British Columbia is the western-most province in Canada and borders on the Pacific Ocean. BC is home to almost 4 million people with the majority of BC residents living in the Lower Mainland of the province.

The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, which is situated on Vancouver Island. Vancouver is Canada´s third largest city with a population exceeding 2.1 million. Approximately 35,000 immigrants from around the world arrive in BC each year, and today immigrants make up a large proportion of BC´s population. Over one third of Vancouver´s population comes from abroad, and BC has the largest Chinese community in Canada. The vibrant multicultural atmosphere and excellent quality of life make BC a major destination for newcomers to Canada.

British Columbia´s economy has traditionally been dominated by natural resources but has seen a significant change in the industrial and service economy. Forestry and mining remain important industries in BC as well as construction and telecommunications which are quickly becoming the centerpiece of a booming technology sector.

Tourism in BC provides a considerable source of revenue for the province with people visiting from around the world who are looking to experience its many national parks, miles of coast line and the Rocky Mountains. BC also has the largest fishing industry in Canada and sizeable cattle and dairy farm operations. At the same time, BC is Canada´s third-largest generator of hydro electricity and Canada´s second-largest natural gas producer. The Vancouver area is an important financial, business and technology center and is the third-largest film and television production centre in North America (after New York and Los Angeles).

British Columbia offers a diverse range of potential employment opportunities, with many job opportunities in the service or technology sectors. As of February 2010 unemployment rates in the province are at 7.7%. With growth forecasts very positive for the future of the province, there will be many job opportunities for immigrants in British Columbia in the near future. British Columbia is a great place for newcomers to find a job in Canada.

British Columbia is well known for its high standard of living, with the city of Vancouver consistently ranked among the top cities in the world to live and work in. For a new immigrant, BC provides economic opportunity and support networks of existing immigrant communities all within safe communities and natural beauty. BC´s interior communities such as the West Kootenay Boundary region provide newcomers with all the important qualities looked for in small communities.

While the cost of living in British Columbia is among the highest in Canada, mainly due to housing costs, average family annual earnings in the Kootenay Boundary region are $59,953.00 (according to the 2006 Census). BC has the lowest mandatory minimum wage of all the provinces (at $8.00/hr), and the second lowest personal income tax rate.

The housing market in British Columbia is slightly more expensive than the rest of Canada. The average monthly shelter cost for British Columbia homeowners was $904, slightly ahead of the national average of $835.

Many people who first settle in urban centres in BC often leave the city for the Kootenay Boundary Region, where the cost of living is much lower, there is more space to accommodate families and the lifestyle is more appealing.

British Columbia has a well-respected public education system that includes universities and colleges. In Canada, all citizens and permanent residents under the age of 20 are entitled to free education through the end of high school through the public school system. Within this taxpayer-funded system, there is a range of choices including community schools, alternative schools, aboriginal education programs, French immersion, fine arts programs, sports or trades programs and public education.

For students who wish to continue their education after high school, BC has 26 public post-secondary institutions as well as a significant number of private institutions. There are many financial supports available for individuals wishing to attend post secondary institutions such as student aid, scholarship and loan programs.

All Canadian provinces and territories must provide universal, publicly funded health care to all citizens and legal residents of Canada. Most basic health services in BC are offered at no direct cost to the individual. However individuals must enrol with Medical Services Plan in order to be eligible for coverage.

British Columbia has some of the richest aboriginal history of any province in Canada. At the time of European contact, nearly half of all people living in present-day Canada were living in coastal British Columbia.

European contact began with British explorers James Cook and George Vancouver in the late 1700´s. These explorers were followed by fur traders who would establish a permanent British presence in the area. Many of the major cities in British Columbia today had their origins as fur trading posts.

British Columbia joined the Canadian confederation as a province in 1871, becoming the sixth province to do so and at the turn of the century settled its borders. During this time immigrants from Europe, China and Japan settled in BC with many Japanese families choosing to settle in the city of Greenwood, in the Boundary Region. The years between 1908 and 1912 saw the settlement of a large Doukhobor (Russian) community in the West Kootenay Boundary Region. Their belief system was based on peace and was reflected in their simple way of life, communal living, and hard work. Today this region shares a rich cultural history with the Doukhobor people.

