North Vancouver (county municipality)

North Vancouver County Municipality is located on the north coast of Burrard Bay, which separates it from Vancouver itself . Nevertheless, it is part of Greater Vancouver agglomeration . It is connected to Vancouver by two bridges and a ferry line. From the west, the municipality is bordered by the Capilano River , beyond which begins the district municipality of West Vancouver , from the north of the Mountain Coastal Range and from the east, Indian Arm Bay. In the south, in addition to Burrard Harbor, the North Vancouver municipality borders on the city of the same name , formerly part of its borders. The Trans-Canadian Highway runs through the municipality, crossing it from Vancouver to West Vancouver. North Vancouver County Municipality, with an area of ​​about 161 km², is currently not a single city and includes a number of urban communities.

The climate in North Vancouver is humid and warm, but not hot. The average monthly temperature does not fall below 2.7 ° –2.8 ° above zero (in January and December), the average monthly temperature in summer does not exceed 22.3 ° Celsius. A record low temperature, −15.6 °, was recorded at the end of December 1968 , a record high - 32.7 ° - at the end of May 1983 . The average annual rainfall is 1588 mm, the heaviest rains are from November to February, snowfall is possible in the same months. The summer months are dry, with 51 to 70 mm of rainfall per month ^[1] .

The county municipality of North Vancouver became in 1891 the first municipality on the north coast of Burrard Bay. At the beginning of the 20th century, this area was undergoing a construction boom; Among the real estate dealers was, in particular, Rudyard Kipling ^[2] . The North Vancouver Hotel opened in 1902 , and in 1905 the first local bank, a branch of the Bank of North America , began operating and Express began to appear. Since 1906, a shipyard operated in the municipality, which over time became one of the foundations of the local economy, and a tram line functioned.

In 1907, the North Vancouver area of ​​Lower Lonsdale, whose population at that time was approximately 1,500 people, became self-governing, becoming the city ​​of North Vancouver , and West Vancouver separated from it in 1912 , which received a similar status.

According to the 2011 census , there were 84,412 people living in the North Vancouver county municipality, an increase of 2.2% from 2006. During this time, the population of Canada as a whole grew by almost 6%. The population density in North Vancouver was 525 people per km² ^[3] .

17% of the population were children and adolescents under the age of 14 years, 15.5% - people aged 65 years and older. These figures are quite close to the national indicators for Canada. However, the median age in North Vancouver in 2011 was almost three years higher than the national average: 43.4 years versus 40.6, with the population of North Vancouver aging at a faster rate than the population of Canada as a whole. The percentage of complete families (married or in a legal partnership) in North Vancouver was significantly higher than the average for Canada, and the percentage of single parents was correspondingly lower. More than 54% of couples in North Vancouver had one or more children under the age of 24 living with them; in Canada, this share was less than 47% ^[3] .

Neither English nor French was the mother tongue for 22.5% of North Vancouver residents; The three most common mother tongues after English were Farsi (5.2%), German (2.1%) and Korean (1.8%). According to 1.4% of respondents, Spanish and Cantonese were called native (for comparison: in general, in British Columbia, Cantonese was native to 3.2% of the population, second only to punjabi ) ^[3] .

Since the founding of North Vancouver in 1891, the municipality has been headed by the mayor (until 1967 who bore the title of " rive ") and the city council. At the beginning of the XXI century, in addition to the mayor, the council includes six more members. Elections of the mayor and council members are held every three years ^[4] . In the 2011 municipal elections, Richard Walton won, for whom this is the third term in this position ^[5] .

North Vancouver's cultural center is the local Presentation House Arts Center. It provides space for the eponymous art gallery and North Vancouver Museum. The municipality has a number of art galleries and four theaters, including the University of Capilano Theater, a higher education institution located within the borders of North Vancouver. However, most tourist attractions are located outside the populated area. Among these objects are a suspension bridge over the Capilano River and salmon spawning grounds on the rapids of the same river, the Graus Mountain ski center, Maplewood Farm, where tourists can watch a collection of birds and observe agricultural work, as well as parks and Lake Capilano ^[6] .

• Official website
• North Vancouver County Municipality on Statistics Canada website