Ranking British Columbia

Largest & Smallest Cities & Towns in British Columbia (2026)

Name: Largest & Smallest Cities & Towns in British Columbia (2026) — 2021 Census Population Ranking
Creator: Statistics Canada
License: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/reference/licence

97 of British Columbia's 109 largest municipalities grew between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, while 12 shrank. Langford grew fastest, at +31.8%. The Vancouver metro area alone holds 2,642,825 of the province's roughly 5,000,879 residents — 53% of the total.

Data source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population — View the official British Columbia dataset on Statistics Canada

See also our other British Columbia ranking: Safest Cities & Towns in British Columbia.

British Columbia Boundary

The boundary shown below is sourced from OpenStreetMap contributors, not Statistics Canada, and may be incomplete depending on how thoroughly the area has been mapped.

Largest

Largest by Metro Area

Here, British Columbia is ranked by metro area population — StatCan's CMA/CA boundary, which folds in every commuting-connected suburb and satellite community around a core city, not just that city's own legal limits. Areas under 1,000 residents are left off.

28 of 28 places

#	Name
1	Vancouver (CMA)	2,463,431	2,642,825	+179,394 (+7.3%)	2,835,283	2,878.93	918.0
2	Victoria (CMA)	367,770	397,237	+29,467 (+8.0%)	429,065	695.29	571.3
3	Kelowna (CMA)	194,892	222,162	+27,270 (+14.0%)	253,248	2,902.45	76.5
4	Abbotsford - Mission (CMA)	180,518	195,726	+15,208 (+8.4%)	212,215	606.72	322.6
5	Nanaimo (CMA)	104,936	115,459	+10,523 (+10.0%)	127,037	1,279.28	90.3
6	Kamloops (CMA)	103,811	114,142	+10,331 (+10.0%)	125,501	5,654.08	20.2
7	Chilliwack (CMA)	101,512	113,767	+12,255 (+12.1%)	127,501	1,444.02	78.8
8	Prince George (CA)	86,622	89,490	+2,868 (+3.3%)	92,453	17,650.99	5.1
9	Vernon (CA)	61,324	67,086	+5,762 (+9.4%)	73,389	1,041.09	64.4
10	Courtenay (CA)	57,950	63,282	+5,332 (+9.2%)	69,105	624.33	101.4
11	Duncan (CA)	44,451	47,582	+3,131 (+7.0%)	50,934	373.22	127.5
12	Penticton (CA)	43,534	47,380	+3,846 (+8.8%)	51,566	1,734.72	27.3
13	Campbell River (CA)	37,861	40,704	+2,843 (+7.5%)	43,760	1,734.05	23.5
14	Parksville (CA)	28,922	31,054	+2,132 (+7.4%)	33,343	81.81	379.6
15	Fort St. John (CA)	28,396	28,729	+333 (+1.2%)	29,066	617.73	46.5
16	Cranbrook (CA)	26,068	27,040	+972 (+3.7%)	28,048	4,563.87	5.9
17	Port Alberni (CA)	24,669	25,786	+1,117 (+4.5%)	26,954	1,633.13	15.8
18	Squamish (CA)	19,893	24,232	+4,339 (+21.8%)	29,517	105.43	229.8
19	Williams Lake (CA)	23,113	23,608	+495 (+2.1%)	24,114	12,422.14	1.9
20	Quesnel (CA)	23,146	23,113	-33 (-0.1%)	—	21,708.62	1.1
21	Salmon Arm (CA)	17,904	19,705	+1,801 (+10.1%)	21,687	165.42	119.1
22	Terrace (CA)	19,160	19,606	+446 (+2.3%)	20,062	9,721.84	2.0
23	Nelson (CA)	18,307	19,119	+812 (+4.4%)	19,967	1,224.30	15.6
24	Dawson Creek (CA)	18,890	17,878	-1,012 (-5.4%)	—	11,716.80	1.5
25	Powell River (CA)	16,783	17,825	+1,042 (+6.2%)	18,932	799.80	22.3
26	Ladysmith (CA)	14,572	15,501	+929 (+6.4%)	16,489	412.01	37.6
27	Trail (CA)	14,196	14,268	+72 (+0.5%)	14,340	279.13	51.1
28	Prince Rupert (CA)	13,462	13,442	-20 (-0.1%)	—	3,303.63	4.1

No places match .

