New Westminster, British Columbia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

New Westminster is an historically important city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

in the Lower Mainland

Lower Mainland

The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...

region of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District

Greater Vancouver Regional District

Metro Vancouver is the brand name of the board of the inter-municipal administrative body known as the Greater Vancouver Regional District , a regional district in British Columbia, Canada...

. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia

Colony of British Columbia

The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...

(1858–1866).

Geography

New Westminster is located on the Burrard Peninsula

Burrard Peninsula

The Burrard Peninsula is a peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of southwestern British Columbia, Canada, lying between Burrard Inlet to the north and the Fraser River to the south, and bounded by Georgia Strait on the west and the Pitt River on the east...

, on the north bank of the Fraser River

Fraser River

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...

. It is 19 kilometres (11.8 mi) southeast of the City of Vancouver proper, adjacent to Burnaby and Coquitlam and across the Fraser River from Surrey

Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...

. A portion of New Westminster called Queensborough

Queensborough, British Columbia

Queensborough is a neighbourhood in the city of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. It is on the eastern tip of Lulu Island on the Fraser River.-History:...

is located on the eastern tip of Lulu Island

Lulu Island

Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River. The island makes up most of the City of Richmond, a major suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia...

, adjacent to Richmond

Richmond, British Columbia

Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...

. The total land area is 15.3 square kilometre.

Demographics

The city has a total population of 58,549 (2006 Census).

Notable New Westminster natives include singer/actor Alexz Johnson

Alexz Johnson

Alexzandra Spencer "Alexz" Johnson is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Her debut album Voodoo was independently released on March 30, 2010....

, musician/producer Devin Townsend

Devin Townsend

Devin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....

, actor Raymond Burr

Raymond Burr

Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...

, actor Aaron Douglas, race car driver Greg Moore

Greg Moore (race car driver)

Greg Moore was a racecar driver who competed in the Indy Lights and CART World Series, where he had great success with several wins in both series and a championship in the 1995 Indy Lights series...

, astronaut Robert Thirsk

Robert Thirsk

Robert Brent "Bob" Thirsk is a Canadian engineer and physician, and a former Canadian Space Agency astronaut. He holds the Canadian records for the longest space flight and the most time spent in space .-Personal life:Thirsk is from New Westminster, British Columbia and is married to Brenda...

, magician "Mandrake the Magician" Leon Mandrake

Leon Mandrake

Leon Giglio , better known by his stage name Leon Mandrake, was an Italian-American magician, mentalist, illusionist, escapologist, ventriloquist and stunt performer known worldwide as Mandrake the Magician....

, actress Crystal Dahl

Crystal Dahl

Crystal Dahl is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for her role as Crystal Smith in the drama-comedy television series Dead Like Me, and the subsequent film Dead Like Me: Life After Death...

, professional baseball player Justin Morneau

Justin Morneau

Justin Ernest George Morneau is a Canadian Major League Baseball first baseman for the Minnesota Twins. At 6 feet 4 inches and 225 lbs, Morneau was originally drafted as a catcher by the Twins in 1999. He converted to first base in the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2003...

, the MacArthur award winning poet Daryl Hine

Daryl Hine

Daryl Hine is a Canadian poet and translator.-Life:Daryl Hine was born in Burnaby in 1936 and grew up in New Westminster B.C. He attended McGill University in Montreal 1954-58...

, actor Nicholas Lea

Nicholas Lea

Nicholas Lea is a Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Alex Krycek on The X-Files and on Kyle XY playing Tom Foss.-Biography:...

and retired professional hockey player Bill Ranford

Bill Ranford

William Edward Ranford is a former professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltending coach for the Los Angeles Kings. He graduated from New Westminster Secondary School in 1985. He was selected in the third round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, 52nd overall, by the Boston Bruins...

History

In 1859, New Westminster was recommended as the first official capital of the new Colony of British Columbia

Colony of British Columbia

by Richard Moody

Richard Moody

Major-General Richard Clement Moody was a Lieutenant-Governor, and later Governor, of the Falkland Islands, and the first Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. While serving under this post, he selected the site of the new capital, New Westminster...

, the Lieutenant-Governor, because of its location farther from the American border than the site of the colony's proclamation, Fort Langley

Fort Langley National Historic Site

Fort Langley is a former trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, now located in the village of Fort Langley, British Columbia. Commonly referred to as "the birthplace of British Columbia", it is designated a National Historic Site of Canada and administered by Parks Canada.-A new fort:After John...

. New Westminster, at a defensible location on the north bank of the Fraser River, possessed, according to Moody, "great facilities for communication by water, as well as by future great trunk railways into the interior". Governor Douglas

James Douglas (Governor)

Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...

proclaimed "Queensborough" (as the site was initially called by Moody) the new capital on February 14, 1859. "Queensborough", however, did not appeal to London and it was Queen Victoria who named the city after Westminster

City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...