With the arrival of the railroads BC evolved from a mostly farming economy to forestry and mining and after World War 2 there was period of industrial growth and development. The forestry industry brought in a great deal of revenue, and BC invested to modernize its economy with great success becoming a cultural center and attracting authors, artists, poets, musicians and academics.

British Columbia has a culture that is in many ways inspired by the natural beauty of the province. Residents of BC are known for their healthy living, and outdoor recreation such as biking, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking and swimming, which are popular throughout the province.

BC culture is also significantly influenced by its history of high levels of immigration to the province. British, German, Chinese, German, Indian, and Japanese community influences can all be found throughout the province. These influences help to make cities like Vancouver very cosmopolitan and attract arts and culture from all around the world.

British Columbia is home to approximately 4.25 million residents. The province has been growing steadily at about 5% a year, up from just over 3.2 million in 1991. The West Kootenay Boundary region has a population of 90,745 and with declining birthrates and an aging population, continuing population growth is increasingly dependent on immigration.

Because of its location on the Pacific Ocean, and thus its relative proximity to Asia, British Columbia has long experienced high levels of immigration from Asia. In particular Chinese-Canadians account for approximately 10% of the province´s population, along with sizable Japanese, Filipino and Korean populations. There is also a large number of Canadians from South Asia living in BC. To help meet its needs, British Columbia participates in the Provincial Nomination Program, which allows the province to help speed up the immigration process for qualified applicants that wish to settle in British Columbia and have the tools to contribute to the province´s development.

BC is also a major destination for individuals coming to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The Boundary Region is home to many temporary foreign workers who come to the region for work in the agricultural sector.

Canada´s government works on a federal system, with control over certain affairs belonging to the national government in Ottawa, and others under the control of the provincial governments. The province of British Columbia has its own democratically-elected parliament (known as the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia) which is found in the provincial capital of Victoria.

There are 79 representatives elected to serve as Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA), each serving a specific geographic district. The current government of the province is led by the British Columbia Liberal Party (which is not affiliated with the federal Liberal Party of Canada). The government is led by Premier Gordon Campbell. British Columbia has regularly scheduled provincial elections every 4 years.

The West Kootenay Boundary region has a dry sunny climate, experiencing hot, dry summers with daytime temperatures frequently surpassing 30°C/86°F, particularly in Grand Forks. Temperatures in the West Kootenay area of the region experience more moderate summer temperatures.

Winter is generally dry with very little precipitation except in higher elevations, with freezing temperatures and snow lasting from November until March. Climate in British Columbia is influenced by latitude, mountainous topography and the Pacific Ocean. This diversity causes wide variations in average rainfall, snowfall, temperature and hours of sunshine, sometimes over very short distances.

In general, however, temperatures are warmer in the south than in the north, and rainfall is heaviest along the coast and lightest in the southern interior.

Between 2002 and 2006 the West Kootenay / Boundary region was the destination to approx 1% of all BC immigrant arrivals. About 900 new immigrants are estimated to have settled in the Kootenay Region during the same period (based on intended destinations) (numbers are from Stats Canada - census).

The region had the lowest proportion of senior immigrants (2%) and has the HIGHEST percentage of immigrants arriving with English skills (89%). The bulk of immigrants in the region are 30-44, a younger profile than the overall population.

More than three quarters (78%) of immigrants who landed in the Kootenays had either a university degree, college certificate or trade qualification. This was the highest among all of the regions in BC.

In contrast to the overall BC picture, the primary source countries were US (same culture/language), UK (similar culture/language), Australia (similar culture/language) and South Africa and Germany (usually good English skills). Many highly skilled, English speaking, immigrants are recruited as professionals to work in major industries such as Teck Metals, or within the medical field.

Source: Ministry of Attorney General. Regional Immigration in British Columbia 2002-2006.

While the 2006 Canadian labour market was the strongest in 30 years, with record low unemployment rate and record high employment rates, these strong outcomes were not experienced by the majority of immigrant´s to Canada. Immigrants who had been in Canada less than five years had an unemployment rate more than twice that of the Canadian born.

Talk to educated immigrants that have landed in the province and a consensus quickly emerges: unemployment is a serious problem. Newcomers looking for work face a host of challenges. There is discrimination, complications around accreditation of foreign degrees, and an isolation that leaves many out of the loop on job openings. The recession is now making things worse.

