).British Columbia is home to 45% of all publicly listed companies in Canada. British Columbia is the fourth-largest province or territory by GDP. Although less than 5 percent of the province's territory is arable land, significant agriculture exists in the Fraser Valley and Okanagan due to the warmer climate.

British Columbia exhibits high property values and is a significant centre for maritime trade: the Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the most diversified port in North America. Its main exports include lumber and timber, pulp and paper products, copper, coal, and natural gas. Major sectors of British Columbia's economy include forestry, mining, filmmaking and video production, tourism, real estate, construction, wholesale, and retail. British Columbia is home to at least 34 distinct Indigenous languages. The Franco-Columbian community is an officially recognized linguistic minority, and around one percent of British Columbians claim French as their mother tongue. English is the common language of the province, although Punjabi, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese also have a large presence in the Metro Vancouver region. Christianity is the most subscribed religion, although the number of British Columbians who claim no religious affiliation whatsoever is high by Canadian standards. Indigenous Canadians constitute about 5 percent of the province's total population.

Though the province's ethnic majority originates from the British Isles, many British Columbians also trace their ancestors in continental Europe, China, and South Asia. In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as the sixth province of Canada, in enactment of the British Columbia Terms of Union.īritish Columbia is a diverse and cosmopolitan province, drawing on a plethora of cultural influences from its British, European, and Asian diasporas, as well as the Indigenous population. The colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were incorporated in 1866, subsequent to which Victoria became the united colony's capital. Moody selected the site for and founded the mainland colony's capital New Westminster. The Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) was subsequently founded by Richard Clement Moody, and by the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. One of the earliest British settlements in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, which gave rise to the city of Victoria, the capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island. Such groups include the Coast Salish, Tsilhqotʼin, and Haida peoples, among many others. The first known human inhabitants of the area settled in British Columbia at least 10,000 years ago. Vancouver is the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada the 2021 census recorded 2.6 million people in Metro Vancouver.

The capital of British Columbia is Victoria and its largest city is Vancouver. With an estimated population of 5.3 million as of 2022, it is Canada's third-most populous province. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains, and borders the province of Alberta to the east and the Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north. Rankings include all provinces and territoriesīritish Columbia ( BC French: Colombie-Britannique) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains.

Nootka island fish camp