Tsawwassen ( /təˈwɑːsən/; from North Straits Salish: [səˈwɑːsən] or [tsəˈwɑːsən], meaning "facing the sea") is a suburban, mostly residential community located on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the Corporation of Delta, British Columbia, Canada. Tsawwassen provides the only road access to the community of Point Roberts, Washington via 56th Street. It is also the location of BC Ferries' Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, built in 1959 to provide foot-passenger and motor vehicle access from the Lower Mainland to the southern part of Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands. Because Tsawwassen touches a shallow bank, the ferry terminal is built at the southwestern end of a 3 km-long causeway that juts out into the Strait of Georgia. The ferry dock and causeway are part of Highway 17, and the ferry terminal is the largest in North America. Boundary Bay Airport, one of the busiest general aviation airports in Canada, is located ten minutes away. The Roberts Bank Superport is also located near Tsawwassen.
A large, mostly undeveloped but agricultural part of northwest Tsawwassen is designated as the Tsawwassen Indian Reserve, where members of the Tsawwassen First Nation have a Coast Salish ancestry. This land is bounded by the Strait of Georgia on the west, the 2600 block to the north, the 4800 block to the east, and the 1200 block to the south. A condominium development (Tsatsu Shores), the Tsawwassen First Nation Reserve longhouse, a church, cemetery, and several entertainment facilities - the Splashdown Waterslide Park, F440 Grand Prix Race Track, and Parkcanada RV Park - are located on the land, along with the residential Stahaken subdivision of Tsawwassen, leased to Delta in 1989 to use for 99 years.
Tsawwassen had a population of 20,933 in the 2006 census.[1] '
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Tsawwassen is situated on the northern end of a peninsula flanked by the Strait of Georgia to the west and Boundary Bay to the east. Boundary Bay is an important stopover for migratory birds on what is known as the Pacific Flyway. Tsawwassen has recreational access to Boundary Bay at Centennial Park, and there is an extensive bike/foot path running along the edge of the Bay, known as the Dyke.
The southern boundary of Tsawwassen is the border with the United States, following the 49th parallel of north latitude. To the north, Tsawwassen's nearest neighbour is the town of Ladner, which is also part of the Corporation of Delta. Together, Ladner and Tsawwassen make up the area known as South Delta. Ladner is the site of the Delta Municipal Hall. Both the police station and hospital serve Ladner and Tsawwassen.
Tsawwassen's lowest altitude is just below sea level, and its highest is at approximately 50 metres along English Bluff spanning from the Stahaken subdivision to the American border; this height is verified by signage at Fred Gingell Park.
Tsawwassen is home to the Tsawwassen First Nation, a Coast Salish people, who may have lived in the area for over 4,200 years, the age of the oldest archeological site found on English Bluff. Eight different prehistoric villages have been unearthed around Tsawwassen.
The first group of Europeans to see Tsawwassen was the expedition of Spanish explorer Jose Maria Narvaez Gervete in 1791. Narvaez named the Point Roberts peninsula Isla de Zepeda and wrote that "there is an incredible quantity of rich salmon and numerous Indians... They speak an entirely different language."[2]
The history of Tsawwassen, and the municipality of Delta, is on display at the Delta Museum and Archives, in the original city hall building, on Delta Street in Ladner Village.
Tsawwassen is divided up into a grid with streets running north/south and east/west. Running east/west are the avenues, numbered with 1st Avenue closest to the Canadian/American border. Running north/south, the streets are numbered following the grid laid out for the municipality of Delta. This grid is part of the greater street grid set out by the British Royal Engineers in the 19th century.
The main arterial street in Tsawwassen is 56th Street, which connects Highway 17 with the exclave of Point Roberts, in Washington, USA (upon which it becomes Tyee Drive). It runs through the main commercial area. This border crossing is the westernmost border crossing on the 49th parallel between Canada and the USA.
In 2007, a contest was held to rename 56th Street. Suggested names include "Sunshine Drive" and "Tsawwassen Boulevard". While there is no projected time at which such a renaming may occur, the street will also retain the name of "56th Street", so as not to confuse non-locals.
Tsawwassen is serviced by buses from TransLink. Buses serve the main bus loop at the South Delta Recreation Centre, where many terminate at Bridgeport Station in Richmond.
Tsawwassen is also served by the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, which is served by BC Ferries. The ferries go to the following destinations:
| Route | Destination | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route 1 | Swartz Bay, Victoria |
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| Route 9 | Southern Gulf Islands | |||
| Route 30 | Duke Point, Nanaimo |
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Since 2001, Tsawwassen has played an integral part of the Tour de Delta, a bike race that happens over a weekend in July. The racing weekend culminates in a race from North Delta, through Ladner, and then finally to Tsawwassen, where the men and women do various laps around Tsawwassen's perimeter until finishing in either Diefenbaker or Winskill Park. This race is growing in popularity and coverage with every year.
For many years, people selling their cars parked and displayed them in the east parking lot of Town Centre Mall on Sunday mornings and afternoons, where they can be seen by people passing through on the way to Point Roberts. For several years, the mall has charged a small fee and provided signage and a large designated area in which to display the cars. Dozens of cars and hundreds of shoppers now come from all over the Lower Mainland each Sunday.
In keeping with its reputation as the sunniest spot in the Greater Vancouver Region, every year on the August long weekend (for B.C. Day), Tsawwassen hosts the Sun Festival, which usually includes a parade, a variety of live music events and activities, such as children's games, food tents, and sporting events. There is often a specific theme to each year's event, and people are encouraged to dress the part.