, that part of the British capital of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

where the Parliament Buildings were situated. From this naming by the Queen, the City gained its official nickname, "The Royal City". A year later New Westminster became the first City in British Columbia to be incorporated and have an elected municipal government. It became a major outfitting point for prospectors coming to the Fraser Gold Rush, as all travel to the goldfield ports of Yale

Yale, British Columbia

Yale is an unincorporated town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was founded in 1848 by the Hudson's Bay Company as Fort Yale by Ovid Allard, the appointed manager of the new post, who named it after his superior, James Murray Yale, then Chief Factor of the Columbia District...

and Port Douglas

Port Douglas, British Columbia

Port Douglas, sometimes referred to simply as Douglas, is a remote community in British Columbia, Canada at the head of Harrison Lake, which is the head of river navigation from the Strait of Georgia...

was by steamboat or canoe up the Fraser River

Fraser River

.

The location of New Westminster, at the edge of the forest, necessitated a large amount of labour and money to clear trees and lay out streets, which became a significant burden to the colonial budget when the imperial government shackled the colony with half of the cost of the Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

. Governor Douglas

James Douglas (Governor)

spent little time in New Westminster and had little affection for the city; and the feelings were amply repaid by the citizens of New Westminster, who avidly supported Colonel Moody's city-building efforts and castigated the governor, who preferred to remain for the most part isolated in distant Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

. In contrast to Victoria, where settlers from England had established a strong British presence, New Westminster's early citizens were largely Canadians and Maritimers, who brought a more business-oriented approach to commerce and dismissed the pretensions of the older community. Despite being granted a municipal council, the mainlanders in New Westminster also pressed for a legislative assembly to be created for British Columbia, and were infuriated when Governor Douglas granted free port status to Victoria, which stifled the economic growth of the Fraser River city. Moreover, to pay for the expense of building roads into the Interior of the colony, Douglas imposed duties on imports into New Westminster.

In 1866, the colonies of British Columbia

Colony of British Columbia

and Vancouver Island

Colony of Vancouver Island

The Colony of Vancouver Island , was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871...

were united as "British Columbia". However, the capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island, Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, was made the capital of the newly amalgamated Colony of British Columbia

United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia

The Colony of British Columbia is a crown colony that resulted from the amalgamation of the two former colonies, the Colony of Vancouver Island and the mainland Colony of British Columbia...

, following a vote in the House of Assembly. On the day of the vote one member of the assembly, William Cox

William George Cox

William George Cox was Gold Commissioner for the Cariboo and Boundary Districts in the Colony of British Columbia, Canada during the Rock Creek Gold Rush....

(one of the colony's Gold Commissioner

Gold Commissioner

Gold Commissioner was an important regional administrative post in the Colony of British Columbia.In the 1860s, Governor Douglas had three priorities to protect the two colonies he governed: to protect the boundaries, to uphold law and order and to provide access to the gold fields...

s and a Victoria supporter), shuffled the pages of the speech that William Franklyn from Nanaimo (a New Westminster supporter) intended to give, so that Franklyn lost his place and read the first paragraph three times. Cox then popped the lenses of Franklyn's glasses from their frames so that the Nanaimo representative could see nothing at all of his speech. After a recess to settle the resulting uproar and allow the member from Nanaimo a chance to sort out his speaking notes and his spectacles, on the members' return to the House of Assembly, the Speaker John Sebastian Helmcken

John Sebastian Helmcken

John Sebastian Helmcken was a British Columbia physician who played a prominent role in bringing the province into Canadian Confederation...

(from Victoria) refused to allow Franklyn a "second" chance to speak. The subsequent vote was 13 to 8 against New Westminster.

With the entry of British Columbia into the Dominion of Canada in 1871, as the sixth province, New Westminster's economic prospects improved, but the Royal City would lose out again, this time to the new railway terminus town of Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, when the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

was extended to the shores of Burrard Inlet

Burrard Inlet

Burrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...

, even though a spur of the railway did reach New Westminster in 1886. In 1879, the federal government allocated three reserves to the New Westminster Indian Band

Qayqayt First Nation

The Qayqayt First Nation , also known as the New Westminster Indian Band, is a band government located at New Westminster, British Columbia. The Qayqayt First Nation historically spoke the Hun'qumi'num dialect of Halkomelem, a Coast Salish language. The Qayqayt reserve used to exist on the...

, including 104 acre (0.42087344 km²) of the South Westminster Reserve, 22 acres (89,030.9 m²) on the North Arm of the Fraser River

Fraser River

, and 27 acres (109,265.2 m²) on Poplar Island

Poplar Island (British Columbia)

Poplar Island is an uninhabited island located at the east end of the North Arm of the Fraser River in the City of New Westminster, British Columbia. It is the last large undiked island in the Fraser River's North Arm.-History:...

. A smallpox epidemic devastated the Qayqayt, reducing the band members from about 400 people to under 100. Many of the remaining Qayqayt were assimilated into other local reserves, such as the neighbouring Musqueam Indian Band

Musqueam Indian Band

The Musqueam Indian Band is a First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and is the only Indian band whose reserve community lies within the boundaries of the City of Vancouver....

