Greater Vancouver Regional District
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| Motto: Building a sustainable region | |||
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| Area | 2,878.52 km² | ||
| Population | |||
| - Total (2005) - Cdn. CD rank - Density |
2,139,890 3rd 748.95 / km² |
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| MPs | |||
| Don Bell, Dawn Black, Raymond Chan, John M. Cummins, Libby Davies, Sukh Dhaliwal, Ujjal Dosanjh, David Emerson, Hedy Fry, Nina Grewal, Russ Hiebert, Peter Julian, Randy Kamp, James Moore, Stephen Owen, Penny Priddy, Bill Siksay, Mark Warawa, Blair Wilson | |||
| MLAs | |||
| Val Anderson, Tony Bhullar, Harry Bloy, Jagrup Brar, Elayne Brenzinger, Gordon Campbell, Christy Clark, Rich Coleman, Gary Collins, Kevin Falcon, Greg Halsey-Brandt, Colin Gordon Hansen, Randy Hawes, Dave Hayer, Gordon J. Hogg, Daniel Javis, Jenny Wai Ching Kwan, Richard T. Lee, Brenda Locke, Joy MacPhail, Karn Manhas, Reni Masi, Lorne Mayencourt, Joyce Murray, Ted Nebbeling, Rob Nijjar, John Nuraney, Wally Oppal, Geoff Plant, Linda Reid, Val Roddick, Patty Sahota, Lynn Stephens, Ken Stewart, Richard Stewart, Ralph Sultan, Katherine Whittred, Patrick Wong | |||
| Board Chair | Marvin Hunt | ||
| Governing body | Greater Vancouver Regional District Board of Directors | ||
| Greater Vancouver Regional District | |||
| Municipalities in GVA | |||
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The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) is a sub-provincial administrative district within the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada. It comprises the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Vancouver, and is essentially synonymous with Greater Vancouver or the Vancouver Metropolitan Area. The seat is in Burnaby while the principal city is Vancouver. There is talk of changing the name from Greater Vancouver Regional District to Metro Vancouver.
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[edit] Geography
The Greater Vancouver Regional District occupies the southwest corner of mainland British Columbia. It comprises the western half of the Lower Mainland.
According to the 2001 census, 1,986,965 people live in the metropolitan area, about half of the population of British Columbia. GVRD estimates (2005) have placed the population at 2,155,880, representing 8.5% growth since the last census[1]. Thirteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located in the GVRD[2]. The official land area of the district is 2,878.52 km² (1,111.4 sq mi). It is the most densely populated regional district in British Columbia.
[edit] Municipalities
The Regional District consists of twenty-one incorporated municipalities and one unincorporated area. The twenty-one municipalities are:
| Municipality | Type[3] | Population | in year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anmore | village | 1,673 | 2005 |
| Belcarra | village | 723 | 2005 |
| Bowen Island | island municipality | 3,424 | 2005 |
| Burnaby | city | 204,324 | 2005 |
| Coquitlam | city | 121,973 | 2005 |
| Delta | district municipality | 102,655 | 2005 |
| Langley | city | 25,716 | 2005 |
| Langley | district municipality | 97,125 | 2005 |
| Lions Bay | village | 1,421 | 2005 |
| Maple Ridge | district municipality | 73,280 | 2005 |
| New Westminster | city | 57,480 | 2005 |
| North Vancouver | city | 46,759 | 2005 |
| North Vancouver | district municipality | 87,083 | 2005 |
| Pitt Meadows | district municipality | 16,673 | 2005 |
| Port Coquitlam | city | 57,563 | 2005 |
| Port Moody | city | 28,458 | 2005 |
| Richmond | city | 173,430 | 2005 |
| Surrey | city | 393,137 | 2005 |
| Vancouver | city | 583,267 | 2005 |
| West Vancouver | district municipality | 44,149 | 2005 |
| White Rock | city | 19,577 | 2005 |
The unincorporated Greater Vancouver Regional District Electoral Area A comprises all unincorporated land within the Regional District boundaries, including the University of British Columbia Endowment Lands (see University Endowment Lands) and Barnston Island in the Fraser River. The population of Electoral District A is 8,813 (2005).
There are also 17 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 7,177 (2005).
[edit] Administrative role
The principal function of the Greater Vancouver Regional District 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.
For example, GVRD Regional Parks oversees the development and maintenance of nineteen regional parks, as well as various nature reserver 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 GVRD's water system covers more than 2,600 square kms, all the water for the district comes from three sources: the Capilano reservoir, the Seymour reservoir, and the Coquitlam reservoir. The GVRD controls with Cleveland Dam on the Capilano reservoir, which supplies 40 percent of the district's water.[4]
The Greater Vancouver Regional District also oversees 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 thirty-five percent.
One current initiative of the GVRD is the Ashcroft, British Columbia, Ranch Mega-Landfill Proposal.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Greater Vancouver Regional District - Population Growth
- ^ Statistics Canada - BC municipalitoes - Population
- ^ c: city; dm: district municipality; im: island municipality; v: village.
- ^ GVRD Water Sources & Supply
[edit] External links
| 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 |
| Province / Territory | Largest | Smallest | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Div. No. 6 (Calgary) | 1,021,060 | Division No. 4 | 11,300 |
| British Columbia | Greater Vancouver | 1,986,965 | Stikine Region | 1,316 |
| Manitoba | Division No. 11 | 621,451 | Division No. 23 | 8,989 |
| New Brunswick | Westmorland County | 124,688 | Queens County | 11,862 |
| N'land and Labrador | Division No. 1 | 242,875 | Division No. 3 | 19,370 |
| Northwest Territories | Fort Smith Region | 28,824 | Inuvik Region | 8,536 |
| Nova Scotia | Halifax County | 359,183 | Victoria County | 7,962 |
| Nunavut | Qikiqtaaluk Region | 14,372 | Kitikmeot Region | 4,816 |
| Ontario | Toronto Division | 2,481,494 | Manitoulin District | 12,679 |
| Prince Edward Island | Queens County | 71,619 | Kings County | 19,180 |
| Quebec | Montreal | 1,812,723 | L'Île-d'Orléans | 6,779 |
| Saskatchewan | Division No. 11 | 237,629 | Division No. 4 | 11,714 |
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Most and least populous divisions appear in italics. |
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Toronto CMA, ON · Greater Montreal Area, QC · Greater Vancouver Regional District, BC · National Capital Region, ON/QC · Calgary Region, AB · Edmonton Capital Region, AB · Greater Quebec City Area, QC · Hamilton, ON · Winnipeg Capital Region, MB · London, ON · Kitchener, ON · St. Catharines-Niagara, ON · Halifax Regional Municipality, NS · Greater Victoria, BC · Windsor, ON · Oshawa, ON · Saskatoon, SK · Regina, SK · St. John's, NL · Greater Sudbury, ON · Saguenay, QC · Sherbrooke, QC · Fraser Valley Regional District, BC · Kingston, ON · Trois-Rivières, QC · Saint John, NB · Thunder Bay, ON
