Richmond, British Columbia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta

Delta, British Columbia

Delta is a district municipality in British Columbia, and forms part of Metro Vancouver. Located south of Richmond, it is bordered by the Fraser River to the north, the United States to the south and the city of Surrey to the east...

to the south, while the Strait of Georgia

Strait of Georgia

The Strait of Georgia or the Georgia Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is approximately long and varies in width from...

forms its western border. Richmond is the location of Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport is located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, about from Downtown Vancouver. In 2010 it was the second busiest airport in Canada by aircraft movements and passengers , behind Toronto Pearson International Airport, with non-stop flights daily to...

, and the Richmond Olympic Oval

Richmond Olympic Oval

The Richmond Olympic Oval , or the Richmond Oval is a facility in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was the venue of the speed skating events and the official Olympic anti-doping lab of the 2010 Winter Olympics...

was a site for speed-skating events during the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

History

The city was named after a local farmstead established by Hugh McRoberts. A daughter of his chose this name for their farm after one of the Richmonds in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

(it is unknown exactly which one it is). The wife of the first reeve of Richmond, Mrs. Hugh Boyd, later claimed that the city was named in honour of her birthplace, Richmond, England

Richmond, North Yorkshire

Richmond is a market town and civil parish on the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England and is the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. It is situated on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and serves as the Park's main tourist centre...

. However, modern historians proved this claim to be false, since the Boyds immigrated to Richmond in 1863, but there had already been a pamphlet called "A Visit to Richmond" made in British Columbia in September 1862.

November 10, 1879 — Richmond was incorporated as a District Municipality
District municipality
A district municipality is a designation for a class of municipalities found in several locations, including Canada, Lithuania, and South Africa.-Usage in British Columbia:...

.
March 25, 1910 — The first flight in British Columbia was made from Minoru Racetrack
Minoru Park
Minoru Park is a park located on the site of a former horse-racing track and airstrip in Richmond, British Columbia. The Minoru Park's running track is often used for school competitions, such as track and field...

.
December 3, 1990 — Richmond was designated as a City.

An early centre of European (and later, Japanese) settlement in Richmond was the old fishing village of Steveston

Steveston, British Columbia

Steveston was originally a small town near Vancouver, British Columbia, but has since been absorbed into the city of Richmond, British Columbia....

on the southwestern tip of Lulu Island

Lulu Island

Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River. The island makes up most of the City of Richmond, a major suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia...

. Steveston is now home to several museums and heritage sites, as well as a working harbour for fishing boats. Currently, London Heritage Farm, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery

Gulf of Georgia Cannery

The Gulf of Georgia Cannery is a National Historic Site of Canada located in Steveston village in Richmond, British Columbia.Built in 1894, the Cannery echoes the days when it was the leading producer of canned salmon in British Columbia...

and the Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site in Steveston highlight these parts of Richmond's diverse history.

Geography and climate

The city comprises most of the islands in the Fraser River

Fraser River

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...

delta, the largest and most populated island being Lulu Island

Lulu Island

Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River. The island makes up most of the City of Richmond, a major suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia...

. The city of Richmond includes all but a small portion of Lulu Island (the Queensborough neighbourhood at the far eastern tip is part of the city of New Westminster). The next largest island, Sea Island, is home to the Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport

(YVR). In addition to Lulu and Sea Islands, 13 smaller islands make up the city's 129.66 square kilometres (50.1 sq mi) land area. The city also includes the fishing village of Steveston

Steveston, British Columbia

Steveston was originally a small town near Vancouver, British Columbia, but has since been absorbed into the city of Richmond, British Columbia....

, located in the far southwest corner of the city.

Since all of Richmond's land occupies islands in a river delta

River delta

A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

, the city has plenty of rich, alluvial soil for agriculture, and was one of the first areas in British Columbia to be farmed by Europeans in the 19th century. The drawback of Richmond's geographical location, was that since all the land averages just one metre above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

, it was prone to flooding, especially during high tide

High Tide

High Tide was a band formed in 1969 by Tony Hill , Simon House , Peter Pavli and Roger Hadden .-History:...

. As a result, all the major islands are now surrounded by a system of dykes, which, although not as massive as those in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

or the levee

Levee

A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...

s of New Orleans, serve to protect the town from anticipated sources of flooding. There is a possibility that, during an earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

, the dykes could rupture and the alluvial soil may liquefy, causing extensive damage. Richmond is also at risk of a major flood if the Fraser River

Fraser River

has an unusually high spring freshet

Freshet

A freshet can refer to one of two things:* A flood resulting from heavy rain or a spring thaw. Whereas heavy rain often causes a flash flood, a spring thaw event is generally a more incremental process, depending upon local climate and topography...

. Recreational trails run along the tops of many of the dykes, and Richmond also supports about 1,400 acres (5.67 km²) of parkland.

Because of the high water table, very few houses in Richmond have basements and until the late 1980s, very few buildings were above 3 storeys high. Also, because of proximity to the airport, current building regulations limit the height of buildings to 150 feet (45.7 m).