. Their reserve on Poplar Island was turned into an Aboriginal smallpox victim quarantine area. For decades, the Poplar Island reserve was designated as belonging to "all coast tribes". In 1913 the federal government seized most of the New Westminster Band's reserve lands. In 1916 the remaining land on Poplar Island was turned over to the BC government. Eighteen years earlier, in 1898, a devastating fire destroyed downtown New Westminster.

In 1991, the New Westminster Armoury was recognized as a Federal Heritage building on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings.

Historical urban geography

New Westminster has changed markedly over time and by the results of its incorporation into the wider urbanization of the Lower Mainland.

B.C. Penitentiary

In 1878, the Government of Canada opened the British Columbia Penitentiary, the first federal penitentiary west of Manitoba. "BC Pen", or simply "the Pen", as it was known (and also in old days as the "skookum house

Skookum

Skookum is a Chinook jargon word that has come into general use in the Pacific Northwest region of North America.The word skookum has three meanings:# a word in regional English that has a variety of positive connotations;...

" in the English-Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...

patois common in early BC), was located between the Sapperton neighbourhood and what is now Queen's Park. It housed maximum-security prisoners for the next 102 years, closing in 1980. The original centre block of the Pen still stands and has been converted into offices. The Gatehouse, steps leading up to it and old Coal House still stand. The rest of the Pen's grounds have been filled with newly built townhouses and condominiums and parkland.

Woodlands (formerly called the Asylum)

The mental hospital for children, was located to the West of the BC Pen. After it was closed, the derelict main building was, except for the tower entrance, destroyed by fire. Woodlands

Woodlands (New Westminster)

Woodlands or Woodlands School was a hospital in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada that served as a psychiatric hospital and later as a facility for children with a developmental disorder, as well as runaways and wards of the state. Many incidents of abuse took place there. Woodlands...

on July 9, 2008. In October 2011, all remaining old structures were leveled and cleared, to the joy of some former residents who had bad memories of their childhood experiences. (New Westminster Record)

Chinatown

New Westminster's Chinatown

Chinatown

A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...

was one of the earliest established in the mainland colony

Colony of British Columbia

and also one of the largest. Originally located along Front Street, it was relocated to an area known as "The Swamp" at the southwest end of downtown, bounded roughly by Royal Avenue, Columbia Street, and 8th and 12th Streets (now a large shopping plaza area). Chinatown was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1898 and only partly rebuilt afterwards. Chinatown is not present in New Westminster today.

Columbia Street

Until the 1964 completion of the Highway 1 freeway

Trans-Canada Highway

The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...

, which bypassed New Westminster to its north, Columbia Street, along the city's waterfront, was the main commercial retail and service centre for the Fraser Valley and nearby areas of Burnaby and Coquitlam. Most major department store chains as well as long-established New Westminster retailers thrived in a time when road travel to Vancouver remained distant for Valley communities and daily interurban rail service to and from Chilliwack

Chilliwack, British Columbia

Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 80,000 people. Chilliwack is the second largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. The city is surrounded by mountains and...

was still in place (the service ended in 1950). The quality of shops was such that even Vancouverities would make the trip by interurban rail or, later on, via Kingsway (originally called the Westminster Highway or Westminster Road), to shop on Columbia Street. In addition to the retailers, Columbia Street was home to major movie houses, the Columbia and the Paramount, rivalling in size and quality those on Vancouver's Theatre Row. The freeway is generally conceded to have "killed" Columbia Street, which has remained in a slump despite ongoing civic efforts to revitalize it. In October 2006, Columbia Street underwent reconstruction to change to one lane in both directions, with a bike lane and reverse angle parking. This was done to encourage more foot and bicycle traffic. Major high-rise or renovation projects are completed or nearing completion.

Front Street

Originally a dockside street and market, and also the location of the original Chinatown, Front Street was converted into a truck-route bypass and elevated parkade during the 1960s in an effort to provide increased parking for adjacent Columbia Street. In recent decades it has been the focus of the city's thriving antiques and second-hand trade, which is also concentrated on 12 Street. It has also been used as a location in feature films such as Rumble in the Bronx
Rumble in the Bronx
Rumble in the Bronx is a 1995 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film starring Jackie Chan and Anita Mui. Released in the US in 1995, Rumble in the Bronx had a successful theater run, and brought Chan into the American mainstream...

(substituting for the Bronx), I, Robot

I, Robot (film)

I, Robot is a 2004 science-fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. The screenplay was written by Jeff Vintar, Akiva Goldsman and Hillary Seitz, and is very loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name. Will Smith stars in the lead role of the film as Detective Del...

(as a futuristic Chicago), Shooter (doubling for Philadelphia, with the Fraser River being the Delaware River), and New Moon

New Moon (2009 film)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon, commonly referred to as New Moon, is a 2009 American romance fantasy-vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's 2006 novel New Moon. It is the second film in The Twilight Saga film series and is the sequel to 2008's Twilight. Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel in...

Government House

The original colonial Government House was located approximately where Royal City Manor is now. It was originally occupied by Colonel Richard Clement Moody, who commanded the Columbia Detachment of Royal Engineers who established the city. Rarely used by Governor Douglas, its first full-time vice-regal resident was Governor Frederick Seymour

Frederick Seymour

Frederick Seymour was a colonial administrator. He served as the second Governor of the Colony of British Columbia from 1864 to 1866, and the first governor of the union of the two colonies, also named the Colony of British Columbia from 1866 to 1869.Seymour was the son of Henry Augustus Seymour,...

