Metro Vancouver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Metro Vancouver Greater Vancouver Regional District |
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| Motto: Creating A Sustainable Region | |||
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| Coordinates: 49°14′58″N 122°58′47″W / 49.24944°N 122.97972°W | |||
| Country |  Canada |
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| Province |  British Columbia |
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| Region | Lower Mainland | ||
| Location of head office | Burnaby | ||
| Established | 1967 | ||
| Government [1] | |||
| - Board | Metro Vancouver Board of Directors | ||
| - Chair | Lois Jackson | ||
| - Senators |
List of Senators
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| - MPs |
List of MPs
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| - MLAs |
List of MLAs
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| Area [2] | |||
| - Total | 2,877.36 km2 (1,111 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 60 m (197 ft) | ||
| Population (2006)[2] | |||
| - Total | 2,116,581 | ||
| - Density | 735.6/km2 (1,905.2/sq mi) | ||
| Canadian CD rank: 2nd | |||
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | ||
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| Website | Metro Vancouver | ||
Metro Vancouver, legally titled the Greater Vancouver Regional District, is the inter-municipal body, or regional district, charged with certain aspects of governance for the metropolitan area surrounding and including the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The territory under Metro Vancouver's authority is essentially synonymous with what is usually meant by the colloquial term Greater Vancouver, and Statistics Canada defines the Vancouver CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) as having perfectly coterminal boundaries with the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Although the region's principal city is Vancouver, its administrative offices are located in the City of Burnaby. Despite the equation of the regional district with the metropolitan area, Indian Reserves and the University Endowment Lands (UEL) are not part of the representation in the regional district (the UEL is in GVRD Electoral Area 'A', but has its own system of government).
The Greater Vancouver Regional District was established in 1967,[3] following the creation of Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (GVSDD) in 1914 and Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD) in 1926. In 2007, the GVRD board unanimously supported a proposal to the provincial government to change its official name to Metro Vancouver.[4] While the new name took effect in September 2007, the body's letters patent have yet to be amended. The name of the physical area governed by the organization remains the Greater Vancouver Regional District.
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[edit] Geography
Metro Vancouver occupies the southwest corner of mainland British Columbia. It comprises the western half of the Lower Mainland.
Thirteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located in Metro Vancouver.[5] The official land area of the district is 2,877.36 square kilometres (1,111 sq mi). It is the most densely populated regional district in British Columbia.
[edit] Municipalities
The Regional District consists of 21 incorporated municipalities and one unincorporated area. The 21 municipalities are:
| Municipality | Type | Population | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anmore | village | 1,992 | 2007 |
| Belcarra | village | 701 | 2007 |
| Bowen Island | island municipality | 3,551 | 2007 |
| Burnaby | city | 216,336 | 2007 |
| Coquitlam | city | 120,512 | 2007 |
| Delta | district municipality | 101,668 | 2007 |
| Langley | city | 25,134 | 2007 |
| Langley | district municipality | 100,049 | 2007 |
| Lions Bay | village | 1,394 | 2007 |
| Maple Ridge | district municipality | 73,248 | 2007 |
| New Westminster | city | 62,607 | 2007 |
| North Vancouver | city | 47,463 | 2007 |
| North Vancouver | district municipality | 86,954 | 2007 |
| Pitt Meadows | city | 16,757 | 2007 |
| Port Coquitlam | city | 55,735 | 2007 |
| Port Moody | city | 30,004 | 2007 |
| Richmond | city | 186,628 | 2007 |
| Surrey | city | 423,935 | 2007 |
| Vancouver | city | 611,869 | 2007 |
| West Vancouver | district municipality | 44,097 | 2007 |
| White Rock | city | 19,839 | 2007 |
| Electoral Area A | unincorporated area | 19,252 | 2007 |
| Greater Vancouver Regional District | Metropolitan Area | 2,249,725 | 2007 |
Greater Vancouver Regional District Electoral Area A comprises all unincorporated land within the Regional District boundaries, including the University Endowment Lands, Passage Island and Barnston Island in the Fraser River and are classified as Regional District Remainders[6].
There are also seventeen Indian reserves within the geographical area that are not subject to governance by the municipalities or the Regional District; they have a combined population of 7,550 (2006).
The cities of Abbotsford and Chilliwack and the district of Mission, located to the east, although often linked to Vancouver in promotions and tourism, are part of a separate region, the Fraser Valley Regional District.
[edit] Administrative role
The principal function of Metro Vancouver is to administer resources and services which are common across the metropolitan area. These include community planning, water, sewage, drainage, housing, transportation, air quality, and parks.
There are four legal entities of Metro Vancouver: the Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD); the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (GVS&DD); the Greater Vancouver Housing Corporation (GVHC), and the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD).
Greater Vancouver Regional Parks oversees the development and maintenance of nineteen regional parks, as well as various nature reserves and greenways. (The regional parks are distinct from municipal parks in that they are typically more "wild" and represent unique geographical zones within the region, such as bogs and mature rainforests.)
