New Westminster - Community Overview

New Westminster is the oldest city in British Columbia, named by Queen Victoria herself when it was the colonial capital in 1859. Before that, it was known as “Queensborough”. Four years after New Westminster was incorporated, the first legislative council of the Province met there in 1864. In 1868, the capital was transferred to Victoria.

The first bank in B.C. was opened in New Westminster in 1862, along with the oldest hospital in British Columbia. New Westminster celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1984. Because Queen Victoria named the city, it has retained the nickname - The Royal City -throughout the years. New Westminster is a port town, where sternwheelers rolled in during the 1860s and now modern freighters from around the world put in at the freshwater, ice-free, deep-sea port on the south arm of the Fraser River.

Today, because of New Westminster’s strategic location, the manufacturing industry is an important component of the economy. The retail industry has the largest sector, along with lumber, plywood and paper industries. Although agricultural pursuits are minor in the New Westminster area, large agricultural areas lie in the nearby communities of Richmond, Delta and the Lower Fraser Valley to Hope.

The City of New Westminster is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District and is situated on the Burrard Peninsula, on the north bank of the Fraser River. The Pattullo Bridge connects New Westminster with the City of Surrey. New Westminster is located along Highway #1A, approximately 20 km east of downtown Vancouver.

The population in New Westminster is approximately 58,549.

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