Richmond enjoys a temperate climate, and actually receives 30% less rain than neighbouring Vancouver

Vancouver

because it is not as close to the mountains. It snows in winter and the summer temperatures are mild to warm. Richmond is also very prone to fog in the cooler months.

Demographics

Richmond's population as of January 2011 was 196,858. It is the fourth largest city in British Columbia, after Vancouver

Vancouver

(642,843), Surrey

Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...

(462,345) and Burnaby (227,389).

Richmond has an immigrant population of 60%, the highest in Canada. More than half of its population is of Asian descent, many of whom immigrated in the early 1990s, most of them from Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Taiwan

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

, and Mainland China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. Other Asian Canadian

Asian Canadian

This is a list of Canadians of Asian ancestry. Asian Canadians comprise the largest visible minority in Canada, at 11% of the Canadian population.- Ethnicity :List of Asian Canadian Demographies according to the 2006 Census- Notable Asian Canadians :...

s in Richmond include Indo-Canadians

Indo-Canadians

Indo-Canadians are Canadians whose origins trace back to India. The terms East Indian and South Asian are used to distinguish people of ancestral origin from India, from the First Nations peoples of Canada who are often referred to as Indian, and from the people of the Caribbean, who are sometimes...

, Filipino Canadian

Filipino Canadian

Filipino Canadians are Canadians of Filipino ancestry. Filipino-Canadians are the fourth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.Canada only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. To date, there are currently around 400,000 Filipino Canadians in Canada, most of them...

s and Japanese Canadians, the latter having a long history in Steveston

Steveston, British Columbia

Steveston was originally a small town near Vancouver, British Columbia, but has since been absorbed into the city of Richmond, British Columbia....

dating back to the 1800s. The Japanese Canadian community was devastated following the Pearl Harbor attack by Japan in 1941: the Japanese Canadians were relocated to internment camps

Japanese Canadian internment

Japanese Canadian internment refers to confinement of Japanese Canadians in British Columbia during World War II. The internment began in December 1941, following the attack by carrier-borne forces of Imperial Japan on American naval and army facilities at Pearl Harbor...

in the BC Interior

Interior Plateau

The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of central British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west. The continuation of the plateau into the United States is known there as the...

and Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

and their property was auctioned off. Richmond is also home to two of the largest Buddhist temples in North America, the International Buddhist Temple

International Buddhist Temple

The International Buddhist Temple is located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada...

and the Ling Yen Mountain Temple.

According to Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada

Statistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....

, residents of Richmond have the greatest life expectancy

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...

in Canada at 83.4 years, and the lowest obesity

Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...

and smoking

Tobacco smoking

Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...

rates as well . The average price of a detached home in Richmond is $758,915. Serious violent crime is very rare in Richmond, and Richmond was ranked as the third safest city in British Columbia for 2002.

Government and politics

With its mostly middle- to upper-middle-class demographic, Richmond votes regularly along centrist to conservative lines, and is a stronghold for the BC Liberal Party.

Municipal Elections

The current mayor is Malcolm Brodie

Malcolm Brodie

Malcolm Brodie is the mayor of Richmond, the fourth largest city in British Columbia.A lawyer by profession, Brodie was elected to City Council in 1996 and again in 1999, as part of the centre-right Richmond Non-Partisan Association . After the resignation of mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt in 2001,...

, an independent first elected in an October 2001 by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

. Local government consists of an 8-member City Council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

and a 7-member School Board. The last elections were in November 2008.

Like Vancouver

Vancouver

, but unlike most cities in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Richmond runs on a political system of locally based political parties

Political Parties

Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...

. For the most part, however, their organization is weak and they have been known to collapse or change names frequently from one election to another.

In the November 2008 elections, the main local parties were: the right-wing Richmond First party (RF), the centrist Richmond Independent Team of Electors (RITE) and the left-wing Richmond Citizens Association (RCA). In the elections to council and school board, the RF won a total of 7 positions, the RITE won 4, the RCA 2 and there were 3 independents.

Provincial Elections

In provincial politics, Richmond is a stronghold of the BC Liberal Party

British Columbia Liberal Party

The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...

. In the 2009 provincial elections

British Columbia general election, 2009

The 39th British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...

, the Liberals easily won all three of Richmond's electoral district

Electoral district

An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...

s (Richmond Centre

Richmond Centre

Richmond Centre is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.-MLAs:#Doug Symons, Liberal #Greg Halsey-Brandt, Liberal #Olga Ilich, Liberal #Rob Howard, Liberal...

, Richmond East

Richmond East

Richmond East is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.- Demographics :- Member of Legislative Assembly :...

, and Richmond-Steveston

Richmond-Steveston

Richmond-Steveston is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.- Demographics :- Member of Legislative Assembly :Its MLA is John Yap. He was first elected in 2005, and was re-elected in 2009...

) by large margins.

