What is the capital of British Columbia?

Victoria is the capital of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island about 100 kilometres south of Vancouver across the Strait of Georgia. The city has a population of about 95,000 and a metropolitan area (Greater Victoria) of about 415,000. Victoria has been the provincial capital since British Columbia joined Confederation on July 20, 1871 as Canada's sixth province.

The city was founded as Fort Victoria in 1843 by Sir James Douglas of the Hudson's Bay Company, named after Queen Victoria, who was then on the British throne. It served as the capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island from 1849 and of the united Colony of British Columbia after 1866. The British Columbia Parliament Buildings, designed by architect Francis Rattenbury and opened in 1898, remain one of the most recognisable Canadian provincial legislatures. The Empress Hotel (also Rattenbury, opened 1908) anchors the Inner Harbour.

Victoria's mild Mediterranean-influenced climate is the warmest of any Canadian city, with mean January temperatures around 4 degrees Celsius and rare snowfall. The city receives about 600 millimetres of precipitation annually, much less than the Vancouver area on the mainland. The protected location east of the Olympic Mountains creates a rain shadow that supports gardens including the 55-acre Butchart Gardens (a National Historic Site since 2004).

Modern Victoria's economy centres on provincial government, federal naval operations at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, marine and ocean technology, tourism, and post-secondary education at the University of Victoria, Royal Roads University, and Camosun College. The city is the gateway to the southern Gulf Islands and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The Songhees and Esquimalt Nations of the Lekwungen-speaking Coast Salish peoples hold traditional territory in the Victoria area, recognised in modern treaty and consultation processes.