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New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia in 1858 and continued in that role until the Mainland and Island ...
1864: The colonial government moves from Victoria to New Westminster, making it the administrative center of the colony. 1866: The colony of British Columbia joins the Canadian Confederation, and New Westminster becomes the capital of the new province of British Columbia.
- Indigenous Peoples
- History
- Population
- Economy
- Cultural Life
New Westminster is located on the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples, and in particular that of the Qayqayt First Nation. The territory is unceded, meaning First Nations never surrendered their land through treatyor other means.
During the Fraser River and Cariboo gold rushes, New Westminster was the mainland’s mercantile centre and transportation hub. However, the city never displaced Victoria’s overall dominance, due to the latter’s easier access to ocean shipping. In 1868, the Legislative Council chose Victoria as the permanent capital of the recently united colonies of...
New Westminster’s population is also ethnically diverse. According to the 2021census, prominent ethnic groups within the city include Chinese(10.9 per cent of the population), South Asian (10.4 per cent), Filipino (8.7 per cent), Black(3.5 per cent) and Korean people (2 per cent). Most immigrants living in New Westminster cite their country of birt...
The salmon canning industry, penitentiary and a Labatt’s brewery were once major employers in the city. Today, major employers include the Royal Columbian Hospital and professional, scientific and technical services. The original SkyTrainline, opened in 1986, included a stop in New Westminster. This, combined with the city’s strategic location as t...
Few of the city’s colonial era buildings remain, the most well known being the Captain William Irving House (1864-65), now the city’s historic centre. A major fire in 1898 wiped out the downtown section and some residential areas. However, many structures built in the following decade survived. Behind the Irving House is the New Westminster Museum ...
Sep 11, 2024 · Founded in 1859 on a site chosen by Colonel Richard C. Moody, it was called Queensborough until renamed at the suggestion of Queen Victoria. New Westminster was the capital of colonial British Columbia (1859–66) and the province’s first (1860) incorporated city. It was the scene of a disastrous fire in 1898.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The following year, the new colony had a new capital: New Westminster, named by Queen Victoria for her favourite district in London. Dubbed the “Royal City,” New Westminster at first thrived. Built on the traditional territory of the Qayqayt and Kwantlen First Nations, i t became a commercial centre and transportation hub — a crossroads ...
1866 - The capital of the united colonies is officially moved from New Westminster to Victoria. 1867 - The Dominion of Canada is established, and British Columbia becomes one of its founding provinces. 1868 - Victoria becomes the capital of the province of British Columbia.
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New Westminster is a city located on the north side of the Fraser River, just east of Vancouver. New Westminster was called Prince Albert and Albert City in the mid-1800s, 1 and it later became the first capital of British Columbia. 2.