Federal Elections

In the House of Commons of Canada, Richmond is divided between two electoral district

Electoral district

An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...

s: Richmond, which encompasses the city's centre and west, and Delta—Richmond East

Delta—Richmond East

Delta—Richmond East is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.-Geography:It is located in the Metro Vancouver, and consists of:...

, which encompasses the south and east (as well as neighbouring Delta

Delta, British Columbia

). In the May 2011 federal election, the Conservative Party won both of Richmond's seats.

Health care

Health care in Richmond is overseen by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which also covers the City of Vancouver

Vancouver

, District of West Vancouver, City of North Vancouver, and District of North Vancouver as well as coastal regions of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. The only hospital in Richmond is Richmond Hospital

Richmond Hospital

Richmond Hospital is a medical facility located in Richmond, British Columbia. The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority is responsible for Richmond Health Services and Richmond Hospital.-History:...

, located on the southeast corner of Westminster Highway and Gilbert Road.
The city is known internationally as the headquarters of the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society, and also as the city where the National Annual Hemochromatosis Awareness Month was initiated by former Mayor, G. H. Blair, in 1987.

Education

Richmond is home to a campus of Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Kwantlen Polytechnic University is a public degree-granting undergraduate polytechnic university with four campuses located in the South Fraser region of British Columbia’s Lower Mainland...

. In addition, the British Columbia Institute of Technology

British Columbia Institute of Technology

The British Columbia Institute of Technology , is a public, coeducational, academic institution of higher education in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The polytechnic has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with the main campus in Burnaby...

runs its aircraft maintenance courses at facilities at Vancouver International Airport.

Richmond has 10 secondary schools and 38 elementary schools, including three Montessori schools, three late French immersion schools, and six early French immersion schools. They are overseen by School District 38 Richmond

School District 38 Richmond

Richmond School District is a school district based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.The school board serves the city of Richmond.-Elementary schools:*Anderson Elementary School *Blair Elementary School...

. The district also hosts one International Baccalaureate World School, located within Richmond Secondary School

Richmond Secondary School

Richmond Secondary School, is a public, co-educational secondary school located in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, that educates approximately 1200 students from grades 8 to 12...

Transportation

Richmond is connected by a system of bridges and tunnels to Vancouver and Delta, and through the New Westminster suburb of Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to the "mainland" portion of New Westminster.

Three bridges (one of them twinned) connect Lulu Island to Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport; one bridge connects Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport to Vancouver; two bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver; one bridge connects Queensborough (on eastern Lulu Island) to New Westminster; one bridge connects Queensborough to Annacis Island in Delta; one twinned bridge connects Richmond to Annacis Island; and one of the few underwater tunnels

George Massey Tunnel

The George Massey Tunnel is a highway traffic tunnel in the Metro Vancouver region of southwestern British Columbia. It is located approximately 20 km south of the city centre of Vancouver, British Columbia, and approximately 30 km north of the Canada-U.S...

in British Columbia connects Richmond to Delta.

Richmond is served by two freeways: Highway 99, which connects to Interstate 5

Interstate 5

Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Ocean coastline from Canada to Mexico . It serves some of the largest cities on the U.S...

at the border with the United States, and Highway 91, which connects Delta, New Westminster, and Richmond.

Railway bridges connect Lulu Island to Vancouver, New Westminster, and Annacis Island

Annacis Island

Annacis Island is an island located in the South Arm of the Fraser River in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. The island is now mostly industrial, and it contains one of the Metro Vancouver's secondary wastewater treatment plants...

, and serve the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

s, as well as the Southern Railway of British Columbia (although the latter railway's Lulu Island trackage is entirely within Queensborough).

The public transit system in Metro Vancouver, planned and funded by TransLink, currently has bus and rail connections from Richmond to Downtown Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, Delta and the University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

. A SkyTrain

SkyTrain (Vancouver)

SkyTrain is a light rapid transit system in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks, running mostly on elevated guideways, which helps SkyTrain to hold consistently high on-time reliability...

rail line called the Canada Line

Canada Line

Canada Line is a rapid transit line in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. Opened in August 2009, it is the third line in TransLink's SkyTrain metro network, servicing Vancouver, Richmond, and the Vancouver International Airport...

, connecting both Richmond Centre and the airport to Downtown Vancouver and to points in between, opened on Monday, August 17, 2009. The Canada Line provides travel to Downtown Vancouver in 25 minutes with a frequency of 3 to 12 minutes, 20 hours per day, using the same fares as the bus system. Major transit hubs are the Richmond–Brighouse Station, which is the hub for almost all Richmond bus routes, and the Bridgeport Station which is the hub for all bus routes from outlying suburbs. After the Canada Line closes at night, 24/7 service is provided by the N10 NightBus everyday of the week. The bus runs every 30 minutes with one exception of a north bound trip (2am-3am) when services is at 60 minutes; service returns to 30 minutes after the northbound trip at 3am.

