Richmond, British Columbia

Richmond is an incorporated city on the Pacific coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located at 49°11′N, 123°8′W. Richmond forms part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). Its neighbouring municipalities include Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, with Georgia Strait on the west.

Geography

The city comprises most of the islands in the Fraser River delta, the largest and most populated island being Lulu Island (the eastern tip of which forms the Queensborough neighbourhood, which is actually part of the neighbouring city of New Westminster). The next largest island, Sea Island, is home to the Vancouver International Airport (YVR). In addition to Lulu and Sea Islands, 13 smaller islands make up the city's 129.66 km² land area.

Since all of Richmond's land occupies islands in a river delta, 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, it is prone to flooding, especially during high tide. As a result, all the major islands are now surrounded by a system of dykes (quite different from the dykes of the Netherlands or the levees of New Orleans), which were created in the early days of European settlement. There is a possibility that, during an earthquake, 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 has an unusually high spring freshet. Recreational trails run along the tops of many of the dykes, and Richmond also supports about 1400 acres (5.67 km²) of parkland.^[1]

Climate

Richmond enjoys a temperate climate, and actually receives 30% less rain than neighbouring Vancouver because it is not as close to the mountains. It rarely snows in winter and the summer temperatures are mild to warm. Richmond is also very prone to fog in the cooler months.

History

The city was named after a local Richmond Farm established by Hugh McRoberts. A daughter of his chose this name after one of the Richmonds in Australia (it is unknown exactly which one it is). The wife of the first reeve of Richmond, England later claimed that the city was named in honour of her birthplace. 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.
• March 25, 1910 — The first flight in British Columbia was made from Minoru Racetrack.
• December 3, 1990 — Richmond was designated as a City.

An early centre of European (and Japanese) settlement in Richmond was the old fishing village of Steveston on the southwestern tip of Lulu Island. Steveston is now home to several museums and heritage sites, as well as a working harbour for fishing boats.

Demographics

Richmond's estimated population in 2005 was 181,942 people. It is a city within the Greater Vancouver Regional District. After Vancouver (545,671), Surrey (347,825) and Burnaby (193,954), Richmond is the fourth largest of these GVRD cities.

Richmond has a visible minority population of 59%, the highest in Canada.[1] More than half of its population is of Asian descent, most of whom immigrated in the early 1990s, many of them from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China. Other Asian Canadians in Richmond include East Indian Canadians, Filipino Canadians and Japanese Canadians^[2], the latter has a long history in Steveston dating back to the 1800s. The Japanese Canadian community was devastated following the Pearl Harbor attack by Japan in 1942: the Japanese Canadians were "relocated" to internment camps in the BC Interior and Alberta and their property was auctioned off. Richmond is also home to one of the largest Buddhist temples in North America, the Lingyen Mountain Buddhist Temple.

According to Statistics Canada, residents of Richmond have the greatest life expectancy in Canada at 83.4 years, and the lowest obesity and smoking rates as well.^[3] 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 a mostly middle-class to upper-middle-class demographic, Richmond has voted quite regularily along centrist to conservative lines. The city's politics are well known in the Vancouver area for how seldomly political upsets or surprises occur and incumbents have tended to enjoy long tenures:

Municipal Elections

The current mayor is Malcolm Brodie, first elected in October 2001. Local government consists of an 8-member City Council and a seven-member School Board. The last elections were in November 2005.^[4]

Like Vancouver, but unlike most cities in British Columbia or even Canada, Richmond runs on a political system of locally-based political parties. For the most part, however, their organization is weak and they may form or collapse frequently between elections.

In the November 2005 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) ^[5].

In the elections for City Council, the RF won 3 seats, the RCA won 2 seats, the RITE won 1 seat and there were 3 independents (including the mayor). For school board, the RF won 5 seats and the RITE won 2.^[6]

Provincial Elections

In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Richmond has three electoral districts, all of which were easily won by the BC Liberal Party in the 2005 provincial elections.

Federal Elections

In the Canadian House of Commons, Richmond is divided between two electoral districts: Richmond and Delta—Richmond East. In the 2006 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada and the Conservative Party of Canada each won one seat.

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 in British Columbia connects Richmond to Delta.

Richmond is served by two freeways: Highway 99, which connects Vancouver to 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, and serve the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways, 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 Greater Vancouver, planned and funded by TransLink, currently has bus connections from Richmond to Downtown Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby, Delta and the University of British Columbia. A rapid, light rail transit line called the Canada Line (formerly the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver (RAV) Line) is scheduled for completion in late 2009 and will connect Richmond Centre and the airport to downtown Vancouver and points between, and is expected to replace the bus rapid transit 98 B-Line.

Vancouver International Airport, located on Sea Island (part of Richmond) to the north of Lulu Island, provides most of the air access to the region. The airport (YVR) 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.^[7] Richmond also is a leading centre in the region for high-technology companies, including the Nintendo Corporation of Canada.