New Westminster CPR Station

Adjacent to the New Westminster SkyTrain Station

SkyTrain (Vancouver)

SkyTrain is a light rapid transit system in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks, running mostly on elevated guideways, which helps SkyTrain to hold consistently high on-time reliability...

, the city's former Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

station has been renovated and converted into a branch of The Keg

The Keg

The Keg is a chain of steakhouse restaurants and bars in Canada and the United States.-Background:It was founded in 1971 in North Vancouver, British Columbia by George Tidball and today operates in all provinces and five American states...

restaurant chain.

Queensborough

Queensborough was the name originally chosen for the colonial capital by Royal Engineer commander Colonel Richard Clement Moody. When Queen Victoria designated New Westminster instead as her new capital's name, the name Queensborough became applied to New Westminster's portion of Lulu Island

Lulu Island

Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River. The island makes up most of the City of Richmond, a major suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia...

, across the north arm of the Fraser from the southern end of the city. Queensborough is today a low- to middle-income housing area with its own distinct identity. Some new condominium complexes have been built adjacent to the Westminster Quay development. In the Chinook Jargon, "Koonspa", an adaptation of the name Queensborough, is the usual name for New Westminster as a whole.

There are now some big-box stores such as Walmart and Lowes, as well as the large Starlight Casino.

Sapperton

Sapperton was originally a "suburb" of New Westminster, named for the Columbia Detachment of Royal Engineers ("Sappers"), whose camp was on the hill now occupied by the Fraserview neighbourhood. It is the location of the historic Fraser Cemetery, which rivals Victoria's Ross Bay Cemetery

Ross Bay Cemetery

Ross Bay Cemetery is located at 1516 Fairfield Road in Victoria, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island, Canada.-History:The cemetery was opened in 1873. The 27.5 acre cemetery is part of a public park and its south side faces Ross Bay on the Pacific Ocean...

for the number of historically significant graves and monuments. Also located in Sapperton are the Royal Columbian Hospital

Royal Columbian Hospital

The Royal Columbian Hospital is the oldest hospital in the Canadian province of British Columbia and one of the busiest in the Fraser Health Authority...

, Sapperton Station

Sapperton Station

Sapperton Station is located on an elevated portion of the Millennium Line, a part of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station itself is located in eastern New Westminster...

, and Braid Station

Braid Station

Braid Station is an elevated station of the Millennium Line, a part of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station itself is located in eastern New Westminster, near the Coquitlam border.-Location:...

Uptown "6th and 6th"

Development of an uptown commercial area around 6th Street and 6th Avenue started in 1954, with the opening of Woodward's

Woodward's

Woodward's was the name of a department store chain which operated in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada for one hundred years, before its sale to the Hudson's Bay Company .-History:...

department store. Added momentum came with the relocation of the public library from downtown to uptown in 1958. In 1992 Woodward's was expanded and modernized into a shopping centre and took the name Woodwards Place. With the bankruptcy of Woodward's in 1993, the name of the centre was changed to Royal City Centre Mall

Royal City Centre

Royal City Centre is a shopping centre/office complex in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Its formal address is 610 Sixth Street New Westminster, B.C. V3L 3C2...

. Moody Park is an important recreational area in the uptown area.

The West End

Opposite Sapperton's north end, New Westminster's West End was once fairly separate from the city proper, and has a neighbourhood commercial node along 12th Street and 20th Street approximately between London Street and Eighth Ave. The area features antique and one-of-a-kind stores and is designated as the art deco section of the city.

Westminster Quay

Westminster Quay was an Expo-era (mid-1980s) development to revitalize New Westminster and accompanied the development of the SkyTrain

SkyTrain (Vancouver)

line to Vancouver. In addition to a large public market and a 2.5-diamond-rated hotel, The Inn at the Quay, a large condominium tower and townhouse complex was built, accessed from the older Columbia Street area of downtown by an overpass. The impetus provided by this project has spilled over onto the inland side of the rail tracks, with new tower developments focusing on the area southwest of 8th Street (the area known formerly as "the Swamp" and Chinatown). As of July 2007, the Quay's commercial component had noticeably decreased, with many vacancies, compared to the much more active Lonsdale Quay

Lonsdale Quay

Lonsdale Quay is a major transit hub for Vancouver's North Shore municipalities, as well as a public market and tourist destination. Located at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue in the City of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, it is the northern terminal for the SeaBus passenger ferry...

in North Vancouver

North Vancouver, British Columbia

There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...