CMA = Census Metropolitan Area (urban core plus commuting-integrated suburbs, total population 100,000+).
CA = Census Agglomeration (the same idea, at a smaller scale — urban core population of at least 10,000).

Largest by Municipality

This list uses the municipality basis: population counted strictly within each area's incorporated city, town, or township limits, as set by the province. A city with a small legal footprint can rank far lower here than its everyday reputation would suggest. It's limited to places of 1,000+ residents, and excludes villages, rural municipalities, unorganized "Subd." county subdivisions, and Indian reserves.

109 of 109 places

#	Name	Type
1	Vancouver	City	631,486	662,248	+30,762 (+4.9%)	694,509	115.18	5,749.9
2	Surrey	City	517,887	568,322	+50,435 (+9.7%)	623,669	316.11	1,797.9
3	Burnaby	City	232,755	249,125	+16,370 (+7.0%)	266,646	90.57	2,750.7
4	Richmond	City	198,309	209,937	+11,628 (+5.9%)	222,247	128.87	1,629.0
5	Abbotsford	City	141,397	153,524	+12,127 (+8.6%)	166,691	375.33	409.0
6	Coquitlam	City	139,284	148,625	+9,341 (+6.7%)	158,592	122.15	1,216.7
7	Kelowna	City	127,390	144,576	+17,186 (+13.5%)	164,081	211.85	682.4
8	Saanich	Township	114,148	117,735	+3,587 (+3.1%)	121,435	103.59	1,136.6
9	Delta	City	102,238	108,455	+6,217 (+6.1%)	115,050	179.66	603.7
10	Nanaimo	City	90,504	99,863	+9,359 (+10.3%)	110,190	90.45	1,104.1
11	Kamloops	City	90,280	97,902	+7,622 (+8.4%)	106,167	297.93	328.6
12	Chilliwack	City	83,788	93,203	+9,415 (+11.2%)	103,676	261.34	356.6
13	Victoria	City	85,792	91,867	+6,075 (+7.1%)	98,372	19.45	4,722.3
14	Maple Ridge	City	82,256	90,990	+8,734 (+10.6%)	100,651	267.82	339.7
15	North Vancouver	Township	85,649	88,168	+2,519 (+2.9%)	90,761	160.66	548.8
16	New Westminster	City	70,996	78,916	+7,920 (+11.2%)	87,720	15.62	5,052.4
17	Prince George	City	74,003	76,708	+2,705 (+3.7%)	79,512	316.74	242.2
18	Port Coquitlam	City	58,612	61,498	+2,886 (+4.9%)	64,526	29.16	2,108.7
19	Langford	City	35,342	46,584	+11,242 (+31.8%)	61,402	41.43	1,124.4
20	Vernon	City	40,116	44,519	+4,403 (+11.0%)	49,405	96.43	461.7
21	West Vancouver	Township	42,473	44,122	+1,649 (+3.9%)	45,835	87.18	506.1
22	Mission	Township	38,554	41,519	+2,965 (+7.7%)	44,712	226.98	182.9
23	Penticton	City	33,761	36,885	+3,124 (+9.3%)	40,298	43.03	857.3
24	West Kelowna	City	32,655	36,078	+3,423 (+10.5%)	39,860	122.09	295.5
25	Campbell River	City	33,007	35,519	+2,512 (+7.6%)	38,222	144.38	246.0
26	Port Moody	City	33,551	33,535	-16 (0.0%)	—	25.85	1,297.3
27	North Cowichan	Township	29,696	31,990	+2,294 (+7.7%)	34,461	195.41	163.7
28	Courtenay	City	25,639	28,420	+2,781 (+10.8%)	31,503	32.42	876.7
