Belcarra, British Columbia
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| Census Division | |
| Regional District | Greater Vancouver Regional District |
| Area: | 5.46 km² |
| Founded | |
| Incorporated | 1979 |
| Population:
Village Population |
682 (2001)[1] |
| Population density: | 130.4/km² |
| Time zone: | Pacific: UTC -8 |
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Latitude: |
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| Elevation: | m MSL |
| Highways | |
| Waterways | Indian Arm of Burrard Inlet |
| Mayor: | |
| Governing body: | Belcarra Village Council |
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| 1(sc) According to the Canada 2001 Census. 2(gr) Geographic references.Template help Edit Template  |
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Belcarra, British Columbia is a small community on the shore of Burrard Inlet, and is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It lies northwest of Port Moody and immediately east of the Deep Cove area of North Vancouver, across the waters of Indian Arm. Isolated by geography on a narrow peninsula, Belcarra is accessible by a single winding paved road or by water.
It is largely a residential bedroom community for Vancouver and its suburbs. Belcarra is the only community in this area that is not growing substantially. Even neighbouring Anmore, another tiny community has grown and changed, but Belcarra has not. With a population of 682 as of 2001[2], it has the lowest population of any independent settlement in the Vancouver area. Ralph Drew has won the last two municipal elections by acclamation and retained his mayorship. Many residents in Belcarra have boats with docks, and even houses that are not on the water are sometimes able to procure a shared dock. Belcarra Regional Park winds its way through the village.
[edit] History
Belcarra was a traditional Salish camping area, with its beach and exposed westerly view, gives it a fine outlook. It was pre-empted early by European settlers, who were involved in an unfortunate murder in 1882. In turn, the land was deeded to the defending solicitor, who named the place Belcarra, or fine land with sunny view, in his native Irish Gaelic. A summer cabin was subsequently built. In time more cabins were built, and the local ferry company built a pier, park and campsite, for vactioners. Admiralty Point was government naval reserve, and was thus saved from development. The area is now a beloved regional park.
Belcarra adjoins several islands, and so it is a favourite spot for boaters. Bedwell Bay and Sasamat Lake also are nearby, increasing the appeal.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census of 2001, there were 682 people, 260 households, and 220 families residing in the village. The population density was 124.91/km² . There were 293 housing units at an average density of 53.66/km². The racial makeup of the village was 95.91% White, 0.00% Black Canadian, 0.00% Aboriginal, 2.91% Asian Canadian, and 0.00% Latin American.
The linguistic makeup of the village was English as the first language of 91.2% of the population, French the first of 0.0%, 0.0% of the population learnt both English and French, and 8.0% first learnt other languages. 94.2% of the population can speak only English, 0.0% can speak only French, 5.1% can speak both English and French, and 0.0% cannot speak English nor French.
In the village the population was spread out with 17.6% under the age of 14, 11.0% from 15 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 40.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males.
For every 100 females age 15 and over, there were 107.3 males. There were 260 households out of which 26.9% had children living with them, 69.2% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average married-couple family size was 2.7.
Christians made up 55.1% of the population, or 22.8% Catholic, 27.2% Protestant, 0.0% Orthodox, and 5.1% other Christian. Other religions in the village include 0.0% Muslim, 1.5% Jewish, 0.0% Eastern religions, and 1.5% other religions. 41.2% of the population claimed to have no religious affiliation.
The median income for a household in the village was $100,995, and the median income for a family was $105,016. Males had an average income of $61,200 versus $34,840 for females. About 3.7% of the labour force was unemployed. The largest occupation categories were 23.5% employed in social science, education, government service and religion occupations, 17.3% business, finance and administration occupations, 17.3% sales and service occupations, and 16.0% in management occupations.
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding of data samples.
[edit] External links
- Aerial photo of Belcarra (Village of Belcarra)
- Belcarra.ca, official Village of Belcarra website
| Population over 100,000: Burnaby | Coquitlam | Delta | Langley Township | Richmond | Surrey | Vancouver | |
| Population over 50,000: Maple Ridge | New Westminster | North Vancouver District | Port Coquitlam | |
| Population under 50,000: Anmore | Belcarra | Bowen Island | Langley City | Lions Bay | North Vancouver City | Pitt Meadows | Port Moody | West Vancouver | White Rock | |
| Unincorporated areas: Barnston Island | Passage Island | Bowyer Island | University Endowment Lands |