. Responding to the decrease of business, the ownership group closed the Westminster Quay Market for renovations. The market re-opened in September 2010 with Donald's Market as the main anchor. Stores are still moving in with the latest being The Crab Shop

Commerce and industry

With the completion of the transcontinental railway in 1886, trade began to shift to nearby Vancouver

Vancouver

. Nonetheless, New Westminster weathered the loss, and remained an important industry and transportation centre. The local economy has always had a mix of industrial sectors, but it has evolved over the years, moving from a reliance on the primary resources of lumber and fishing in the 19th century, to heavy industry and manufacturing in the first half of the 20th century, to retail from the mid-1950s to the 1970s, to professional and business services in the 1990s, and finally to high-tech and fibre-optic industry in the early 21st century.

Arts and culture

The city has several live performance venues, ranging from the Massey Theatre adjacent to New Westminster High School, to the Burr Theatre, a converted cinema on Columbia Street, and two theatrical venues in Queens Park (One being the Bernie Legge Theatre, home of the Vagabond Players, which were formed in 1937.) The Royal City Musical Theatre, a long-established New Westminster tradition, uses the Massey, while comedy and mystery theatricals use the stages in Queens Park. Also in Queens Park is the Queens Park Arena, longtime home to the legendary New Westminster Salmonbellies

New Westminster Salmonbellies

The New Westminster Salmonbellies are a Men's Senior 'A' lacrosse team located in New Westminster, BC. Their home arena is Queen's Park Arena. They compete as part of the Western Lacrosse Association and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, most recently in 1991...

professional lacrosse team, as well as an open-air stadium used for baseball and field sports. The Burr Theatre (originally the Columbia Theatre), named for New Westminster native Raymond Burr, was operated by the Raymond Burr Performing Arts Society who produced professional -quality mysteries and comedies between October 2000 and January 2005. February of 2005 saw the theatre reopen as a vaudeville theatre with three major productions by The Heartaches Razz Band and in February of 2006 collaboration with The Screaming Chicken Theatrical Society produced the first Annual Vancouver International Burlesque Festival. The theatre was sold by the City of New Westminster through a public request for proposal process to the owner of Lafflines Comedy Club. After extensive renovations to convert it into a cabaret style theatre, it is now called The Columbia, home of Lafflines Comedy Club. Douglas College

Douglas College

Established in 1970, Douglas College is one of the largest public colleges in British Columbia, Canada serving 14,000 credit students, 9,000 continuing education students and 1,000 international students each year.-Programs:...

also offers post-secondary training in theatre, stagecraft and music, as well as non-credit courses in music for all ages and ability levels, through the Douglas College Community Music School. Theatre productions and music concerts at Douglas College take place in the Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre and the smaller, more intimate Studio Theatre from September to April.

Heritage

The main feature of the New Westminster Museum and Archives (NWMA) is the 1865 Irving House, which is the oldest intact house in the BC Lower Mainland. In the museum are treasures such as the 1876 coach used by Lord Dufferin, then the Governor General of Canada, to tour the new province of British Columbia including Barkerville via the Cariboo Road

Cariboo Road

The Cariboo Road was a project initiated in 1860 by the colonial Governor of British Columbia, James Douglas...

. The city's archives hold corporate and personal treasures such as 1859 maps of the city drawn by the Royal Engineers and official city records. Other heritage artifacts in the city include the 1937 Samson V paddlewheeler, the 1890s armouries, 1850s historic cannons, two of the old BC Pen buildings, numerous cemeteries, and dozens of heritage homes, many of which are from the 19th century. The Museum is affiliated with CMA

Canadian Museums Association

The Canadian Museums Association is a national organization for the promotion of museums in Canada.The Canadian Museums Association is the national organization for the advancement of the Canadian museum sector, representing Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. The...

, the CHIN

Canadian Heritage Information Network

The Canadian Heritage Information Network is a Canadian government-supported organization that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage, largely through the World Wide Web. It aims to give access to Canada's heritage for both Canadians and a worldwide audience, by supporting the...

, and Virtual Museum of Canada

Virtual Museum of Canada

The Virtual Museum of Canada is Canada's national virtual museum. With a directory of over 3,000 Canadian heritage institutions and a database of over 600 virtual exhibits, the VMC brings together Canada's museums regardless of size or geographical location.The VMC includes virtual exhibits,...

Hyack Festival and the Hyack Anvil Battery

New Westminster's May Day celebration began in 1870 and continues today as an important civic tradition, lending the city the distinction of having the longest-running May Day celebration of its type in the British Commonwealth. (At least three other Lower Mainland communities still celebrate May Day: Port Coquitlam, Ladner in Delta, and Bradner in Abbotsford.)

The May Day festival, held on the Victoria Day

Victoria Day

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday before May 25, in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. The date is also, simultaneously, that on which the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday is recognized...

weekend and more formally known as the Hyack Festival, is distinguished by the Ancient and Honourable Hyack Anvil Battery Salute, a tradition created by The New Westminster Fire Department during colonial times as a surrogate for a 21-gun salute

21-gun salute

Gun salutes are the firing of cannons or firearms as a military or naval honor.The custom stems from naval tradition, where a warship would fire its cannons harmlessly out to sea, until all ammunition was spent, to show that it was disarmed, signifying the lack of hostile intent...

