Vancouver BC - Home to the Winter Olympics 2010

History
Vancouver was first settled in the 1860s as a result of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. The city developed rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan centre following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887.

Tourism
Vancouver's scenic location makes it a major tourist destination. Visitors come for the city's gardens, Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, and the mountains, ocean, forest and parklands surrounding the city. Vancouver accommodations of all types provide tourists with many choices.

Recreation
The mild climate of the city and close proximity to ocean, mountains, rivers and lakes make the area a popular destination for outdoor recreation. Indeed, Vancouver has a low adult obesity rate of 12% compared to the Canadian average, 23%. Vancouver also boasts an NHL hockey team (Vancouver Canucks), a CFL football team (BC Lions) and men and women's professional soccer teams.

Real Estate
Vancouver has the highest real estate prices in Canada. Several 2006 studies rank Vancouver as having the least affordable housing in Canada!

Olympics
The city has been selected to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, which is influencing economic development. Concern has been expressed that Vancouver's increasing homelessness problem may be exacerbated by the Olympics because owners of many older hotels, which house many of the city's lowest income residents, have begun converting their properties in order to attract higher income residents and tourists.

People
The population of Metro Vancouver is approximately 2.5 million. Vancouver is ethnically diverse, with 52% of city residents and 43% of Metro resident having a first language other than English. Wikipedia