According to a July 2008 statistics Canada report, the majority (54%) of immigrants to Canada since 2002 have been university-educated. In 2007, the unemployment rate for these immigrants was four times that of similarly educated Canadian-born residents.

More concerning, there is a connection between one´s country of origin and the odds of finding a job. The report states that in B.C. in 2007, 85 percent of university-educated, very recent immigrants from Europe were employed while only 60.7% of those from Asia had found employment in B.C. (Data for other regions was not available.)

Statistics Canada´s definition of "employment" doesn´t differentiate between a PhD from India who works at McDonalds and a Canadian-educated Norwegian who works as a nurse at Vancouver General Hospital. For new families in Canada, the difference is very real. Research found that skilled immigrants of visible minorities often face a series of barriers on their way to a job in their preferred field.

When visible-minority men first arrive in Canada, they are crowded into low-paying "survival jobs". Many immigrants end up in low-paying jobs because of prohibitive accreditation processes. For certain professions, like medical professionals and lawyers, they are almost undoable and can take years to get.

As a result, many skilled immigrants, especially those with families to support, find themselves caught in a Catch-22 situation. Immigrants arrive eager to use their skills and enter the Canadian work force. But their degrees are not recognized and they must go back to school. If they return to school, they run the risk of burning through their savings and letting their family go hungry. The "solution" is to work in low-paying "survival jobs" that provide little money and even less time to attend school and study.

Many prospective immigrants are only eligible to come to Canada if they have a postsecondary education. Furthermore, they are often recruited by the federal government because of their education and skills. In turn, immigrants arrive in Canada eager to contribute to society. But when they get here, provincial regulations often reject the very skills for which they were recruited.

A hundred years ago, British Columbia was one of the "last frontiers" in Canada: a rough, tough region populated mainly by young men, many of whom were loggers and miners. At the end of the nineteenth century just two percent of all Canadians lived in this province. More than half of the population was under thirty, and men outnumbered women nearly two to one.

Manufacturing activities were based on the processing of natural resources: canning Fraser River salmon, producing lumber and paper from trees harvested in the province´s coastal and interior forests and extracting the province´s rich mineral wealth. This early dependence on primary industries helped forge an image of BC that persists to this day. Most people, when asked to name the biggest industries in the province, continue to put forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture at the top of the list. BC´s economy is less dependent on natural resources than it used to be. The role of resource industries is declining. They currently employ about 9% of British Columbia´s workforce. One in every five workers in BC is self-employed, most work without any paid help and 128,000 small businesses have employees.

The composition of BC´s population has changed a lot. It´s no longer mainly comprised of young men, as it was a hundred years ago. The percentage of males and females living in BC has been roughly equal since the 1960s. The Canadian-born workforce is shrinking and the demand for labour is growing.

The labour pool has changed drastically, and more change is on the way. At the same time, many sectors and occupational categories are projected to experience growth.

British Columbia´s cultural mosaic is also shifting. In recent years, immigration, especially from Asia, has been a major source of population growth, and the Vancouver area, along with other parts of the province, is becoming more diverse. Source: Tourism and high-tech are part of what´s often called the new economy. Trends in these sectors are followed with great interest by the media and other observers of the economy.

Statistics Canada Facts:

 Baby boomer retirement is on the horizon.
 Birth rates within Canada are declining.
 The Canadian education system is not producing enough graduates in certain skill areas.
 There is increased global competition for attracting Canadian and international talent.
 Significant growth in demand is anticipated for workers with intermediate and high-level     skills.
 Immigrants are expected to become a necessary part of pool to fill labour needs.


The Baby-boom generation, which statistics Canada defines as those born between 1946 and 1965 are retiring next year and the first group of 9 million Canadian Boomers will be receiving Old Age Security, a demographic "tsunami" that will see about 1200 people a day celebrating turning 65 over the next 20 years.

The Kootenay / Boundary region has attracted a large ethnic mix of immigration over the past 200 years which is still evident today influencing agriculture, architecture and cuisine. The Doukhobors were a group of Russian religious pacifists who immigrated to Canada in 1898-99 with the assistance of the American Quakers. They found the agricultural region compatible with their values of respect for the land and peaceful self-sufficiency.