Vancouver International Airport

Vancouver International Airport

(YVR), located on Sea Island, which is part of Richmond, to the north of Lulu Island, provides most of the air access to the region. Several Float plane companies (including Salt Spring Air

Salt Spring Air

Salt Spring Air is the only floatplane company based on Saltspring Island, British Columbia, Canada. It operates scheduled flights, charter air service and tours based in Ganges and specializes in routes between the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island...

, Harbour Air

Harbour Air

Harbour Air is a scheduled service, tour and charter airline based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The airline specializes in routes between Vancouver, Nanaimo, Victoria, Sechelt, Comox and the Gulf Islands, primarily with de Havilland Canada floatplanes...

and Seair Seaplanes

Seair Seaplanes

Seair Seaplanes is a scheduled and charter Canadian airline based in Richmond, British Columbia. The airline flies routes between the Vancouver International Water Airport and the Nanaimo Harbour Water Airport, as well as other Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia, primarily with float...

) operate from the south terminal providing service to the gulf islands and Vancouver Island. The airport is the second busiest in Canada and one of the busiest international airports on the West Coast of North America.

Economy

Richmond supports about 100,000 jobs in various areas including services, retailing, tourism, light manufacturing, airport services and aviation, agriculture, fishing, and government. Richmond also is a leading centre in the region for high-technology companies, including MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA)

MacDonald Dettwiler

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. is a Richmond, British Columbia-based Canadian aerospace, information services and products company, employing over 3000 people throughout Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, under the MDA brand name....

and the Nintendo

Nintendo

is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....

Corporation of Canada.

Air Canada Jazz

Air Canada Jazz

Jazz Aviation LP is a Canadian regional airline based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield and Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chorus Aviation....

operates a regional office in Richmond.

Before its dissolution, Canadian Airlines

Canadian Airlines

Canadian Airlines International Ltd. was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, and carried more than 11.9 million passengers to over 160 destinations in 17 countries on five continents at its height in 1996...

operated an office in Richmond. Before it merged into Air Canada Jazz, regional airline Air BC

Air BC

Air BC was an airline headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It is now part of Air Canada Jazz.- History :Air BC was established in 1980 after the merger of a number of west coast domestic airlines: Canadian Air Transit, Flight Operation, Gulf Air Aviation, Haida Airlines, Island...

was headquartered in Richmond. Prior to its dissolution, Harmony Airways

Harmony Airways

Harmony Airways was an airline headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, a suburb of Vancouver. It operated holiday flights from Canada to Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada and Manchester...

, Pacific Western Airlines

Pacific Western Airlines

Pacific Western Airlines was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s...

and Canadian Pacific Airlines

Canadian Pacific Airlines

Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986...

were all headquartered in Richmond.

Agriculture

The Agricultural Land Reserve

Agricultural Land Reserve

The Agricultural Land Reserve is a collection of land in the Canadian province of British Columbia in which agriculture is recognized as the priority use. Farming is encouraged and non-agricultural uses are controlled. In total, the ALR covers approximately and includes private and public lands...

preserves 4,916 hectares within the city as farmland, an area that makes up most of east Richmond. Of this area, 3,012 hectares are farmed by 247 farms; the rest is either vacant or occupied by non-farm uses. Cranberries

Cranberry

Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...

and blueberries are the dominant crops grown. Other crops grown include strawberries, corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, and potatoes. In 2001 Richmond had approximately 47% of BC's cranberry acreage.

Shopping malls

Richmond is home to many Chinese-oriented shopping malls, most of them along No. 3 Road from Alderbridge Way to Capstan Way. This area is officially termed as the "Golden Village

Golden Village (Richmond, British Columbia)

Golden Village is a commercial district of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada best known for its high concentration of Asian-themed shopping malls. It is the home to the second-largest Asian community in North America....

" by Tourism Richmond and includes malls such as Aberdeen Centre

Aberdeen Centre

Aberdeen Centre is a shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia. It is located in the Golden Village district on Hazelbridge Way, bordered by Cambie Road to the north. It primarily serves the Asian Canadian population in the Metro Vancouver area, but is striving towards an appeal to Western...

, Continental Centre, Union Square

Union Square

Union Square may refer to:Asia* Union Square * Union Square station on Dubai MetroCanada* Union Square, Nova ScotiaUnited States* Union Square, Baltimore, Maryland* Union Square * Union Square, San Francisco, California...

, Ethen Centre, President Plaza, Parker Place

Parker Place

Parker Place is a shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia. It is located on No. 3 Road, in the middle of Richmond's Golden Village, the main Asian district...

, and Yaohan Centre

Yaohan Centre

Yaohan Centre is a shopping centre in the Golden Village district of Richmond, British Columbia. It caters mainly to Asian people, mainly those of Chinese and Japanese descent...

. The strip malls located on Alexandra Road are famous for their restaurants and the area is more commonly known as "food street".

Other malls in Richmond that are not Asian-oriented include Richmond Centre

Richmond Centre (mall)

Richmond Centre is a shopping mall in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Officially, it is located on No. 3 Road but it stretches as far west as Minoru Boulevard, and as far north as Westminster Highway...

