town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

is a classification of

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

used in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. British Columbia's Lieutenant Governor in Council may incorporate a community as a town by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

, under the recommendation of the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development, if its population is greater than 2,500 but not greater than 5,000 and the outcome of a vote involving affected residents was that greater than 50% voted in favour of the proposed incorporation. British Columbia has 14 towns that had a cumulative population of 87,514 and an average population of 6,251 in the 2011 Census. British Columbia's largest and smallest towns are Comox and

Port McNeill Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada with a population of 2,356 (2021). Located on Vancouver Island's north-east shore on Queen Charlotte Strait, it was originally a base camp for logger ...

with populations of 13,627 and 2,505 respectively. "Town" as a British Columbia municipal designation should not be confused with "township," which has no legal definition in the province. The three municipalities in British Columbia which refer to themselves as townships -

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esqui ...

, Langley, and

Spallumcheen Spallumcheen is a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Located in the Okanagan region between Vernon and Enderby, the township had a population of 5,055 and land area of in the Canada 2011 Census. The district ...

- are incorporated as district municipalities. Of British Columbia's current 14 towns, the first to incorporate as a town was

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

on June 3, 1904, while the most recent community to incorporate as a town was

View Royal View Royal is a town in Greater Victoria and a member municipality of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. View Royal has a population of 10,858 residents. With over of parkland, View Royal includes Thetis, McKenzie, Pik ...

on December 5, 1988.

List

Former towns

Fort Nelson Fort Nelson may refer to: Canada *Fort Nelson, British Columbia, a town *Fort Nelson River, British Columbia * Fort Nelson (Manitoba) (1670–1713), an early fur trading post at the mouth of the Nelson River and the first headquarters of the Hudson ...

, originally incorporated as a village on April 8, 1971, became a town on October 31, 1987 and then amalgamated with the Northern Rockies Regional District on February 6, 2009 to form the

Northern Rockies Regional Municipality The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM), formerly the Northern Rockies Regional District (NRRD), and before that the Fort Nelson–Liard Regional District, is a municipality in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Although portrayed ...

. Kinnaird, originally incorporated as a village on August 6, 1948, became a town on August 5, 1967, and then amalgamated with the Town of Castlegar on January 1, 1974, to form the City of Castlegar. Mission City, originally incorporated as a village on December 12, 1939, became a town on January 1, 1958, and then amalgamated with the District of Mission on November 1, 1969.

Town status eligibility

As of the 2021 Census, two villages –

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

and Pemberton – meet the requirement of having a population greater than 2,500 to incorporate as a town.

City status eligibility

As of the 2021 Census, nine of the above towns – Comox, Creston,

, Oliver, Osoyoos,

Qualicum Beach :''"Qualicum" re-directs here. For the neighbourhood in Ottawa, see Qualicum, Ottawa'' Qualicum Beach () is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the ...

, Sidney, Smithers and

– meet the requirement of having populations greater than 5,000 to incorporate as a city.

References

{{Canada topic, List of towns in * towns B

List

Former towns

Town status eligibility

City status eligibility

See also

References