29	Squamish	Township	19,497	23,819	+4,322 (+22.2%)	29,099	104.71	227.5
30	White Rock	City	19,952	21,939	+1,987 (+10.0%)	24,124	5.17	4,240.6
31	Fort St. John	City	20,260	21,465	+1,205 (+5.9%)	22,742	32.67	656.9
32	Cranbrook	City	20,047	20,499	+452 (+2.3%)	20,961	31.97	641.2
33	Salmon Arm	City	17,706	19,432	+1,726 (+9.7%)	21,326	155.19	125.2
34	Pitt Meadows	City	18,573	19,146	+573 (+3.1%)	19,737	86.34	221.7
35	Colwood	City	16,859	18,961	+2,102 (+12.5%)	21,325	17.66	1,073.6
36	Port Alberni	City	17,678	18,259	+581 (+3.3%)	18,859	19.66	928.9
37	Oak Bay	Township	18,094	17,990	-104 (-0.6%)	—	10.52	1,710.1
38	Esquimalt	Township	17,655	17,533	-122 (-0.7%)	—	7.08	2,476.7
39	Central Saanich	Township	16,814	17,385	+571 (+3.4%)	17,975	41.20	421.9
40	Lake Country	Township	12,922	15,817	+2,895 (+22.4%)	19,361	122.16	129.5
41	Sooke	Township	13,001	15,086	+2,085 (+16.0%)	17,505	56.60	266.6
42	Comox	Town	14,028	14,806	+778 (+5.5%)	15,627	16.87	877.7
43	Whistler	Township	11,746	13,982	+2,236 (+19.0%)	16,644	240.00	58.3
44	Powell River	City	13,157	13,943	+786 (+6.0%)	14,776	28.91	482.4
45	Parksville	City	12,453	13,642	+1,189 (+9.5%)	14,945	14.52	939.5
46	Dawson Creek	City	12,178	12,323	+145 (+1.2%)	12,470	26.72	461.1
47	Sidney	Town	11,672	12,318	+646 (+5.5%)	13,000	5.11	2,412.8
48	Prince Rupert	City	12,220	12,300	+80 (+0.7%)	12,381	66.00	186.4
49	North Saanich	Township	11,249	12,235	+986 (+8.8%)	13,307	37.16	329.2
50	Summerland	Township	11,615	12,042	+427 (+3.7%)	12,485	74.04	162.6
51	Terrace	City	11,643	12,017	+374 (+3.2%)	12,403	57.33	209.6
52	View Royal	Town	10,408	11,575	+1,167 (+11.2%)	12,873	14.33	807.6
53	Coldstream	Township	10,648	11,171	+523 (+4.9%)	11,720	66.57	167.8
54	Nelson	City	10,572	11,106	+534 (+5.1%)	11,667	11.93	930.6
55	Williams Lake	City	10,753	10,947	+194 (+1.8%)	11,145	33.12	330.5
56	Sechelt	Township	10,216	10,847	+631 (+6.2%)	11,517	39.02	278.0
57	Quesnel	City	9,879	9,889	+10 (+0.1%)	9,899	35.35	279.8
58	Qualicum Beach	Town	8,943	9,303	+360 (+4.0%)	9,677	17.98	517.5
59	Ladysmith	Town	8,537	8,990	+453 (+5.3%)	9,467	12.04	746.5
60	Castlegar	City	8,039	8,338	+299 (+3.7%)	8,648	19.87	419.6
61	Revelstoke	City	7,562	8,275	+713 (+9.4%)	9,055	41.28	200.5
62	Kitimat	Township	8,131	8,236	+105 (+1.3%)	8,342	239.28	34.4
63	Kimberley	City	7,425	8,115	+690 (+9.3%)	8,869	60.51	134.1
64	Trail	City	7,709	7,920	+211 (+2.7%)	8,137	34.90	226.9
65	Merritt	City	7,139	7,051	-88 (-1.2%)	—	26.04	270.7
66	Hope	Township	6,181	6,686	+505 (+8.2%)	7,232	40.87	163.6
67	Fernie	City	5,396	6,320	+924 (+17.1%)	7,402	15.11	418.3
