BC Day

The British Columbia Day Act was first introduced to the Legislative Assembly in 1974 by the NDP Government. The aim of the Bill was to create a statutory holiday on the first Monday in August to recognize the pioneers in the province. The act gained royal assent in 1996.
There are a number of symbols of British Columbia. These include the Steller's Jay, the Pacific Dogwood, jade, the Western Red Cedar and the provincial tartan. Two important symbols of British Columbia are the flag and the coat of arms.

Our province is huge, 944,735 square kilometres (364,800 sq mi). Larger than Washington, Oregon and California combined! Most of which is mountains, rivers, lakes and grasslands that can offer solitude or success if one works for it.  Splendor sine occasu has been our motto - "Splendour without Diminishment." And Tourism BC sells it as Supernatural British Columbia! The bottom edge of BC is perhaps the last remaining population center that has unexplored wilderness within a hundred miles to the north.
Our Fraser River travels over 1,375 kilometres (854 mi) through glacial mountain ranges and secluded valleys to empty 800,000 gallons (3550 cubic litres) of fresh water per minute into the sea at Vancouver.

Lytton is often the hottest place in Canada and the Vaseux Lake region of the Okanagan has the only arid biotic zone (desert) in Canada! While our North becomes Robert Service country and can be the coldest in Canada. Our regional variety is wonderful. You can often drive northward in your car without seeing another human for hours yet a wonderfully healthy wildlife abounds.
Our Capital, Victoria, continues to be a little bit of pleasantly quaint, 'Jolly Old' past. While Vancouver symbolizes the future and has become the envy of the world.

The pioneering spirit has always been strong in BC since the many hardy explorers and gold rushers traveled to our interior, seeking wealth or land or the fortune of settlement. Some walked over mountains and traversed rivers after gold or silver or exploration. Loaded mule trains once went North daily full of hard tack, miner's picks and dreams and even included imported camels at one time as pack animals for the prospectors. And when BC needed to join Canada, the railroad building was blasting through solid rock cliffs and gorges and progress was measured in months and sometimes by lives lost. Only men of inner strength and sturdy character need apply. The weathered reminders of homesteads abound in BC, softly settling into history. And the Indian names remain, the Caribou, the Chilcootin and the Kootenays. The true wild west was here too when our grasslands were full of cattle and ranchers riding their range. The Douglas Lake Cattle Company was once the world's biggest ranch! Our lumber industries took advantage of vast coastal forests.
Today we have cosmopolitan cities of vibrant people full of industry, high tech and promise on our southern borders, to the enchanting loneliness of our north and our seacoast fjords with rugged folks content in their solitude and independence. There is something for everyone in BC. 

BC Social Credit governments established BC Ferries and we once had more ships in BC than the Canadian Navy. The old BC Electric company became BC Hydro and guaranteed perpetual power for British Columbians. BC Rail was the result of taking over the Pacific Great Eastern Railway and was begun to open up our sparse interior and offer service to the people of small towns. BC was growing, exciting and proud.

The present population of BC is a marvelous mix. Not a melting pot, but a mosaic of varied cultures who have arrived on our shores seeking peace and prosperity. And contribute to the interesting diversity of our society. We should all be thankful that we do live in a land of plenty, with freedom and hospitality and the ability to follow any pursuit we wish.

Today that pioneering spirit is still active, with modern British Columbians ready willing and able to continue making our province great and progressive into the 21st century.
But it is a heritage that must be carefully guarded and shepherded into the years ahead with the interests of BC and our people first and foremost.
We are a vibrant, industrious and intelligent people who can continue to exploit the promise of the future and build our province into a supernatural place of pride and opportunity.
Join in, all are welcome.

Happy BC Day!