. With no cannons available in the early colony, the Fire Department—known as the Hyacks, from the Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon

for "fast" or "quick", here derived from its use as a command for "hurry up!"— improvised by placing gunpowder between two anvils, the top one upturned, and igniting the charge from a safe distance, hurling the upper anvil into the air.
Each year, in preparation for May Day, local schoolchildren are taught to dance around a maypole

Maypole

A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer...

with colourful ribbons. Elections are held at elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

s in the city, and, from them one girl is selected to become the year's May Queen

May Queen

The May Queen or Queen of May is a term which has two distinct but related meanings, as a mythical figure and as a holiday personification.-Festivals:...

, and two students from each school to become members of her "May Queen Suite" and "Royal Knights." On a Wednesday of the festival, elementary school students gather at Queen's Park Stadium to dance, and the May Queen is crowned.

Educational institutions

Douglas College

, a major community college

Community college

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

, has campuses in New Westminster and Coquitlam. The college has an enrollment of 12,000 students and offers degrees, associate degrees, and two-year career and University Transfer programs to local, national and international students. The Justice Institute of British Columbia offers training to municipal police forces, fire departments, provincial corrections, court services, and paramedics with the British Columbia Ambulance Service. The Institute operates a Centre for Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution

Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...

, a Centre for Leadership

Leadership development

Leadership development refers to any activity that enhances the quality of leadership within an individual or organization. These activities have ranged from MBA style programs offered at university business schools to action learning, high-ropes courses and executive retreats.- Developing...

and Community Learning, Executive Programs

Executive Education

Executive Education refers to academic programs at leading graduate-level business schools worldwide for executives, business leaders and functional managers. These programs are non-credit and non-degree granting...

, a Public Safety

Public Safety

Public safety involves the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety of the general public from significant danger, injury/harm, or damage, such as crimes or disasters .-See also:* By nation...

Seminar Series, and the Aboriginal

Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....

Leadership Diploma Program.

Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine

Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine

Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine is a Naturopathic medical school located in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. BINM is one of only six accredited naturopathic medical school in North America.-Overview of academics:...

(BINM), the only Naturopathic medical school in western Canada, offering the N.D. degree in Naturopathic Medicine in both 4-year and 6-year programs is located here.

School District 40 New Westminster

School District 40 New Westminster

School District 40 New Westminster a school district based in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.The school board serves the city of New Westminster, including the neighbourhood of Queensborough on Lulu Island.-History:...

has one high school (New Westminster Secondary School

New Westminster Secondary School

New Westminster Secondary School is a high school in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. It is one of the largest high schools in BC. Students of grade 8 to 12 are enrolled. The school offers various advanced programs such as the International Baccalaureate program, Advanced Placement...

), two middle schools, and nine elementary schools.

Transportation

There are no freeways within New Westminster’s city limits, although the Trans-Canada Highway

Trans-Canada Highway

(Highway 1) is accessible from nearby Coquitlam, via the Brunette Avenue interchange, and Burnaby, via the Cariboo Road and Canada Way interchanges.

The Queensborough Bridge

Queensborough Bridge

Queensborough Bridge is a highway bridge in New Westminster, British Columbia. It was built in 1960 by the City of New Westminster, costing $4 million. The bridge spans over the north arm of the Fraser River for road access to the suburb of Queensborough at the east end of Lulu Island.It has since...

(part of Highway 91A) connects mainland New Westminster to Queensborough, Richmond, and, via the Alex Fraser Bridge

Alex Fraser Bridge

The Alex Fraser Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Fraser River and connects Richmond and New Westminster with North Delta in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. The bridge is named for Alex Fraser, a former B.C...

, Delta. The Pattullo Bridge (part of Highways 1A and 99A) links New Westminster with Surrey. The lesser-used Derwent Way Bridge

Derwent Way Bridge

The Derwent Way Bridge is a small road and rail swing bridge over the Annacis Channel of the Fraser River in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. The bridge connects the community of Queensborough, part of New Westminster on Lulu Island, to Annacis Island in Delta.It was originally built...

connects Queensborough with Annacis Island

Annacis Island

Annacis Island is an island located in the South Arm of the Fraser River in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. The island is now mostly industrial, and it contains one of the Metro Vancouver's secondary wastewater treatment plants...

of Delta

Delta, British Columbia

Delta is a district municipality in British Columbia, and forms part of Metro Vancouver. Located south of Richmond, it is bordered by the Fraser River to the north, the United States to the south and the city of Surrey to the east...

.

Public transportation is provided by TransLink. Along with a number of bus routes, the city is served by the following stations on the SkyTrain

SkyTrain (Vancouver)

system:

22nd Street Station
22nd Street Station (TransLink)
22nd Street Station is located on an elevated portion of the SkyTrain rapid transit system serving Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. Expo Line and Millennium Line trains stop at the station which is located on 7th Ave between 21 St and 22 St in the western end of New Westminster.The station is...

(Expo Line, Millennium Line
Millennium Line
The Millennium Line is the second rapid transit line built in the SkyTrain light metro rapid transit system in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The line is owned and operated by TransLink. Millennium Line uses the colour yellow on route maps, wayfinding and station signage.-History:When...

