Victoria Information, Victoria History, Victoria Economy

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Geography: the port city of Victoria is located along the southwestern coastline of the Vancouver Island, just off the southwestern coast of the Canadian mainland. Victoria is split from the American Washington State by Strait of Juan de Fuca in the southeast. The Strait of Georgia divides it from the Canadian mainland in the east. In fact, Victoria is nearer to America than to the country that it belongs to.

The landscape of the city is made up of cliffs and beach formed over the years by the waves from the straits slitting up the layers of glacial material. The coastal regions of the city also have lagoons. Amazingly, but true, the city of Victoria has a sub-Mediterranean clime. Though temperature variations are never over the top, the winter months are damp while summers are dry.

History: this land whose history is wrapped in legends and myths of “Cadborosaurus”, “Sasquatch” and “Mermaids”, welcomed its first white man in the form of Captain James Cook. Cook arrived to the island in the year 1778. He dropped anchor in the western coast of the island of Vancouver. However, the land was first laid claim upon by Manuel Quimper, an explorer from Spain, on the 30th of June 1790. European settlers to the island arrived slowly, not until the fur trade began to gain momentum. The original people of the land were the Songhees, the Saanich and the Sooke. On 13th March 1843 James Douglas, on behalf of the British Hudson’s Bay Company chose Victoria to be a trading post for Britain. They named the chosen land Fort Victoria, after the contemporary Queen of England. The port city flourished and by 2nd August 1862 attained the status of a city. The city’s first Mayor was elected on the 16th of August 1862; he was Thomas Harris.

Economy: though the economy of the city of Victoria is largely dependent on trade and tourism, the government sector too generates employment for the masses. The economy of Victoria grew with the fur trade. After settlement was established in the region, industries involved in the mining of coal and fishing began thriving revenue earners. The other sector of agriculture also caught up pace.

Administration and Government: located within the Canadian province of British Columbia, the city of Victoria falls in the larger administrative region of Greater Victoria. Greater Victoria is divided into a total of 4 municipalities; Victoria is one of them. The city functions as a District-Capital as aside of being a district, it is also the capital of British Columbia. The city is presided over by the Mayor along with the Victoria City Council. The current Mayor of the city is Alan Lowe.

Transport System:

Travel to Victoria, Canada – you can access the city via air, road, rail and also water. So, your travel to Victoria is not going to prove a tough quest. Flights are available from Harbour Air Seaplanes, West Coast Air Ltd, Salt Spring Air, Kenmore Air Seaplanes, Helijet International Inc and Pacific Coastal Airlines. All in-bound flights touch down at the Victoria International Airport. For road transport, there are buses and cars that can be rented. Services are available from British Columbia Transit, Gray Line of Victoria, Tofino Bus, Budget Car & Truck Rental of Victoria, Island Auto Rentals, Thrifty Car Rentals and True North RV. Trains are also available from E&N Via Rail Canada Inc.
Travel in Victoria, Canada – aside of the bus, car rental and cab services it is possible to commute in the city via sea planes and helicopters. They are available from Salt Spring Air, Harbour Air Seaplanes and West Coast Air Ltd. The road travel service providers are Blue Bird Cabs Ltd, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hertz Canada Ltd, Discount Car & Truck Rentals, Tofino Bus and West Coast Trail Express. A unique, though expensive, mode of road travel in Victoria is via horse-drawn carriages, which can be availed from Black Beauty Carriage Tours and Tally Ho Horse Drawn Tours. Via the sea, ferries are regularly available from Columbia Ferry Services Inc and Victoria Harbour Ferry Co.

Society and Cultural Life: the culture and tradition of the island and especially the port capital city is a unique medley of Aboriginal with European. Much of the culture brought over by the British are a part of daily practice today, while native practices are not uncommon. Also, a part of this is the French tradition that dominates the Canadian mainland. As a result, there are several festivals sprinkled all throughout the year that are celebrated with much fanfare. They are:

The Annual Flower Count
JazzFest Victoria
Victoria International Walking Festival
Victoria Independent Film And Video Festival
Selkirk Waterfront Festival
Island Farms Victoria Day Parade
Victoria Latin Caribbean Festival
Island Farms Santa Light Parade
Victoria International Improv Festival
Victoria International Arts Symposium
Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival
Symphony Splash
Victoria Dragon Boat Festival

Educational Institutions: the city of Victoria, though being quite a business and tourist destination, is not entirely commercialized. The people of the city also value knowledge and higher education. There are two seats of higher learning within the premises of the city. They are:

University of Victoria
Royal Roads University

Aside of the universities, there are plenty of reputed colleges for people who are interested in pursuing further studies. Some of the choicest establishments are:

CDI College - Fort Street
CDI College - Victoria Bay Centre
Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific
Broad Horizons Language & Culture Centre
Mingus Language Services
Camosun College

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