By: Lionel Jensen
Pop quiz: Which city is described by the following? Home to 2.3 million people. 52% of
its inhabitants do not speak English as their first language. Sister city to Odessa (Ukraine),
Yohohama (Japan), Edinburgh (Scotland), Guangzhou (China), Los Angeles (USA), and Seoul
(South Korea). If you answered Vancouver, you are correct! Since its incorporation on April 6th,
1886, the City of Vancouver has had a rich history. The following is a brief history of Canada’s
third largest city.
The Great Vancouver Fire – June 13, 1886. Only a few months after the incorporation of
the City of Vancouver, the Great Vancouver Fire destroyed nearly all of the cities structures.
It began as a brush fire meant to clear land between Main and Cambie, and would give rise to
Vancouver’s first firefighting equipment and police force.
Komagata maru Incident – 1914. A dark mark on the cities history. A Japanese steamship
carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, India, was denied docking. Only 20 passengers would
be allowed to immigrate, the rest were forced to return to India. A plaque commemorating the
80th anniversary of the arrival of the Komagata Maru was placed in the Vancouver harbor in
1994. The federal of government of Canada, and the British Columbia provincial governments
officially apologized in 2008.
Tuum Est – 1915. The first day of lectures take place at the University of British Columbia.
Stanley Cup Winners – 1915 – While the Vancouver Canucks have never managed to win
the Cup, the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association defeated the
National Hockey Association’s Ottawa Senators 3 games to 0 in a best of 5 series to bring home
Vancouver’s only Stanley Cup.
Bloody Sunday – 1938. Vancouver was certainly not exempt from the Great Depression. Bloody
Sunday concluded at month long strike that saw the forced eviction of occupiers of Vancouver’s
main post office by the RCMP. Of the 42 hospitalized, 5 were police officers.
Gastown Riots – August 7, 1971. A two-story-high mural in Woodward Building (126 West
Cordova St) commemorates the event to this day. 79 were arrested and 38 charged following a
“Smoke-In” protest of drug laws and drug law enforcement.
Expo 86 – 1986. Vancouver’s SkyTrain system, Science World, BC Place Stadium, and
Canada Place all owe their origins in part to the 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and
Communication. 22 million people attended the Expo, putting Vancouver on the map as a major
tourist destination.
Stanley Cup Run – June 14, 1994. Losing in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals to the
New York Rangers spurred Vancouver’s first Stanley Cup riot.
Winter Olympics – 2010. 82 nations converged on Vancouver to compete in a Winter Olympics
which saw Canada win its first Olympic medal on home soil. Canada would go on to win the
overall gold medal count with 14 gold medals.
Stanley Cup Winners – 2013. Anything is possible right?
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