)
New Westminster Station
New Westminster Station
New Westminster Station is located at Columbia Street and 8th Street in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, and was the original eastern terminus of SkyTrain until 1989 prior to the partial completion and opening of the phase two extension of SkyTrain to Surrey.-History:The station was...

(Expo Line, Millennium Line)
Columbia Station
Columbia Station
Columbia Station is located in the short underground section of the Expo Line in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system, and one of two transfer points to the newer Millennium Line....

(Expo Line, Millennium Line)
Sapperton Station
Sapperton Station
Sapperton Station is located on an elevated portion of the Millennium Line, a part of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station itself is located in eastern New Westminster...

(Millennium Line)
Braid Station
Braid Station
Braid Station is an elevated station of the Millennium Line, a part of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station itself is located in eastern New Westminster, near the Coquitlam border.-Location:...

(Millennium Line)

The city is located within Zone 2 of TransLink’s fare structure

TransLink fares (Vancouver)

TransLink is the transportation authority in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia. It was created in 1998 as a replacement for BC Transit in the city of Vancouver and neighbouring municipalities...

Railways

The city is served by four railways: CN (Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

), CP (Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

), BNSF (Burlington Northern and Santa Fe

BNSF Railway

The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...

), and the shortline

ShortLine

Short Line is a brand name for three different Coach USA companies, Hudson Transit Lines, Hudson Transit Corporation, and Chenango Valley Bus Lines that provide local, commuter and intercity bus service in lower New York State, primarily along the Route 17 and Southern Tier corridor.-Service...

SRY (Southern Railway of British Columbia

Southern Railway of British Columbia

The Southern Railway of British Columbia, branded as SRY Rail Link is a Canadian short line railway operating in the southwestern mainland of British Columbia. The main facility is the port at Annacis Island with major import of cars, export of forestry products, and other shipments...

). None offer passenger service.

Streetcars and the Interurban

Until the 1950s, New Westminster was linked to Vancouver and other municipalities by the BC interurban

Interurban

An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...

streetcar network. The following links have examples of that system:

Map of New Westminster Streetcar network
New Westminster depot
Schematic of New Westminster Shops
1891 map of New Westminster-Vancouver tramway (the original interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...

)
map of Interurban Lines between New Westminster and Vancouver, also showing "suburban" Vancouver lines to South Vancouver and Point Grey

Sports and recreation

The New Westminster Salmonbellies

New Westminster Salmonbellies

are one of the oldest professional lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

teams in Canada, and also have junior and midget teams. The 'Bellies, as they are also known, have won the Mann Cup

Mann Cup

The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship series is played between the Western Lacrosse Association champion and the Major Series Lacrosse champion...

twenty-four times. New Westminster is also the location of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

The New Westminster Royals

New Westminster Royals

The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional and junior ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia.The first team played from 1912-1914 in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association which was established in 1911....

were a professional minor-league team from 1911 through 1914, in the heyday of the Pacific Coast Hockey League

Pacific Coast Hockey League

The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952.-PCHL 1928-1931:...

. Their home rink was the Denman Arena

Denman Arena

Denman Arena was the main sports arena located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The arena was located on Denman Street in Vancouver's West End, at the northwest corner of West Georgia Street and Denman. It was built at a cost of $300,000 in 1911 and held 10,500 people, making it one of the...

in Vancouver, which they shared with rivals the Vancouver Millionaires

Vancouver Millionaires

The Vancouver Millionaires were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League between 1911 and 1926...

.

Playing at Queen's Park Arena

Queen's Park Arena

Queen's Park Arena is a 3,500 seat multi-use arena located in New Westminster, British Columbia. It was built in 1930 and opened on September 19. It once hosted the New Westminster Bruins of the Western Hockey League and New Westminster Royals of the BCJHL...

were two incarnations of a Western Hockey League

Western Hockey League

The Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...

junior team, the New Westminster Bruins

New Westminster Bruins

The New Westminster Bruins were a junior ice hockey team from the Western Hockey League. There were two franchises that carried this name:* 1971–1981...

(1971–1981 and 1983–1988).

Pocomo Rugby Footall Club and Douglas Rugby Club (both teams play in New Westminster) merged in 2005 to form the United Rugby Club

United Rugby Club

United Rugby is a Canadian rugby union club that is based in Coquitlam, British Columbia. It was formed in 2005 with the joining of Pocomo RFC and Douglas RFC....

. Pocomo moved to New Westminster in the late 1960s, eventually calling Hume Park its home field. Douglas was formed by Pocomo players attending Douglas College in 1972. United Rugby currently uses Hume Park and Queens Park for home venues.

Soccer in New Westminster is represented by the Sapperton Rovers. Soccer in the Sapperton Community goes back to the early 20th century; Sapperton Park was donated to the city in 1907 for the sole purpose of being used as a soccer venue. Many teams have since carried the Sapperton name.

