Vancouver

Environment

Greater Vancouver was once lush with flora, fauna, and minerals. The North West Company, founded in Montreal in 1784, was the first to exploit the area's animal life through its lucrative fur trade. The company was taken over by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1827. An outpost was established by the company in Fort Langley, some 48 kilometers (30 miles) from the city of Vancouver.

When gold was discovered in the bed of the Fraser River just outside Greater Vancouver in 1858, the area experienced its first real growth. In 1865, Hastings Mill was built in Chinatown to process the harvest of abundant fir and cedar logs that forested the mountains around the city. For the past 150 years, Vancouver has benefited from and relied on the forests of British Columbia to drive its economy.

Vancouver's natural harbor and the arrival of the railway by 1890 proved beneficial to the city in its role not only as a processing center but as a hub of export for British Columbia's natural resources.

The abundance of the Pacific Ocean fishery was a resource that benefited the Coast Salish in Vancouver long before the Europeans arrived and provided stable employment harvesting shellfish, salmon, halibut, red snapper, and other sea foods. Today the thriving fishery has all but vanished from the city.

Industry in Vancouver has been tied to the natural resources of its surrounding environment since it was first settled. Industry prospered by harvesting the rich forests and the plentiful food fishery in the Pacific Ocean.

The city's ability to transport goods to markets around the world has led to the development of the region's industrial base, the largest in British Columbia.

Since the forestry industry is an export-based economy, Vancouver continues to play a pivotal role. The Port of Vancouver provides the western provinces with access to major markets in the United States and Pacific Rim countries.