,Lansdowne Centre and Blundell Mall.

Many businesses display their store names in large characters both in English and Chinese (including non-Chinese businesses such as Staples), with limited French scattered about.

City Centre development plan

Richmond city planners are one year into their update of its official plan for the city centre. The plan is anchored by the Canada Line

Canada Line

and includes the development of nine transit-oriented village centres. The population of the area is expected to grow from about 40,000 to 120,000 residents.
According to a senior planner for the city, the goal of the plan is to "turn the middle arm of the Fraser River into a focus instead of an edge."
A Richmond parks manager said that for "too long residents have felt contained by the river, seen it as being to their backs. Now, they want people to face the river and embrace the waterfront."

Fraser River development

The Olympic Oval-

Aspac Developments Ltd purchased 7.5 hectares (18.6 acres) of land adjacent to the Fraser River and the finished $178 million Richmond Olympic Oval

Richmond Olympic Oval

. The $1 billion plan includes 16 high-density towers, up to 14 stories in height. The towers will be stepped toward the waterfront and will include trees and green space. Aspac's plans are for "probably the highest-end development Richmond has seen to date" said Mayor Brodie. A $2.3 million hard-surfaced path will be constructed along the river to link the project to Aberdeen Centre.
Aspac's initial plan includes constructing the development in four phases, with the first phase comprising 65,000 square metres (700,000 sq ft) of residential development, and 2,300 square metres (25,000 sq ft) of ground-level commercial space. Some construction will not begin until after 2010, and will take up to 12 years to complete. The warehouses and commercial parks near the development are also slated for redevelopment.

The John M.S. Lecky Boathouse-
The University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

recently constructed a new boathouse along the river. The popular John M.S. Lecky boathouse draws crowds from rowing regattas and Dragon Boat Races.

Cambie Road Pedestrian Bridge-
A possible pedestrian bridge where Cambie Road reaches the river is also being included in a future vision of the area. It would link nature trails on the north and south banks, and make Aberdeen Centre within walking distance for BCIT's aerospace campus students.

Capstan Way development

Developer Pinnacle International is planning a 16-building development on a seven hectare (17.2 acre) property near Capstan Way and No 3 road. The mixed use development would include over 2,100 residential units, various commercial uses, and a hotel.

The Canada Line

Canada Line

is considered critical to the project. A fifth Richmond station at Capstan Way (No. 3 Road and Capstan Way) was originally planned, but was cancelled in March 2009. This station was considered so critical to the development that the developers had offered $15 million to build it ahead of schedule, however, Pinnacle International and Concord Pacific, the developers of the Sun Tech City project, couldn't fund the $15 million required to build the station. The developers could only offer $1 million up front, but this sum was deemed unacceptable by TransLink and the City of Richmond. Despite this, provisions for the station were engineered into the track and Richmond city council expects this station to be built at some point in the future.

Also included will be 100 affordable housing units, a 25-space daycare, and a 0.6 hectare (1.4 acre) park.
Live-work dwellings are also being proposed by the developers, where shop owners would live above their ground level operations.

Aberdeen Centre

Fairchild Developments is planning a six floor expansion to its Chinese-oriented shopping centre. The plan includes an office building, and a link to the Canada Line's Aberdeen

Aberdeen Station (Richmond)

Aberdeen Station is a SkyTrain station on the Canada Line in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, in the Metro Vancouver region. It is named after the adjacent Aberdeen Centre, the largest of Richmond's Asian-themed malls.-Location:...

station. The mall is also considering purchasing transit coupons for staff and customers to encourage them to use the new line.

Bridgeport Station

The River Rock Casino Resort

River Rock Casino Resort

River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia is the largest casino in the province of British Columbia. The casino is owned by Great Canadian Gaming...

, located near the newly opened Canada Line Bridgeport Station, and has built a 12 story hotel. The casino is currently in the process of adding an addition above the newly added six story car park and skytrain Bridgeport Station.
TransLink (the Canada Line operator) gave the Great Canadian Casino Corporation land worth $9.5 million, and $4.5 million in cash in return for building the park-and-ride facility. Transit users are charged $2.50 per day to use the facility (up from an initial $2.00 charge).

Garden City

The 55-hectare/136.5 acre parcel known as the Garden City lands was leased by the federal government for decades and was formerly used as a transmitter site for program requirements of the Canadian Coast Guard

Canadian Coast Guard

The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...

. The property is bounded by Westminster Highway, Garden City Road, Alderbridge Way and No. 4 Road and has been within the Provincial Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) since 1973. Recently the Federal Government of Canada deemed the land as "surplus" to its needs and transferred the property to the Canada Lands Company (an agency of the Federal Government) for liquidation.

The City of Richmond

City of Richmond

The City of Richmond was a Local Government Area located about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1855 until 1994.-History:...

, Canada Lands Company

Canada Lands Company

Canada Lands Company Limited is an arms length, self-financing Crown corporation reporting to Parliament through the Honourable John Baird, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons...

