Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the

Metro Vancouver Regional District The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 2 ...

. It envelops the east end of

Burrard Inlet Burrard Inlet () is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coa ...

and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of th ...

on the east and south and by

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

on the west. The villages of

Belcarra Belcarra is a village on the shore of Indian Arm, a side inlet of Burrard Inlet, and is part of Metro Vancouver. It lies northwest of Port Moody and immediately east of the Deep Cove area of North Vancouver, across the waters of Indian Arm. ...

and

Anmore Anmore is a village in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is north of the city of Port Moody and along the shores of the Indian Arm. Anmore is one of three politically independent village municipalities (municipalities with populati ...

, along with the rugged

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

, lie to the northwest and north, respectively. It is named for

Richard Clement Moody Major-General Richard Clement Moody (13 February 1813 – 31 March 1887) was a British Governor and Commander of the Royal Engineers. He was the founder and the first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia; and was Commanding Executive ...

, who was the founder and the first Lieutenant-Governor of the

Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: * Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) * Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also * History of ...

History

Port Moody is named for Colonel

, of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. It was created at the end of a trail that connected New Westminster to Burrard Inlet, to defend New Westminster against potential attack by the USA. It grew rapidly after 1859 by land grants to Moody's

. The construction of a

transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...

was the condition that prompted British Columbia to enter into confederation in 1871. The small town received little attention until it was declared the terminus of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

in 1879. By 1881, the survey of Port Moody had begun. Both John Murray Sr. and Jr. assisted, and, in fact, it was John Murray Jr. who named many of the streets after members of his family. The population grew rapidly through the early 1880s.

Andrew Onderdonk Andrew Onderdonk (30 August 1848 – 21 June 1905) was an American construction contractor who worked on several major projects in the West, including the San Francisco seawall in California and the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia. ...

was the contractor who, under government contract, built of line from Port Moody, via Hope, Yale and Savona. Onderdonk built a large wharf and receiving area and started rail construction from Port Moody in 1883. The line was finished in 1885. As the Western Terminus of the CPR, almost everyone had high hopes that Port Moody would become a major West Coast metropolis. The railway was completed with the last spike driven at Craigellachie on 7 November 1885, and a train arriving at Port Moody the next day. The first scheduled passenger transcontinental train arrived on 4 July 1886, a date that is still celebrated during

Golden Spike Days The Golden Spike Days Festival is an annual family festival held in Rocky Point Park, Port Moody, British Columbia. The festival commemorates the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway to the city and the Confederation of Canada Canadian C ...

. Real estate prices soared but soon fell flat when a branch line was built westward along the inlet to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in 1887. While many people lost a great deal of money and moved on, others, including real estate tycoon and ship captain James A. Clarke, and several lumber mills, decided to remain. On 7 April 1913, Port Moody's Council met for the first time as a city.

Governance and politics

Federal

The City of Port Moody is located entirely in the Federal riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam and is represented in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

by Member of Parliament

Zoe Royer Zoe Royer (born 1965 or 1966) is a Canadian politician from the Liberal Party of Canada. She was elected Member of Parliament for Port Moody—Coquitlam in the 2025 Canadian federal election. She served as a Port Moody city councillor for 11 y ...

Provincial

The City of Port Moody is located entirely in the Provincial electoral district of Port Moody-Coquitlam and is represented in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

Rick Glumac Rick Glumac is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election. As an MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) for the British Columbia New Democratic Party, he represent ...

Municipal

Port Moody's City Council consists of Mayor Meghan Lahti, Councillors Samantha Agtarap, Diana Dilworth, Kyla Knowles, Dr. Amy Lubik, Haven Lurbiecki, and Callan Morrison. School Trustees representing Port Moody are Lisa Park and Zoë Royer.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Port Moody had a population of 33,535 living in 13,109 of its 13,603 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 33,551. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In 2006, 8,015 residential dwellings were owned, while 2,115 were rented.Statistics Canada (10 January 2006)
"Port Moody Community Profile"
''Community Highlights'', Retrieved 8 February 2008. 45% of Port Moody residents were legally married, 6.25% were in common-law relationships, 5.72% were divorced and 24% were single. Thirty percent of residents identified themselves as immigrants, slightly higher than the 27% Canadian average.

Ethnicity

*Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

Languages

Mother languages as reported by each person:

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Port Moody included: *

Irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...