Agriculture

The Agricultural Land Reserve preserves 4,800 hectares within the city as farmland, an area that makes up most of east Richmond.^[8] Highbush blueberries and cranberries are the dominant crops grown. Among the other crops grown are strawberries, corn, and potatoes. Blackberries are also very common, but because of their rapid invasive growth are treated by many as a common weed. In 2001, Richmond made up approximately 47% of BC’s cranberry acreage.

Shopping malls

Richmond is home to many Asian-themed shopping malls, most of them along No. 3 Road from Alderbridge Way to Capstan Way. This area is officially termed as the "Golden Village" by Tourism Richmond and includes malls such as Aberdeen Centre, President Plaza, Parker Place, and Yaohan Centre.

Non-Asian-themed malls in Richmond include Richmond Centre and the Lansdowne Park Shopping Centre.

Many businesses display their store names in large characters both in English and Chinese (including non-Chinese businesses such as Staples).

Film and television production

Steveston Village has played home to several major American movies such as Blade II and The 6th Day, and television series such as Supernatural, Outer Limits, Killer Instinct, X-Files, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, the Final Destination series and the Scary Movie series.

Fantasy Gardens (an old amusement park which is largely unoccupied now) served as Halloweentown in the popular Disney Channel television movie Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge and was also featured in the TV series Killer Instinct and Stargate SG-1.

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 (as it does in The Cleaner and Dead Like Me). It is also featured as stand-ins for other airports in films such as Final Destination, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The L Word, The Lizzie McGuire Movie and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Education

Richmond is home to a campus of Kwantlen University College. In addition, the British Columbia Institute of Technology runs its aircraft maintenance courses at facilities at Vancouver International Airport.

School District 38 Richmond has 11 secondary schools and 38 elementary schools, including two late French Immersion schools and six early French Immersion schools.^[9] The school district also hosts one International Baccalaureate World School, located at Richmond Secondary School.

Parks and Recreation

Community/Recreation Centres^[10]

• Cambie Community Centre
• Hamilton Community Centre
• Lang Centre (City Centre)
• Minoru Aquatic Centre
• Minoru Arenas
• Minoru Sports Pavilion
• Richmond Ice Centre
• Sea Island Community Centre
• South Arm Community Centre
• Steveston Community Centre
• Thompson Community Centre
• Watermania
• West Richmond Community Centre
• South Arm Community Center[2]

Sports

Richmond is home to the Richmond Sockeyes 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 (winter) Swim Club.

As of October 01, 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 John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse. ^[11] In additition, 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. ^[12]

Richmond and the 2010 Winter Olympics

Main article: Richmond Olympic Oval

For the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the City of Richmond is also constructing an 8,000-seat speed-skating oval near the No. 2 Road Bridge, close to Vancouver International Airport. The estimated construction cost (paid for by the city, the provincial government and the federal government) is around $178 million CAD but is an issue of debate right now due to rising construction costs. After the Games, the oval is to serve as a recreational structure for residents. It is scheduled to open in the summer of 2008. ^[13]

Sister cities

Holidays, events and festivals

On Canada Day, Richmond has an annual festival in Steveston called the Salmon Festival. In this event, there is a carnival set up and there is a huge barbecued 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 Canada Day parade or to hand out Canadian flags.

From 8 to 12 August, 2002, Richmond hosted a tall ships festival which attracted an estimated 400,000 people to Steveston. The success of this event surpassed many expectations and caused traffic chaos in the usually-quiet area ^{[14] [15]}. There was insufficient parking in the area, which gave locals the idea of selling "parking space" by using their driveways and front yards ^[16]. Despite the event's popularity, there was a revenue shortfall and the city decided not to host the event again ^[17].

During the summer weekends, Richmond holds its annual Richmond Night Market. 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 Awards, which were be held at River Rock Casino. This marked the first time the ceremony has taken place on the West Coast, as it traditionally takes place in Toronto. ^[18]

Notable people

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

• Aaron Ashmore, actor
• Shawn Ashmore, actor
• Nicki Clyne, actress
• Coco Rocha, Canadian supermodel
• Charlotte Diamond, Juno-winning children's singer
• Sherry Fraser, curler
• Scott Hannan, professional NHL hockey player with the San Jose Sharks
• Rick Hansen, disability activist and former Paralympian
• Chris Haslam, professional skateboarder
• Jason Jordan, striker for the Vancouver Whitecaps
• Alexa Loo, Olympic snowboarder
• Brent Seabrook, professional NHL hockey player with the Chicago Blackhawks
• Bobby Singh, professional CFL football player with the British Columbia Lions
• Ryan Stiles, comedian
• Bjarni Tryggvason, astronaut
• Bill Vander Zalm, former Premier of British Columbia

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