LOWER MAINLAND

Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

The climate of the Lower Mainland is similar to that of the southeast coast of Vancouver Island although it has higher precipitation, including more snow in winter, the higher the elevation. The Fraser River, the largest river system in the province and most significant to the salmon fishing industry, is an important physical feature of this region.

Historically, salmon and other resources of the water and land attracted many First Nations to the region. For non-Natives, gold was the main attraction following its discovery on the Fraser in 1858. Agricultural settlements soon followed, but securing these rich agricultural lands from the threat of floods has not been easy. Before the establishment of Vancouver, major sawmills on Burrard Inlet exported lumber, and canneries operated at the mouth of the Fraser River. Transportation has been a major factor in the growth and development of this region. The completion of the CPR at Port Moody and its extension to Vancouver in 1886 was the catalyst for the rapid growth observed in Table 1 Vancouver, with its national railway and international port, was the main centre for this relatively small geographic region and was largely responsible for the growth of the adjacent Fraser Valley to the east, the Squamish- Whistler-Pemberton corridor to the north, and the Sunshine Coast to the northwest. The mountains and valleys framed the transportation links and settlement patterns for this region. The Sunshine Coast has a linear settlement pattern following the Strait of Georgia and is connected to Vancouver via ferry at Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. The Pacific Great Eastern Railway (renamed the British Columbia Railway, or BCR, in 1972 and taken over by CN in 2004) initially ran between Squamish and Quesnel (1921), and then was extended south to North Vancouver (1956) and north beyond Quesnel. This railway line has been an important transportation link to the ports at Squamish and North Vancouver. The Sea-to-Sky Highway is the main transportation system today as it winds its way beside Howe Sound to Squamish and then follows valleys leading past Whistler to Pemberton, Lillooet, and the interior of the province. Vancouver, Whistler, and all the communities between them, as well as the route that links them, have gained much attention and economic investment since the announcement that Vancouver/ Whistler would host the 2010 Winter Olympics.

For the Fraser Valley, the river was originally the main transportation system. The construction of the CPR, and later the Canadian National Railway and British Columbia Electric Railway, made the region accessible. Road systems were built in the early 1900s, and eventually the construction of the Trans-Canada Highway and other highways linked Vancouver and the Fraser Valley to the rest of the province and south to the United States. Favourable climate, superb natural features, highways, railways, port facilities, an international airport, and many commercial links to the rest of Canada, Asia, and the world make Vancouver a world city. This region has become the focus of the high-tech and film industries ...