, and the Musqueam Indian Band entered a 2005 agreement with the federal government that included the intent to remove the land from the ALR for the purposes of high-density development. In April 2008, an application to exclude the land from the Agricultural Land Reserve

Agricultural Land Reserve

was made to the Agricultural Land Commission. The application was rejected on February 10, 2009.

On March 8, 2010, Richmond City Council announced a deal had been approved whereby the city would purchase the entire parcel of land from the Musqueam Band and Canada Lands Company for $59.2 million.
The Musqueam band has since brought a lawsuit against the City of Richmond claiming they sold it under duress.

Film and television production

Steveston Village has played home to several major American movies such as Blade II

Blade II

Blade II is a 2002 superhero vampire film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Blade. It is the sequel of the Blade film series. It was written by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the previous film...

and The 6th Day

The 6th Day

The 6th Day is a 2000 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as family man Adam Gibson, who is cloned against his will in the future of 2015...

, and television series such as The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...

, Supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

, Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...

, Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct (TV series)
Killer Instinct is an American crime drama television series filmed in Vancouver that originally aired on the Fox Network. The pilot episode aired on September 23, 2005, and the final episode aired on December 2, 2005....

, Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...

, Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...

, the Final Destination
Final Destination
Final Destination is a 2000 supernatural slasher film written and directed by James Wong. The film was co-written by Glen Morgan and Jeffrey Reddick, both of them having previously worked with Wong in the TV series The X-Files. The film stars Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Tony Todd...

series and the Scary Movie
Scary Movie
Scary Movie is a 2000 comedy-parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, as part of Warner Bros. Entertainment. It is an American dark comedy which heavily parodies the horror, slasher, and mystery genres...

series.

Fantasy Gardens

Fantasy Gardens

Fantasy Gardens, also known as Fantasy Garden World, was a former amusement park in Richmond, British Columbia that was located at the corner of Steveston Highway and No. 5 Road. The park was called Fantasy Gardens because it was surrounded by a series of stone buildings that were designed to...

(an old amusement park which is largely unoccupied now) served as Halloweentown in the popular Disney Channel

Disney Channel

Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

television movie Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge is a 2001 Disney Channel Original Movie released for the holiday of Halloween. This is the second in the Halloweentown series.-Plot:...

and was also featured in the TV series Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct (TV series)
Killer Instinct is an American crime drama television series filmed in Vancouver that originally aired on the Fox Network. The pilot episode aired on September 23, 2005, and the final episode aired on December 2, 2005....

and Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...

. The television series Aliens in America and Life Unexpected
Life Unexpected
Life Unexpected is an American television series that ran for two seasons, from 2010 to 2011.The show premiered on The CW on Monday, January 18, 2010. The 13-episode first season run ended on April 12, 2010...

also made use of Cambie Secondary School in the northern part of the city.

The exterior of the Workers' Compensation Board building (now the WorkSafeBC

WorkSafeBC

WorkSafeBC is the operating name of the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia, a statutory agency created by an act of the provincial legislature in 1917. WorkSafeBC is the exclusive workers' compensation insurer in British Columbia, Canada, covering more than 200,000 registered...

building) was used for the hospital in Stephen King

Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...

's Kingdom Hospital
Kingdom Hospital
Kingdom Hospital is a thirteen-episode television miniseries based on Lars von Trier's The Kingdom , which was developed by horror writer Stephen King in 2004 for American television...

. These exteriors can now be seen on the CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

series Eleventh Hour
Eleventh Hour (U.S. TV series)
Eleventh Hour is an American science-based drama television series, which is based on the 2006 British series of the same name. The series originally ran on CBS from October 9, 2008 to April 2, 2009 and aired on Thursdays at 10 pm . The series was a joint venture between Jerry Bruckheimer...

.

Vancouver International Airport on Richmond's Sea Island has also been featured in numerous films and television series, commonly standing in for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

The Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5...

(as it does in The Cleaner and Dead Like Me
Dead Like Me
Dead Like Me was an American-Canadian comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for the Showtime network, where it ran for two seasons...

). It is also featured as stand-ins for other airports in films such as Final Destination
Final Destination
Final Destination is a 2000 supernatural slasher film written and directed by James Wong. The film was co-written by Glen Morgan and Jeffrey Reddick, both of them having previously worked with Wong in the TV series The X-Files. The film stars Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Tony Todd...

, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (film)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a 2005 American film, based on the novel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares released by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was directed by Ken Kwapis and written by Delia Ephron.The film's production budget was $25 million...

, The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...

, The Lizzie McGuire Movie
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
The Lizzie McGuire Movie is a 2003 Walt Disney Pictures comedy film based on the Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire which was released on May 2, 2003, by Walt Disney Pictures, it was the first Disney Channel series to have a movie for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Jim Fall with...

, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story...

and Are We There Yet?
Are We There Yet?
Are We There Yet? is a 2005 American family comedy film which was produced by Revolution Studios and was distributed by Columbia Pictures, directed by Brian Levant...

.