The Italians arrived and worked on the Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railway construction into Nelson (1893), the C.P.R extension from Troup Junction (3 miles east of Nelson) to Procter, (1901). The Italians were well known for their amazing gardens. A man named Carmine Maglio developed the Maglio Plum, a wonderful eating plum. There is an Italian Canadian society in Trail and Nelson.

Before World War I, Nelson was reputed to have the 3rd largest Chinatown in B.C. In Salmo the riot act was read because of the employment by the local sawmill owner of Asiatic workers. In Nelson and Rossland, large gardens grown by Chinese immigrants, supplied the CPR passenger trains and local needs.

There were a number of Cornish Miners working in the hard-rock mines of Nelson, Rossland and surrounding areas. The men from Cornwall were traditionally quite small and wiry and they were employed in mining in Cornwall, as they were used to crawling up the little offshoots of the mine tunnels.

The Swedes and Norwegians also came for the mining and stayed for the lumbering and other pursuits. The region is full of Scandinavian names; one wealthy Swedish mining man owned a copper mine outside Nelson and others were in the hotel business (Grand Central, Kootenay and Klondike, (all in Nelson). There is a Norwegian cultural society in Castlegar called the Sons of Norway.

German Mennonites also came to the Kootenays pre WWI and had a settlement at Renata on the Lower Arrow Lake. When flooded by the construction of the Keenlyside Dam, and the graveyard at Renata was cemented over, and a big memorial plaque with all the names of those buried there was erected in the Robson Cemetery.

The Croatian stone masons - the builders of all the rock walls in Trail, were well known outside the area as well. They built the Blaylock Estate, the Vernon Post Office, the Penticton court house and supplied many railcars of cut stone from the quarry just east of Nelson, for the Mormon Temple in Cardston, Alberta.

The Scottish stonemasons also left their mark on Nelson, in beautiful rock walls such as the one (a half-circle) around the High Street Place Condo development near the site of Nelson´s second public hospital, Kootenay Lake General Hospital.

The Scots came first with the Hudson´s Bay and Northwest Companies, but in another later wave many came to man the sternwheelers and steam tugs of the Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company and the CPR´s B.C. Lake and River Service. Captains, First Mates, Engineers, Pursers and other offices on the ships were mainly Scottish immigrants. The Clans had marching pipe bands, annual piping, dance and highland games competitions, and in Nelson had a Scottish Dramatic Society which performed in the Opera House. Sir Charles Ross, a Scotsman, was involved in the dams on the Kootenay River below Nelson. He was the inventor of the sporting rifle (the Ross Rifle) which was great for competitive shooting but a disaster in the WW1 as it jammed in the mud and grime of the trenches.

1. 1807-54: North West Company and Hudson Bay Company trade activity and Métis offspring of those activities established a European -Canadian presence in the West Kootenay/Boundary.

2. In 1854 and over the next 10 years more than 5,000 miners, most of whom were from the US arrived for the gold rushes beginning in Rock Creek.

3. 1860-80´s Chinese miners work the creeks throughout the East and West Kootenays and Boundary. Some settle in Chinese neighborhoods / business sections in Rossland, Revelstoke.

4. 1860-1902: attempts were made to establish a reserve for inhabitant Lakes Salishan at the mouth of the Kootenay, but land eventually was granted to Doukhobors. Indian Agent Galbraith then established a reserve at Oatscott, across from Burton.

5. 1886-1914: Hard rock mining attracts American capital and labour to Ainsworth/Riondel, Toad Mtn. (Nelson), Red Mtn. (Rossland), and Slocan (Sandon).

6. 1897-98: Italian immigrants attracted by railway construction on the Columbia & Western and Crow´s Nest Pass railways.

7. 1906-1914: Many Italians stay, or arrive, to toil at a reorganized, technologically advanced and expanded smelter operation (Consolidated Mining & Smelting Ltd.)

8. 1900-1914: British immigrate to fruit farm and supply produce to miners, especially to the Slocan, the West Arm and Queen´s Bay. Other individual migrants join British "remittance men" and fruit farmers.

9. 1885-1914: After the CPR construction French Canadian woodsmen, sawmill workers and construction people move in to saw mill and log.

10. 1908-1912: Doukhobors migrate from Saskatchewan to West Kootenay and Boundary.

11. 1930-1939: In Great Depression one of few employment opportunities in Canada was available at Cominco for Canadian unemployed. Many Métis Veterans settled with their families, attracted by Cominco.