68	Kent	Township	6,067	6,300	+233 (+3.8%)	6,542	168.59	37.4
69	Langley	City	5,869	6,033	+164 (+2.8%)	6,202	13.30	453.5
70	Peachland	Township	5,428	5,789	+361 (+6.7%)	6,174	16.10	359.6
71	Creston	Town	5,361	5,583	+222 (+4.1%)	5,814	8.41	664.2
72	Osoyoos	Town	5,050	5,556	+506 (+10.0%)	6,113	8.41	660.7
73	Smithers	Town	5,401	5,378	-23 (-0.4%)	—	15.26	352.4
74	Armstrong	City	5,114	5,323	+209 (+4.1%)	5,541	5.22	1,020.0
75	Spallumcheen	Township	5,106	5,307	+201 (+3.9%)	5,516	254.92	20.8
76	Oliver	Town	4,928	5,094	+166 (+3.4%)	5,266	5.49	927.9
77	Metchosin	Township	4,708	5,067	+359 (+7.6%)	5,453	69.57	72.8
78	Duncan	City	4,944	5,047	+103 (+2.1%)	5,152	2.06	2,444.5
79	Gibsons	Town	4,605	4,758	+153 (+3.3%)	4,916	4.31	1,103.2
80	Vanderhoof	Township	4,434	4,346	-88 (-2.0%)	—	53.93	80.6
81	Sparwood	Township	3,784	4,148	+364 (+9.6%)	4,547	191.30	21.7
82	Rossland	City	3,729	4,140	+411 (+11.0%)	4,596	59.72	69.3
83	Grand Forks	City	4,049	4,112	+63 (+1.6%)	4,176	10.37	396.4
84	Golden	Town	3,708	3,986	+278 (+7.5%)	4,285	11.33	351.9
85	Northern Rockies	Township	4,862	3,947	-915 (-18.8%)	—	84,759.31	—
86	Invermere	Township	3,391	3,917	+526 (+15.5%)	4,525	10.75	364.4
87	Port Hardy	Township	4,132	3,902	-230 (-5.6%)	—	38.55	101.2
88	Lantzville	Township	3,605	3,817	+212 (+5.9%)	4,041	27.68	137.9
89	Lake Cowichan	Town	3,226	3,325	+99 (+3.1%)	3,427	8.24	403.5
90	Mackenzie	Township	3,714	3,281	-433 (-11.7%)	—	154.19	21.3
91	Houston	Township	2,993	3,052	+59 (+2.0%)	3,112	72.88	41.9
92	Enderby	City	2,964	3,028	+64 (+2.2%)	3,093	4.26	710.4
93	Princeton	Town	2,828	2,894	+66 (+2.3%)	2,962	59.28	48.8
94	Elkford	Township	2,499	2,749	+250 (+10.0%)	3,024	108.12	25.4
95	Sicamous	Township	2,429	2,613	+184 (+7.6%)	2,811	12.80	204.2
96	Tofino	Township	1,967	2,516	+549 (+27.9%)	3,218	10.56	238.3
97	Highlands	Township	2,225	2,482	+257 (+11.6%)	2,769	38.01	65.3
98	Tumbler Ridge	Township	1,987	2,399	+412 (+20.7%)	2,896	1,557.41	1.5
99	Nak'azdli	Town	2,318	2,390	+72 (+3.1%)	2,464	10.36	230.7
100	Clearwater	Township	2,324	2,388	+64 (+2.8%)	2,454	55.65	42.9
101	Port McNeill	Town	2,337	2,356	+19 (+0.8%)	2,375	13.77	171.1
102	Chetwynd	Township	2,503	2,302	-201 (-8.0%)	—	63.55	36.2
103	Lillooet	Township	2,275	2,302	+27 (+1.2%)	2,329	27.63	83.3
104	Logan Lake	Township	1,993	2,255	+262 (+13.1%)	2,551	324.28	7.0
105	Ucluelet	Township	1,717	2,066	+349 (+20.3%)	2,486	6.48	318.8
106	One Hundred Mile House	Township	1,918	1,928	+10 (+0.5%)	1,938	53.01	36.4
107	Barriere	Township	1,713	1,765	+52 (+3.0%)	1,819	10.73	164.5
108	Fort St. James	Township	1,598	1,386	-212 (-13.3%)	—	23.45	59.1
109	Taylor	Township	1,469	1,317	-152 (-10.3%)	—	16.92	77.8