Parks and recreation

Community/Recreation Centres

Cambie Community Centre
Hamilton Community Centre
Lang Centre (City Centre)
McLean Park
Minoru Aquatic Centre
Minoru Arenas
Minoru Artificial Turf
Minoru Sports Pavilion
Richmond Ice Centre
Richmond Nature Park
Richmond Public Library
Richmond Public Library
Richmond Public Library is a public library that serves Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The library has four branches in the city: Brighouse , Steveston, Ironwood, and Cambie...
Sea Island Community Centre
South Arm Community Centre
South Arm Pool
Steveston Community Centre
Steveston Pool
Terra Nova Nature Park
Thompson Community Centre
Watermania Aquatic Centre
West Richmond Community Centre

Sports

Richmond is home to the Richmond Sockeyes

Richmond Sockeyes

The Richmond Sockeyes are a Junior "B" Ice Hockey team based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Tom Shaw Conference of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League...

Junior B hockey team, and the Richmond Budgies Senior Men's Baseball Club.
Richmond also has two swim clubs: the Kigoos summer swimming club and the Richmond Rapids Swim Club.
As of October 1, 2006, the middle arm of Richmond's Fraser River became home to both the UBC Thunderbirds varsity rowing program and St. George's School rowing program, with the completion of the new $6 million CAD

Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse. In addition, this facility will also function to enhance participation in the sports of rowing and dragon boating for the greater community, including youth, adults, and rowing alumni. Richmond also has their own short track speed skating club Richmond Rockets

Richmond and the 2010 Winter Olympics

For the 2010 Winter Olympics

2010 Winter Olympics

in Vancouver, the City of Richmond constructed an 8,000-seat speed-skating oval near the No. 2 Road Bridge, just across (the middle arm of) the Fraser River from Vancouver International Airport. The final construction cost (paid for by the city, the provincial government and the federal government) is around $178 million CAD

Canadian dollar

. Since the completion of the Games, the oval has served as a recreational structure for local residents. The Richmond Oval officially opened on December 12, 2008.
The city received $141 million CAD

Canadian dollar

from ASPAC Developments for city owned land next to the Oval. The sale more than covers the unfunded portion of the Oval's price tag.

Holidays, events and festivals

On Canada Day

Canada Day

Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...

, Richmond has an annual festival in Steveston

Steveston, British Columbia

Steveston was originally a small town near Vancouver, British Columbia, but has since been absorbed into the city of Richmond, British Columbia....

called the Steveston Salmon Festival. This event includes a parade, and a huge barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

d salmon sale in front of the Steveston Community Centre. Locally based municipal, provincial and federal politicians frequently show up at this event, usually as part of the parade and/or to hand out Canadian flags

Flag of Canada

The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...

.

An annual Richmond Maritime Festival has been held at the Britannia Shipyard, National Historic Site every August since 2004. It is a family event that celebrates the region's maritime heritage with live entertainment, ships, exhibits and demonstrations.

From August 8 to August 12, 2002, Richmond hosted a tall ship

Tall ship

A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall Ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or festival....

s festival which attracted an estimated 400,000 people to Steveston. The success of this event surpassed many expectations and caused traffic congestion

Traffic congestion

Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...

in the usually quiet area. There was insufficient parking in the area, which gave locals the idea of selling "parking space" by using their driveways and front yards. Despite the event's popularity, there was a revenue shortfall and the city decided not to host the event again.

During the summer weekends, an annual Richmond Night Market

Richmond Night Market

The Richmond Night Market operated by was a popular annual night market held through the summer months in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The Richmond Night Market was held on Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights and long weekend Mondays from May through October at the Vulcan Way location behind...

is held. Toys, clothes, cell phones, and food are available along with live entertainment. It is very popular and is usually crowded.

Richmond also hosted the 2006 Gemini Award

Gemini Award

The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...

s, which were held at River Rock Casino

River Rock Casino Resort

River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia is the largest casino in the province of British Columbia. The casino is owned by Great Canadian Gaming...

. This marked the first time the ceremony had taken place on the West Coast, as it traditionally takes place in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

Sister cities

Pierrefonds, Quebec

Pierrefonds was a city on the Island of Montreal. It ceased to exist on January 1, 2002. The city was located along the Rivière des Prairies at the western end of the island...

, Canada (merged with Montreal in 2002) (since 1968) Wakayama, Japan (since 1973)

Friendship cities

Xiamen, Fujian, China (since 2008) Qingdao, Shandong, China (since 2008)

Notable residents

The following notable people were born in, live in or have resided in Richmond for a long period of time:

Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Ashmore
Aaron Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jimmy Olsen in Smallville and as Steve Jinks in Warehouse 13. He is the twin brother of actor Shawn Ashmore.-Career:...

, actor
Shawn Ashmore
Shawn Ashmore
Shawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jake in the Animorphs television series and Iceman in the X-Men films. He is the twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore.-Early life:...