The Hyack Swim Club [www.hyack.com], in operation since 1973, trains swimmers at Canada Games Pool, from a grassroots level up to international competition. Swimmers from across the Lower Mainland come to Canada Games Pool to train with this swim club. The swim club has trained many Olympians, Paralympians, and members of Canada's national team. Hyack Swim Club hosts four meets each year, two of which are held at Canada Games Pool. The premier meet each year is held during the Hyack Festival, and attracts swimmers from across the province, Alberta, Washington, and Oregon. Mark Bottrill has been Hyack's Director of Swimming since 1999. Hyack Swim Club's Drew Christensen represented Canada at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Notable residents

Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...

, actor, famous for his Perry Mason and Ironsides roles (buried in New West)
Cassius Khan
Cassius Khan
Cassius Khan , is an Indian classical musician known for playing the tabla and Ghazal while singing.- Career :In Vancouver, Khan met Mushtari Begum, a Ghazal singer, Sheikh Mohyudean, a harmonium / Qawaali singer, and Ustad Rukhsar Ali, a tabla player. He subsequently began lessons with these...

, Award winning Indian Classical Ghazal/Tabla Musician
Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk , which began June 11, 1934. Phil Davis soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by King Features Syndicate.Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964,...
Bruno Gerussi
Bruno Gerussi
Bruno Gerussi was a Canadian television actor born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, best known for the lead role in the CBC Television series The Beachcombers...

, actor
Dave Steen
Dave Steen
David Lee Steen, CM is a retired Canadian decathlete, a three-time member of the Canadian Summer Olympic Games team and the first Canadian to score more than 8,000 points in the decathlon....

, Olympic medalist
Mike Reno
Mike Reno
Mike Reno , born January 8, 1955 in New Westminster, British Columbia is a Canadian musician, drummer, and lead singer of the rock band Loverboy. He has also fronted other bands, including Moxy....

, musician
Aron
Aron
-Characters:* Aron , a character from the comic Aron! HyperSpace Boy!* Aron , a character from the Marvel Universe* Aron , a creature in the Pokémon video game series...

, poet
Robert Thirsk
Robert Thirsk
Robert Brent "Bob" Thirsk is a Canadian engineer and physician, and a former Canadian Space Agency astronaut. He holds the Canadian records for the longest space flight and the most time spent in space .-Personal life:Thirsk is from New Westminster, British Columbia and is married to Brenda...

, astronaut
Justin Morneau
Justin Morneau
Justin Ernest George Morneau is a Canadian Major League Baseball first baseman for the Minnesota Twins. At 6 feet 4 inches and 225 lbs, Morneau was originally drafted as a catcher by the Twins in 1999. He converted to first base in the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2003...

, baseball player
Kyle Turris
Kyle Turris
Kyle Turris is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre with the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League . He was selected third overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.-Playing career:...

, hockey player
Jon Cornish
Jon Cornish
Jon Cornish is a football running back who currently plays for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.-Collegiate career:...

, football player
Devin Townsend
Devin Townsend
Devin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....

, musician
Scott Mosier
Scott Mosier
Scott A Mosier is an American-Canadian film producer, editor, podcaster and actor best known for his work with director Kevin Smith, with whom he co-hosts the weekly podcast, Smodcast.-Early life:...

, film producer
Terry Yake
Terry Yake
Terrence Donald Yake is a Canadian ice hockey centre and right wing who played for the Hartford Whalers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, and Washington Capitals...

, hockey player
Alexz Johnson
Alexz Johnson
Alexzandra Spencer "Alexz" Johnson is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Her debut album Voodoo was independently released on March 30, 2010....

, actress and musician
Chuck Strahl
Chuck Strahl
Charles Strahl, PC, MP was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. He was a Member of Parliament in the governing Conservative Party of Canada.-Before politics:...

, politician
Eva Markvoort
Eva Markvoort
Eva Markvoort was a young woman from New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada who died from cystic fibrosis at the age of 25...

, blogger

Sister cities

Moriguchi, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

The Sister City relationship between New Westminster and Moriguchi in 1962–1963 was the first Sister City agreement between Canadian and Japanese cities. (Subject to research confirmation)
Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...

, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

in 1991. The agreement was signed in 1991.
Lijiang
Lijiang
Lijiang may refer to:*Lijiang, Yunnan , prefecture-level city in Yunnan Province, China*Old Town of Lijiang, World Heritage Site, in Lijiang City*Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, formerly a county in Lijiang, Yunnan, China before 2002...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

in 2002.

Friendship Cities

Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Jiangsu province in the eastern People's Republic of China . Sitting on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Changzhou to the east, and Yangzhou across the river to the north.Once...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

(2008)
YunFu City, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

(2009)

Adopted City

During World War II, after the Soviet Union (USSR) had changed sides, New Westminster "adopted" the Soviet city of Anapa in 1944. This was not a formal Sister City arrangement and it has lapsed in the intervening years.

Education

Douglas College
Douglas College
Established in 1970, Douglas College is one of the largest public colleges in British Columbia, Canada serving 14,000 credit students, 9,000 continuing education students and 1,000 international students each year.-Programs:...
Justice Institute of British Columbia
Justice Institute of British Columbia
The Justice Institute of British Columbia is a public, post-secondary educational institution in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, that is focused on training professionals in the justice, public safety and social services fields...
Sprott-Shaw Community College

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.