We’re sure that you know that Vancouver is a pretty interesting city, but there are a ton of facts to back that claim up too. Keep these in your back pocket the next time somebody asks you for Wikipedia-style facts about the city. Trust us, these are sure to impress them.
Here are 20 interesting facts about Vancouver.
1. Greenpeace started in Vancouver.
2. As did Adbusters, for that matter.
3. The Metro Vancouver Port is the largest in Canada and the largest export port in North America. Each year, it trades roughly $170 billion with more than 170 economies.
4. The Lionsgate Bridge was originally built by the Guinness Family to access their development, the British Properties. As you can expect, it was a pretty racist community in its early years.
5. Vancouver is the third-largest TV and movie production city in North America, too. We’re right behind LA and New York.
6. Kitsilano Pool is the longest saltwater swimming pool in North America. Is this cool? Yes? Honestly, we don’t know.
7. Vancouver is home to North America’s first supervised injection site, Insite, making us a leader in harm reduction strategies.
8. Stanley Park is bigger than New York’s Central Park and took home TripAdvisor’s Best Park in the World back in 2014.
9. Ouch! Vancouver has not won a Stanley Cup in over a century, when the Vancouver Millionaires beat the Ottawa Senators.
10. In fact, the most destructive riot the city has seen was because the Canucks lost to the Bruins in 2011 (sorry for reminding you).
11. Vancouver as a city is quite young, having been incorporated the same year as Coca-Cola (1886).
12. That said, First Nations groups first settled here some 12 to 20 thousand years ago, after moving over from the (now underwater) area of Beringia. Well, probably, we don’t exactly have eyewitness reports. But it’s the most reasonable explanation.
13. BC just so happens to be the most ethnically diverse province in Canada.
14. Which probably explains why Chinatown is the third-largest in North America, too.
15. Vancouver is apparently the friendliest city in the world.
16. Plus it has the best vegan restaurant.
17. And it’s one of the healthiest cities.
18. But it’s also one of the least affordable.
19. Especially when it comes to the price of gas, maybe now’s the time to explore the best public transit system in North America.
20. Even still, Vancouver consistently ranks as one of the best cities in the world, most recently coming in at number three.
Nice, 20 interesting facts about Vancouver that you will now have at the ready the next time someone asks you what makes us so special. Now get out there and spread the knowledge folks!