, actor
Edison Chen
Edison Chen
Edison Koon-Hei Chen is a Hong Kong film actor, Cantopop singer, Hong Kong hip hop rapper, model, record producer, fashion designer, and a pop icon. Chen is also the founder of CLOT Inc., and the CEO of Clot Media Division Limited...

, Hong Kong entertainer
Nicki Clyne
Nicki Clyne
Nicki Clyne is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Cally Henderson Tyrol on the Sci-Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica.-Early life:...

, actress
Charlotte Diamond
Charlotte Diamond
Charlotte Diamond is a Canadian children’s singer. She has recorded 12 albums including the Juno Award winning 10 Carrot Diamond...

, Juno
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...

-winning children's singer
J.D. Frazer, cartoonist
Gary Fung
IsoHunt
isoHunt is a BitTorrent index with over 1.7 million torrents in its database and 20 million peers from indexed torrents. With 7.4 million unique visitors , isoHunt is one of the most popular BitTorrent search engines. Thousands of torrents are added to and deleted from it every day. Users of...

, founder and administrator of the BitTorrent index site isohunt
David Grierson
David Grierson
David Grierson was a Vancouver Island radio host for CBC Radio.He was born in Toronto in 1955 and graduated from the broadcasting program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology....

, radio host for CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
Kyle Hamilton, Gold medal-winning Olympic rower
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
Scott Hannan
Scott Hannan
-External links:...

, professional NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

hockey player with the Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
Rick Hansen
Rick Hansen
Richard M. Hansen, CC, OBC is a Canadian Paralympian and an activist for people with spinal cord injuries. Following a car crash at the age of 15, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down. Hansen is most famous for his Man In Motion World Tour...

, disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...

activist and former Paralympian
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
Chris Haslam
Chris Haslam
Chris Haslam is a Canadian professional skateboarder.- Biography :Haslam was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in 1980. He lived in St. Catherines and London, Ontario, attending Parkview Elementary school. When he was 11 he moved with his parents to Singapore...

, professional skateboarder
Brian Johns
Brian Johns
Brian Johns is an Olympic swimmer from Canada. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, he grew up in Richmond, British Columbia and trained with the Aquanauts and Racers swim clubs. He started swimming at age five. He is currently attending the University of British Columbia and is on the varsity swimming...

, Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

swimmer
Jason Jordan
Jason Jordan
Jason Jordan is a retired professional soccer player who formerly played for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the First Division of the United Soccer Leagues...

, striker for the Vancouver Whitecaps
Alexa Loo
Alexa Loo
Alexa Loo is a Canadian snowboarder of Chinese descent. She competed in the parallel giant slalom at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.-Season highlights:...

, Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

snowboarder
Harvey Lowe
Harvey Lowe
Harvey Lowe was a Canadian radio presenter and world yo-yo champion.-Early life:Lowe was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in 1918, the youngest of eight daughters and two sons of his parents. Wanting more male children, Lowe's father had also had a son with his concubine, making Lowe the...

, winner of the first World Yo-Yo Contest
World Yo-Yo Contest
The World Yo-Yo Contest is a contest of yo-yo competitors from around the worldhosted by Gregory Cohen and YoYoGuy.com. As of 2006, 19 countries fed into the World Yo-Yo Contest from their respective national yo-yo contests. Also in 2006, almost 700 people were in attendance...

in 1932
Coco Rocha
Coco Rocha
Coco Rocha is a Canadian fashion model.- Personal life :Rocha was born in Toronto, Ontario, and moved to Richmond and attended McRoberts secondary school, British Columbia at a very young age. Her family is in the airline industry. Her mother, Juanita, is a flight attendant and her father, Trevor...

, Canadian supermodel
Brent Seabrook
Brent Seabrook
Brent Seabrook is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League . He was selected 14th overall by the Blackhawks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft out of the Western Hockey League . He played four seasons of junior with the Lethbridge...

, professional NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

hockey player with the Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
Andrew Simon, world public speaking champion
Bobby Singh
Bobby Singh
Bobby Singh is a retired professional American and Canadian football guard. He last played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in the first round of the 1999 CFL Draft....

, professional CFL
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

football player with the BC Lions
BC Lions
The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team competing in the West Division of Canadian Football League . Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Lions play their home games at BC Place Stadium in Downtown Vancouver, having previously played at Empire Stadium in East Vancouver from 1954...
Ryan Stiles
Ryan Stiles
Ryan Lee Stiles is an American actor, comedian, director, and voice actor whose work is often associated with improvisational comedy. He is best known for his improv and co-production work on the American and British versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the role of Lewis Kiniski on The Drew...

, comedian
Brittany Tiplady
Brittany Tiplady
Brittany Alexandra Tiplady is a Canadian child actress best known for her role as Jordan Black in the television series Millennium . She won a 1998 Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Supporting Actress"...

, teen actress
Bjarni Tryggvason, astronaut
Bill Vander Zalm
Bill Vander Zalm
Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie "Bill" Vander Zalm is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th Premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991.-Early life:...

, former Premier of British Columbia

External links

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