No places match .

Smallest

Smallest by Metro Area

Smallest here means smallest CMA/CA in British Columbia by Statistics Canada's definition — a core city plus its economically integrated surrounding communities, not a standalone municipality.

28 of 28 places

#	Name
1	Prince Rupert (CA)	13,462	13,442	-20 (-0.1%)	—	3,303.63	4.1
2	Trail (CA)	14,196	14,268	+72 (+0.5%)	14,340	279.13	51.1
3	Ladysmith (CA)	14,572	15,501	+929 (+6.4%)	16,489	412.01	37.6
4	Powell River (CA)	16,783	17,825	+1,042 (+6.2%)	18,932	799.80	22.3
5	Dawson Creek (CA)	18,890	17,878	-1,012 (-5.4%)	—	11,716.80	1.5
6	Nelson (CA)	18,307	19,119	+812 (+4.4%)	19,967	1,224.30	15.6
7	Terrace (CA)	19,160	19,606	+446 (+2.3%)	20,062	9,721.84	2.0
8	Salmon Arm (CA)	17,904	19,705	+1,801 (+10.1%)	21,687	165.42	119.1
9	Quesnel (CA)	23,146	23,113	-33 (-0.1%)	—	21,708.62	1.1
10	Williams Lake (CA)	23,113	23,608	+495 (+2.1%)	24,114	12,422.14	1.9
11	Squamish (CA)	19,893	24,232	+4,339 (+21.8%)	29,517	105.43	229.8
12	Port Alberni (CA)	24,669	25,786	+1,117 (+4.5%)	26,954	1,633.13	15.8
13	Cranbrook (CA)	26,068	27,040	+972 (+3.7%)	28,048	4,563.87	5.9
14	Fort St. John (CA)	28,396	28,729	+333 (+1.2%)	29,066	617.73	46.5
15	Parksville (CA)	28,922	31,054	+2,132 (+7.4%)	33,343	81.81	379.6
16	Campbell River (CA)	37,861	40,704	+2,843 (+7.5%)	43,760	1,734.05	23.5
17	Penticton (CA)	43,534	47,380	+3,846 (+8.8%)	51,566	1,734.72	27.3
18	Duncan (CA)	44,451	47,582	+3,131 (+7.0%)	50,934	373.22	127.5
19	Courtenay (CA)	57,950	63,282	+5,332 (+9.2%)	69,105	624.33	101.4
20	Vernon (CA)	61,324	67,086	+5,762 (+9.4%)	73,389	1,041.09	64.4
21	Prince George (CA)	86,622	89,490	+2,868 (+3.3%)	92,453	17,650.99	5.1
22	Chilliwack (CMA)	101,512	113,767	+12,255 (+12.1%)	127,501	1,444.02	78.8
23	Kamloops (CMA)	103,811	114,142	+10,331 (+10.0%)	125,501	5,654.08	20.2
24	Nanaimo (CMA)	104,936	115,459	+10,523 (+10.0%)	127,037	1,279.28	90.3
25	Abbotsford - Mission (CMA)	180,518	195,726	+15,208 (+8.4%)	212,215	606.72	322.6
26	Kelowna (CMA)	194,892	222,162	+27,270 (+14.0%)	253,248	2,902.45	76.5
27	Victoria (CMA)	367,770	397,237	+29,467 (+8.0%)	429,065	695.29	571.3
28	Vancouver (CMA)	2,463,431	2,642,825	+179,394 (+7.3%)	2,835,283	2,878.93	918.0

No places match .

Smallest by Municipality

This list ranks British Columbia's tiniest legally incorporated cities, towns, and townships, smallest population first, within each municipality's own limits. Very small counts (under 100) are excluded, since Statistics Canada rounds or suppresses them for privacy; villages, rural municipalities, unorganized "Subd." county subdivisions, and Indian reserves aren't part of this list.