(19,160 persons or 57.3%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(11,570 persons or 34.6%) *

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(1,310 persons or 3.9%) *

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(385 persons or 1.2%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(300 persons or 0.9%) *

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

(215 persons or 0.6%) *

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

(80 persons or 0.2%) * Indigenous Spirituality (20 persons or 0.1%)

Education

Port Moody is served by School District 43, which offers the following:

Secondary Schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

: *

Heritage Woods Secondary School Heritage Woods Secondary School is a coeducational high school located in Port Moody, British Columbia. In 2007, Heritage Woods celebrated their first graduating class. As well, it was rated as one of the top 50 schools in British Columbia for 20 ...

Port Moody Secondary School Port Moody Secondary School is a public coeducational high school located in Port Moody, British Columbia. The school offers the International Baccalaureate Program and the Career Preparation Program to its students. There are approximately 400 ...

Middle Schools Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

* Eagle Mountain Middle School * École Moody Middle School of the Arts

Elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

* Aspenwood Elementary School * École Glenayre Elementary School * Heritage Mountain Elementary School * Moody Elementary School * Mountain Meadows Elementary School * Pleasentside Elementary School * Seaview Community Elementary School)

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

is located in nearby Burnaby, while

Douglas College Douglas College is the largest college in British Columbia, Canada with 7,958 full-time equivalent students in 2023-24. Douglas College offers bachelor's degrees and general university arts and science courses, as well as career programs in h ...

maintains a campus in

Coquitlam Town Centre Coquitlam Town Centre is the main commercial and retail neighbourhood for the city of Coquitlam, British Columbia. Coquitlam Town Centre covers . The Town Centre also contains the highest concentration of high-rise Condominium (living space), cond ...

. Port Moody's public library is located in the City Hall complex.

Geography and the environment

Over 41 streams flow through Port Moody to Burrard Inlet. The City of Port Moody Stream Stewardship Program manages

urban stream An urban stream is a formerly natural River, waterway that flows through a Urban area, heavily populated area. Often times, urban streams are low-lying points in the landscape that characterize catchment urbanization. Urban streams are often Water ...

s, streamside vegetation and watersheds to support the production of fish and insect life for present and future generations. The Port Moody Ecological Society (PMES), a not-for-profit organization, works alongside the city to promote ecological awareness in the area. PMES volunteers operate a salmon and trout hatchery, a water quality lab and public awareness & community outreach programs. The city has also banned the use of pesticides and holds annual seminars on how to garden naturally at its Inlet Theatre. City Hall has been pesticide free since 1988. Port Moody won a large number of provincial, national and international awards. In 2004, the city received a prestigious award from the UN sponsored International Awards for Liveable Communities in the category Planning for the Future. The city also received third place overall for cities of its size.

Economy

The traditional industrial sector in Port Moody is characterized by a deep-sea bulk loading terminal, two petrochemical distribution operations, a large wood products manufacturer, and a thermal electric generating station. Light industry, home-based business, and crafts and cultural businesses are also common in Port Moody, along with a growing health and social services sector. Port Moody is well-known for its number of craft breweries, many of which happen to be conveniently located on the same street, which is known as Brewer's Row.City of Port Moody (2008)
"2005 Statistical Economic Profile"
, ''Labour Force'', Retrieved 15 February 2008. Port Moody's economic development focus in recent years has been on the arts and culture sector, including the development of a new Port Moody identity as the “City of the Arts.” An estimated 6% of employment in Port Moody is in arts and culture sector, which is one of the highest concentrations of arts and culture employment in the region. In 2008, the

Canadian Federation of Independent Business The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is a non-profit business organization representing Canadian owners of small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs). The CFIB advocates on behalf of small business to improve tax policy, laws, and ...

highlighted Port Moody as the most fiscally responsible of British Columbia's 28 largest cities.

Largest employers

In 2014, Port Moody's single largest employer was

Eagle Ridge Hospital Eagle Ridge Hospital (ERH) is a small general hospital located in Port Moody, British Columbia, on the Port Moody/Coquitlam border. ERH is one of 12 hospitals under the jurisdiction of Fraser Health, which services more than 1.3 million people. ...

, with 927 employees, followed by the City of Port Moody (686 employees) and School District 43 (525 employees).

Media

In addition to Vancouver-based media outlets, Port Moody was served by the ''

Tri-City News The ''Tri-City News'' was a Canadian online community based in Port Coquitlam and published by Glacier Media, and serving the Tri-Cities region of British Columbia's Lower Mainland. It was established in 1985 as a weekly printed newspaper. In th ...

