List of metropolitan areas in British Columbia

The table below lists the census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in British Columbia by population, using data from the Canada 2016 Census.^[1] Each entry is identified as a census metropolitan area (CMA) or a census agglomeration (CA) as defined by Statistics Canada. Any other census subdivision that comprises at least 10 percent of the CMA or CA population is listed in parentheses.^[2]

A city's metropolitan area in colloquial or administrative terms may be different from its CMA as defined by Statistics Canada, resulting in differing populations. Such is the case with the Greater Toronto Area and the National Capital Region, in the separate provinces of Ontario, where their metropolitan populations are notably higher than their respective CMA populations. Statistics Canada listed 19 CMAs and CAs at the Canada 2016 Census.

Vancouver

Metropolitan areas

 

Victoria

 

Kelowna

 

Abbotsford

Rank	Geographic name	Type	Region	Regional district	Population (2021)	Population (2016)	Population (2011)
1	Vancouver	CMA	Lower Mainland	Metro Vancouver	2,632,000	2,463,431	2,313,328
2	Victoria	CMA	Vancouver Island	Capital	393,812	367,770	344,580
3	Kelowna	CMA	Thomson-Okanagan	Central Okanagan	229,401	194,882	179,839
4	Abbotsford	CMA	Lower Mainland	Fraser Valley	195,726	180,518	170,191
5	Nanaimo	CMA	Vancouver Island	Nanaimo	115,459	104,936	98,021
6	Kamloops	CMA	Thomson-Okanagan	Thompson-Nicola	114,142	103,811	98,754
7	Chilliwack	CMA	Lower Mainland	Fraser Valley	113,767	101,512	92,308
8	Prince George	CA	Cariboo	Fraser-Fort George	89,490	86,622	84,232
9	Vernon	CA	Thomson-Okanagan	North Okanagan	67,086	61,334	58,584
10	Courtenay	CA	Vancouver Island	Comox Valley	63,300	54,157	51,787
11	Duncan	CA	Vancouver Island	Cowichan Valley	45,047	44,451	43,252
12	Penticton	CA	Thomson-Okanagan	Okanagan-Similkameen	47,380	43,432	42,361
13	Campbell River	CA	Vancouver Island	Strathcona	35,519	37,861	36,096
14	Williams Lake	CA	Cariboo	Cariboo	29,504	18,277	18,490
15	Fort St. John	CA	Peace-North	Peace River	28,729	28,396	26,380
16	Cranbrook	CA	Kootenay	East Kootenay	27,040	26,083	25,037
17	Port Alberni	CA	Vancouver Island	Alberni-Clayoquot	25,786	25,112	25,465
18	Quesnel	CA	Cariboo	Cariboo	24,234	23,146	23,566
19	Squamish	CA	Sunshine Coast	Squamish-Lillooet	23,819	17,479	15,256
20	Powell River	CA	Sunshine Coast	Powell River	21,496	16,783	16,689
21	Salmon Arm	CA	Cariboo	Columbia-Shuswap	19,432	17,904	17,683
22	Nelson	CA	Kootenay	Central Kootenay	19,119	18,307	17,987
23	Terrace	CA	North Coast	Kitimat-Stikine	14,633	15,723	15,569
24	Dawson Creek	CA	Peace-North	Peace River	12,323	12,178	11,583
25	Prince Rupert	CA	North Coast	Skeena-Queen Charlotte	12,300	12,687	13,052

See also

•  Canada portal

• List of Canadian census agglomerations by province or territory
• List of census agglomerations in Canada
• List of municipalities in British Columbia
• List of population centres in British Columbia
• Population of Canada by year

References

1. "Population and Dwelling Count Highlight Tables, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
2. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses. 2011 Census". Statistics Canada. January 15, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2013.