12. 1942-1945: Japanese are relocated, among other places, to West Kootenay/Boundary towns. [Greenwood, New Denver, Slocan, Sandon, Kaslo].

13. 1944-45: American engineering expertise arrive at Trail (Cominco) to develop "heavy water project".

14. 1950-1970´s: Counter-culture discovers the West Kootenay/Boundary; Quaker immigrants to Argenta in early 1950´s.

15. 1960-1970: Portuguese immigrate to mainly Castlegar to join a community involved in sawmilling and service industries.

16. Late 1960´s - 1970´s The Americans immigrated to the area during the Vietnam War fleeing from service.

Resource: Shawn Lamb, recently retired Selkirk College archivist.

"The Arrow Lakes Band ceased to exist as a band for the purpose of the Indian Act... It does not, however, mean that the Sinixt ceased to exist as a tribal group."

Ron Irwin -- Minister of Indian Affairs
August 9, 1995

Today there are only 3 Arrow Lakes First Nations living in the West Kootenay / Boundary. The remaining either live south of the Canada-US border or have been absorbed into other neighboring First Nations in Canada. There are currently six hundred First Nations registered for support with education and employment services from the outpost office of the Lower Columbia All First Nations in Castlegar. Approximately half are Okanagan people and the other three hundred are mostly Cree from Northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They mainly work in the trades and have been arriving here since just after WW1 to work at Cominco and later Celgar.

The Okanagan Alliance covers an area as large as France to include thirteen tribes. The Sinxt, from the West Kootenay / Boundary, are known as the Arrow Lakes Band, and are the Aboriginal people that have survived the challenges of the dams and Indian Act. Their story is one of being pushed out of the area and not being welcomed. By the time 1910 rolled around, only a few of the Arrow Lakes Band were left in the Kootenay Boundary and West Kootenay regions. In 1902 the Lakes people land was deeded to the Doukhobors.

The Sinixt, meaning People of the Place of the Bull Trout, spoke an isolated language. As the Canada/USA border did not exist prior to 1846 they lived north and south all along the Columbia River and are now considered part of an American tribe. Archaeological evidence places their villages from Kettle Falls to Revelstoke, and from Kootenay Lake to Christina Lake and most flourishing 1500 years ago.

In 1956, prior to the development of the Arrow Lakes for the Columbia River Treaty, the Department of Indian Affairs declared the Arrow Lake Indian Band extinct following the death of the last officially recognized Sinixt in Canada. At the time, 257 Sinixt people were enrolled with the Colville Confederated Tribes of Washington State as Lakes Indians. The loss of salmon from their food cycle as a result of dam construction in their traditional territory was particularly devastating for their culture. Much of the archeological evidence of the lifestyle, customs and rituals is now seasonally underwater under the Arrow Lakes Reservoir.

Resource: Barbara Pistak Elder Lower Columbia All First Nations

An average of 39,000 new immigrants have arrived in BC each year over the last 5 years. The face of new immigrants today is much different than it was even 20-30 years ago. Most of BC´s immigrants now come from Asian countries. Of these, only one percent or 883 arrived in the Boundary / Kootenay from 2002-2006 with forty percent male and sixty percent female.

In the West Kootenay / Boundary region, a much higher than provincial average number of immigrants are coming from the US, UK, Australia, South Africa and Germany. Many already have high levels of English ability and professional qualifications. However, even so, their foreign credentials may not be recognized.

In the rest of the province, highly skilled/highly educated immigrants are taking entry level positions because of lack of English language skills and social business understandings.

By 2011, immigrants are expected to account for all net Canadian labour force growth, and for all net population growth by 2031.

Another group, youth from immigrant families that arrived here in the 70´s has led to an increase in visible minority immigrants and are soon to become a major labour market replacement force. This new-generation youth have parents working in low-level jobs within their own ethnic communities with limited information of education and employment resources.

Earlier this year, a Conference Board of Canada report warned that 90,000 jobs in the tech industry need to be filled over the next three years. If not, the economy will take a $10-billion blow, said the report.

In many respects, new immigrants are the ideal consumers. The "need-everything" generation arrives without refrigerator, stove, washing machine, television set or automobile. They buy what they can afford, but as they move up the economic scale, they upgrade these items so that both the need and frequency of purchase is greater than in the general marketplace.