'' community

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

(no longer in circulation). Local FM radio station

CKPM-FM CKPM-FM was a radio station owned and operated by McBride Communications & Media. Licensed to Port Moody, British Columbia and operating at 98.7 FM, the station served the Tri-Cities area. The station broadcast an adult album alternative form ...

was based in Port Moody and served the Tri-Cities (and beyond) at 98.7 MHZ (ceased operations)

Transportation

As part of Metro Vancouver, Port Moody is connected to the TransLink public transit system by way of numerous bus routes. It also has the first station on the

West Coast Express The West Coast Express is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter railway serving the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It is owned and operated by the region's transit authority, TransLink (British Columbia), TransLink. ...

commuter rail line outside downtown Vancouver. The

Millennium Line The Millennium Line is the second line of the SkyTrain rapid transit system in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. The line is owned and operated by BC Rapid Transit Company, a subsidiary of TransLink, and links the cities ...

Evergreen Extension The Evergreen Extension (previously known as the Evergreen Line) is a extension of the Millennium Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The extension runs from Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby to Lafarge Lake–Douglas in ...

, part of TransLink's SkyTrain system, links Port Moody with Coquitlam to the east and Burnaby and Vancouver in the west. In August 2018, U-bicycle launched a dockless

bicycle sharing system A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include bo ...

in the city. Additionally, Modo has five vehicles located in Port Moody available for

carsharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...

. As of June 2019, seven Level 2

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...

charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point, chargepoint, or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a power supply electrical device, device that supplies electrical power for recharging plug-in electric vehicles (including batter ...

s were located in Port Moody, with the capacity for 14 vehicles.

Sports

Arts

On 16 June 2004, Port Moody was officially trademarked as the “City of the Arts.” Historically, Port Moody was a destination for artists because of its low rent, scenery and ambient lighting. Today, it is home to annual festivals, arts groups and diverse facilities that help foster a creative community. The Port Moody Arts Centre offers a number of fine arts and photography classes for residents of all ages and has three diverse art galleries that feature a number of constantly changing works. The PoMo Museum hosts a wide assortment of artifacts from Port Moody's past and has restored a heritage train venosta for tours. Arts Connect is an organization that connects artists from the Tri-Cities (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody), and hosts regular artists’ circles. Artists can find studio space in Port Moody at 2709 Esplanade, with open house tours taking place every year in April. Festivals held in Port Moody include the Canadian Film Festival (February), the Festival of the Arts (September), Rotary Ribfest (July) Search for The Perfect Pint (May) Summer Sundays Concerts, Golden Spike Days (July), the Wearable Art Awards (annually) and the CP Rail Holiday Train (December). Port Moody is also home to the Inlet Theatre, an intimate 200-seat venue. Service clubs include the Rotary Club of Port Moody. It is responsible for community events that include the Annual RibFest and Search for the Perfect Pint.

Recreation

Port Moody is home to

Rocky Point Park Rocky Point Park, also known as Rocky Point, is situated along Burrard Inlet in Port Moody, British Columbia, next to the PoMo Museum. It is 3.8 hectares in size, and is the most well-known park in Port Moody. Rocky Point has a variety of amenit ...

. At in size, the park has hiking trails, a newly renovated spray park, a skate park, a bike trials park, a playground, a picnic shelter, a boat launch and a recreational pier. Home to Golden Spike Days, the park is a summer destination. Bert Flinn Park encompasses of largely undeveloped parkland on former industrial lands. Used by mountain bikers, and with an extensive unmarked trail system along old logging roadbeds, the park also has an off-leash dog walk. Old Orchard Park is another destination in Port Moody. At about in size, it is directly across the inlet from Rocky Point Park and is the northern end of Shoreline Trail. It has a sandy beach, picnic shelter with barbecues and an adventure playground in a quiet park setting. Old Orchard Hall is also located here and is used for weddings and other special events.

Freedom of the City

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City of Port Moody:

Individuals

* Leonard A. Elsdon: 4 January 1971. * Herbert C. "Bert" Flinn: 31 March 1980. * William A. "Bill" Johnstone: 10 September 1982. * Andrew Peller: 10 September 1982. * Norman Wild: 3 September 1985. * Judith D. Forst: 27 November 1992. * Al and Nellie Sholund: 13 June 1998. * David Driscoll: 29 May 1999. * Ann C. Hulbert: 2003. * Arthur "Art" Wilkinson: 2003. * Dr. Elaine Golds: 2007. * Ronald "Ron" Curties: 2011. * Dr. Mary Anne Cooper: 2011. * Penelope “Ann” Kitching: 2 December 2013. * Gerry Nuttall: 16 June 2018. * Robert Simons: 17 April 2024

Military units

* The

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members include people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cade ...

(Port Moody Branch 119): 16 October 2005.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{authority control Cities in British Columbia Populated places in Greater Vancouver