On the southeast corner of the peninsula is the community of Boundary Bay also known as Boundary Beach, which originated in the 1890s as a seaside summer community for wealthy Vancouverites. Some of the original cottages still stand, many as renovated and updated homes, as well as modern contemporary single family homes and waterfront architectural residences. To the south, "The Bay" as it is referred to by residents, borders on the neighbourhood of Maple Beach in Point Roberts, WA. A Canada/US customs checkpoint joined the two communities (at the foot of 67th Street) until it was closed in the 1970s. Currently, Boundary Bay Road provides the only access route.
Other areas within Tsawwassen which have names but are not necessarily distinct communities include:
Public schools in Tsawwassen are part of School District 37 Delta. Tsawwassen has only one public high school, South Delta Secondary School (SDSS), formerly South Delta Senior Secondary.
There are five public elementary schools in Tsawwassen. These are Cliff Drive, Pebble Hill, South Park, English Bluff, and Beach Grove. A sixth school, Boundary Beach (Grades K-3), closed in June 2009. There is also a small French programme cadre school, Ecole Du Bois-Joli, for students with French language spoken at home.
Boundary Bay Elementary School, formerly located on 56th Street south of 12th Avenue, served grades K-7. With usually one class per grade, it was a small school, and shared a principal with Boundary Beach Elementary School. Grades 3-7 students from Boundary Beach were bussed daily to attend the school. The school was closed in the early 1990s, and the land sold. It is now a residential development. There was also a middle school called Tsawwassen Junior Secondary (TJS), but low enrolment led to its closure in 1994. This land was also sold by the school district and re-developed into a housing subdivision.
Private schools in the Tsawwassen area include Southpointe Academy, a private K-12 school; Delta Christian school in Ladner, a Christian private school offering grades K-8; and Sacred Heart Elementary in Ladner, a Catholic school offering Grades K-7.
Tsawwassen contains many community and regional parks; Boundary Bay Regional Park (home to Centennial Beach) is run by the GVRD. The following parks are maintained by Delta Parks & Recreation, an arm of the municipal government:
The following parks aren't officially recognized by the municipality, but still exist within Tsawwassen's boundaries:
Tsawwassen, like the whole of the Municipality of Delta, is serviced by Delta Cable for TV and cable internet services.
As in all of British Columbia, telephone services are run primarily by Telus; the area codes serving Tsawwassen are 604 and 778 - though the latter is primarily used for cell phones. The CO Code servicing Tsawwassen for years has been 943, but as the population expanded, a new number, 948, was introduced in the early 1990s. Phone calls within Tsawwassen or the entire 604/778 region must adhere to the process of 10-digit dialing.
Tsawwassen is home to the largest shopping centre in South Delta (Tsawassen Town Centre Mall). Other businesses in Tsawwassen are Safeway, Tim Hortons/ Cold Stone Creamery, McDonalds, White Spot, Thrifty Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart, Dairy Queen, Jack's TV, Jsu Design, Indian Restaurant called Connaught Place Restaurant, Mario's Kitchen, JohnMichael Menswear, two Starbucks and many more[3] . On April 29, 2009, the Tsawwassen Town Center mall experienced a fire, closing a large percentage of the mall, as a result of complications involving a roofing contract. Anonymous management in the complex claims the delays in reconstruction of the damaged areas are due to asbestos insulation.
Tsawwassen is known to receive only one third of the rainfall that the rest of Metro Vancouver does, which is why it has been commonly referred to as "Sunny Tsawwassen".
| Climate data for Delta | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15 (59) |
18 (64) |
17 (63) |
27 (81) |
33 (91) |
30 (86) |
32.5 (90.5) |
32.2 (90.0) |
30.5 (86.9) |
24.5 (76.1) |
18 (64) |
15 (59) |
33 (91) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 5.8 (42.4) |
7.9 (46.2) |
10.5 (50.9) |
13.5 (56.3) |
17.2 (63.0) |
19.9 (67.8) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.4 (72.3) |
19 (66) |
13.8 (56.8) |
8.7 (47.7) |
6 (43) |
13.9 (57.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −0.3 (31.5) |
1 (34) |
2.6 (36.7) |
4.2 (39.6) |
7.2 (45.0) |
9.9 (49.8) |
11.4 (52.5) |
11.4 (52.5) |
8.6 (47.5) |
5 (41) |
2 (36) |
0.2 (32.4) |
5.3 (41.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15 (5) |
−13 (9) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−3 (27) |
1.1 (34.0) |
0.6 (33.1) |
5 (41) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−2 (28) |
−8 (18) |
−15 (5) |
−16.1 (3.0) |
−16.1 (3.0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 114.9 (4.524) |
110.4 (4.346) |
92.8 (3.654) |
69.5 (2.736) |
56.8 (2.236) |
45.4 (1.787) |
34.4 (1.354) |
32.7 (1.287) |
57 (2.24) |
93.3 (3.673) |
157.3 (6.193) |
143.5 (5.65) |
1,008.1 (39.689) |
| Source: Environment Canada[4] | |||||||||||||
Due to being part of the Greater Vancouver area, which is the third-largest film and television production centre in North America after New York and Los Angeles, Tsawwassen has also appeared in numerous high-profile movies and television shows over the years. These include:
| Ladner (Delta) |
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| Strait of Georgia | Boundary Bay | |||
| Tsawwassen (Delta) | ||||
| Point Roberts (Washington, USA) |
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