British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost province in Canada, between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, named for Queen Victoria, who ruled during the creation of the original colonies.

First Nations, the original inhabitants of the land, have a history of at least 10,000 years in the area. Notably, the Tsilhqot’in Nation has established Aboriginal title to a portion of their territory, as a result of the 2014 Supreme Court of Canada decision in Tsilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia.

The first British settlement in the area was Fort Victoria, established in 1843, which gave rise to the City of Victoria, at first the capital of the separate Colony of Vancouver Island. Subsequently, on the mainland, the Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) was founded by Richard Clement Moody and the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, in response to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Moody selected the site for and founded the original capital of British Columbia, New Westminster, established the Cariboo Road and Stanley Park, and designed the first version of the coat of arms of British Columbia.

In 1866, Vancouver Island became part of the colony of British Columbia, and Victoria became the united colony’s capital. In 1871, British Columbia became the sixth province of Canada. Its Latin motto is Splendor sine occasu (“Splendour without Diminishment”). British Columbia evolved from British possessions that were established in what is now British Columbia by 1871.