Although, the Greater Vancouver Water District comprises a system that covers more than 2,600 km², all the water for the district comes from three sources: the Capilano reservoir, the Seymour reservoir, and the Coquitlam reservoir. Metro Vancouver controls the Cleveland Dam on the Capilano reservoir, which supplies 40 percent of the district's water.[7]
Metro Vancouver also oversees the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink), which administers public transportation and major bridges and highways throughout the region. TransLink also runs the AirCare program, which primarily aims to improve air quality by reducing harmful emissions from automobiles. In the period 1992 to 2002, this program is credited with reducing the air emissions in the urban area by 35%.
One current initiative of Metro Vancouver is the Ashcroft Manor Ranch Mega-Landfill Proposal in Ashcroft, British Columbia, in the Thompson Country of the British Columbia Interior, as there is no more room in the Lower Mainland for Metro Vancouver's garbage. A similar project nearby adjacent to the town of Cache Creek, British Columbia has reached capacity. Environmental concerns about the area's sensitive shrub-steppe climate and ecology are strong, while Highland Valley Copper, near Logan Lake, has offered the use of its mine-pit instead. Other GVRD landfill locations serving the regional district in the past have been in the Fraser Mills area, between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Fraser, and at Port Mann, beneath the south foot of the Port Mann Bridge.
[edit] Demographics
According to the 2001 census, 1,986,965 people lived in the metropolitan area, about half of the population of British Columbia. The 2006 Census has placed the population at 2,116,581, representing 6.5% growth since the last census.[8]
In 2006, Metro Vancouver had a population of 2,116,581 living in 870,992 dwellings. The regional district has a land area of 2,877.36 km² (1,111 sq mi) and a population density of 735.6/km² (1,905.2/sq mi).[2]
Metro Vancouver has a large ethnic minority population. Census 2006 showed that nearly 41.7% of the population were of visible minority origin, the largest group being the Chinese followed by South Asians. Other prominent groups include Filipinos, Koreans, Japanese, Southeast Asian, West Asian, and Latin Americans.[9] There is a high percentage of visible minorities in the Metro Vancouver region. British Columbia is Canada's most ethnically diverse province. [10]
[edit] Politics and Government
[edit] Federal
Federally, the electorate in the Metro Vancouver area elect Conservative, New Democratic, and Liberal Members of Parliaments. Liberal support is concentrated around the immediate-Vancouver area, while and Conservative support is strong in the outer regions, especially the suburbs. The NDP has a strong base both in Vancouver and the suburbs. In the 2009 election, Metro Vancouver residents elected 10 Conservative MP's (mainly from suburbs such as Richmond), 5 NDP MP's (such as Vancouver East), and 4 Liberal MP's (such as Vancouver Quadra).
The Metro Vancouver region is also represented by two Conservative senators – Yonah Martin (Vancouver) and Gerry St. Germain (Langley-Pemberton-Whistler).
[edit] Provincial
Provincially, Metro Vancouver is represented by two major parties - the BC Liberals and the BC NDP. The ideologically centre-right BC Liberals are independent of the federal Liberal party, while the BC NDP provide a centre-left alternative. The BC Liberals dominate in West Vancouver and certain suburbs. BC NDP support is strong in East Vancouver and suburban areas such as New Westminster.
[edit] Minority representation
Due to Metro Vancouver's ethnically diverse population, there is also diverse government representation. Federally, there are five MP's of ethnic origin: three of South Asian descent, one of Chinese descent, and one of Trinidadian descent. Provincially, there are six South Asian, three Chinese, one Japanese, and one Filipino MLA's.
Metro Vancouver has also elected many representatives of firsts. Former Indo-Canadian Premier Ujjal Dosanjh was the first non-white premier of the province, while Douglas Jung was the first Chinese-Canadian to become a Member of Parliament. Yonah Martin is the first Korean-Canadian to hold federal public office. Jenny Kwan is the first Chinese-Canadian provincial cabinet minister in Canada. Naomi Yamamoto and Mable Elmore are respectively the first Japanese and Filipino MLA's in the province. Furthermore, Stephanie Cadieux is the first quadriplegic MLA.
With such a diverse population, many politicians reach out to the various communities in the province for support.[citation needed]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Metro Vancouver. "Boards and committees". http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/board/membership.asp. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ^ a b c Statistics Canada (Census 2006). "Greater Vancouver Regional District - Community Profile". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=5915&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&Data=Count&SearchText=Greater%20Vancouver&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=&GeoCode=5915. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ^ Western Economic Diversification Canada. "The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD)". http://www.wd.gc.ca/eng/10654.asp. Retrieved on 2009-04-03.
- ^ Skeleton, Chad (2007-08-03). "Goodbye GVRD, hello Metro Vancouver". Vancouver Sun. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=47d814e0-3cf9-4577-bc14-d6b8518fc30b&k=15838. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ Statistics Canada - BC municipalities - Population
- ^ Greater Vancouver - BC Stats 2007 Population Estimates
- ^ Metro Vancouver Water Sources & Supply
- ^ Greater Vancouver Regional District - Population Growth
- ^ [1], canada.com, April 2, 2008.
- ^ [2], cbc.com, April 2, 2008.
[edit] External links
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