50 of 50 places

#	Name	Type
1	Wells	Township	217	218	+1 (+0.5%)	219	158.09	1.4
2	Nanaimo Town 1	Town	360	386	+26 (+7.2%)	414	0.20	1,911.8
3	Port Edward	Township	467	470	+3 (+0.6%)	473	167.16	2.8
4	Stewart	Township	401	517	+116 (+28.9%)	667	551.57	0.9
5	New Hazelton	Township	580	602	+22 (+3.8%)	625	24.34	24.7
6	Greenwood	City	665	702	+37 (+5.6%)	741	2.42	290.2
7	Hudson's Hope	Township	1,015	841	-174 (-17.1%)	—	826.70	1.0
8	Taylor	Township	1,469	1,317	-152 (-10.3%)	—	16.92	77.8
9	Fort St. James	Township	1,598	1,386	-212 (-13.3%)	—	23.45	59.1
10	Barriere	Township	1,713	1,765	+52 (+3.0%)	1,819	10.73	164.5
11	One Hundred Mile House	Township	1,918	1,928	+10 (+0.5%)	1,938	53.01	36.4
12	Ucluelet	Township	1,717	2,066	+349 (+20.3%)	2,486	6.48	318.8
13	Logan Lake	Township	1,993	2,255	+262 (+13.1%)	2,551	324.28	7.0
14	Chetwynd	Township	2,503	2,302	-201 (-8.0%)	—	63.55	36.2
15	Lillooet	Township	2,275	2,302	+27 (+1.2%)	2,329	27.63	83.3
16	Port McNeill	Town	2,337	2,356	+19 (+0.8%)	2,375	13.77	171.1
17	Clearwater	Township	2,324	2,388	+64 (+2.8%)	2,454	55.65	42.9
18	Nak'azdli	Town	2,318	2,390	+72 (+3.1%)	2,464	10.36	230.7
19	Tumbler Ridge	Township	1,987	2,399	+412 (+20.7%)	2,896	1,557.41	1.5
20	Highlands	Township	2,225	2,482	+257 (+11.6%)	2,769	38.01	65.3
21	Tofino	Township	1,967	2,516	+549 (+27.9%)	3,218	10.56	238.3
22	Sicamous	Township	2,429	2,613	+184 (+7.6%)	2,811	12.80	204.2
23	Elkford	Township	2,499	2,749	+250 (+10.0%)	3,024	108.12	25.4
24	Princeton	Town	2,828	2,894	+66 (+2.3%)	2,962	59.28	48.8
25	Enderby	City	2,964	3,028	+64 (+2.2%)	3,093	4.26	710.4
26	Houston	Township	2,993	3,052	+59 (+2.0%)	3,112	72.88	41.9
27	Mackenzie	Township	3,714	3,281	-433 (-11.7%)	—	154.19	21.3
28	Lake Cowichan	Town	3,226	3,325	+99 (+3.1%)	3,427	8.24	403.5
29	Lantzville	Township	3,605	3,817	+212 (+5.9%)	4,041	27.68	137.9
30	Port Hardy	Township	4,132	3,902	-230 (-5.6%)	—	38.55	101.2
31	Invermere	Township	3,391	3,917	+526 (+15.5%)	4,525	10.75	364.4
32	Northern Rockies	Township	4,862	3,947	-915 (-18.8%)	—	84,759.31	—
33	Golden	Town	3,708	3,986	+278 (+7.5%)	4,285	11.33	351.9
34	Grand Forks	City	4,049	4,112	+63 (+1.6%)	4,176	10.37	396.4
35	Rossland	City	3,729	4,140	+411 (+11.0%)	4,596	59.72	69.3
36	Sparwood	Township	3,784	4,148	+364 (+9.6%)	4,547	191.30	21.7
37	Vanderhoof	Township	4,434	4,346	-88 (-2.0%)	—	53.93	80.6
38	Gibsons	Town	4,605	4,758	+153 (+3.3%)	4,916	4.31	1,103.2
39	Duncan	City	4,944	5,047	+103 (+2.1%)	5,152	2.06	2,444.5
40	Metchosin	Township	4,708	5,067	+359 (+7.6%)	5,453	69.57	72.8
41	Oliver	Town	4,928	5,094	+166 (+3.4%)	5,266	5.49	927.9
42	Spallumcheen	Township	5,106	5,307	+201 (+3.9%)	5,516	254.92	20.8
43	Armstrong	City	5,114	5,323	+209 (+4.1%)	5,541	5.22	1,020.0
44	Smithers	Town	5,401	5,378	-23 (-0.4%)	—	15.26	352.4
45	Osoyoos	Town	5,050	5,556	+506 (+10.0%)	6,113	8.41	660.7
46	Creston	Town	5,361	5,583	+222 (+4.1%)	5,814	8.41	664.2
47	Peachland	Township	5,428	5,789	+361 (+6.7%)	6,174	16.10	359.6
48	Langley	City	5,869	6,033	+164 (+2.8%)	6,202	13.30	453.5
49	Kent	Township	6,067	6,300	+233 (+3.8%)	6,542	168.59	37.4
50	Fernie	City	5,396	6,320	+924 (+17.1%)	7,402	15.11	418.3

No places match .

Population (2021)

Population Change, 2016–2021

Frequently Asked Questions

How many cities does British Columbia have?

As of the 2021 Census, British Columbia has 51 legally designated cities under Statistics Canada's "city" area type. Towns and townships are a separate legal designation and aren't included in this count.

What is the largest city in British Columbia?

Vancouver is British Columbia's largest city, with a population of 662,248 as of the 2021 Census.

What's the difference between a CMA and a municipality?

A municipality is a legal city, town, or township boundary set by the province and governed by its own local council. A CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) is a Statistics Canada geographic boundary that groups a core municipality together with every surrounding community that's economically and socially integrated with it through commuting — so a CMA's population is usually larger than its core municipality's alone, sometimes considerably so.