British Columbia

===21st century===
[[File:Vancouver 2010 Public Caldron.jpg|thumb|The cauldron of the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] in Vancouver]]
In the [[2001 British Columbia general election|2001 provincial election]], [[Gordon Campbell (Canadian politician)|Gordon Campbell]]'s Liberals defeated the NDP, gaining 77 out of 79 total seats in the provincial legislature. Campbell instituted reforms and removed some of the NDP's policies, along with selling off the previous government's "fast ferries", lowering income taxes, and instituting the controversial long-term lease of [[BC Rail]] to [[Canadian National Railway]]. Campbell led his party to victory in the [[2005 British Columbia general election|2005 provincial election]] against a substantially strengthened NDP opposition and won a third term in the [[2009 British Columbia general election|2009 provincial election]].

The province won a bid to host the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] in Vancouver and Whistler. In 2003, Vancouver's residents had voted in a referendum accepting the responsibilities of the host city should it win its bid. 64 percent of residents voted in favour of hosting.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wallechinsky |first1=D. |title=The Complete Book of the Winter Olympics: 2010 Edition |last2=Loucky |first2=J. |year=2010 |page=12}}</ref> After the Olympic joy faded, Campbell's popularity fell. His management style, implementation of the [[Harmonized Sales Tax]] (HST) despite election promises not to introduce it, and cancellation of the [[British Columbia Legislature raids|BC Rail corruption trial]]{{Disputed inline|Cancellation of the BC Rail corruption trial|date=April 2024}} led to low approval ratings and loss of caucus support: he resigned in November 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-premier-campbell-stepping-down-1.911669 |title=BC Premier Campbell stepping down |date=November 3, 2010 |access-date=May 22, 2014 |publisher=[[CBC News]] |archive-date=March 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329100656/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-premier-campbell-stepping-down-1.911669 |url-status=live }}</ref> In early 2011, former deputy premier [[Christy Clark]] became leader of the Liberals. Early Clark government actions included raising the minimum wage, creating a new statutory holiday in February called "Family Day", and pushing the development of BC's [[liquefied natural gas]] industry. In the lead-up to the [[2013 British Columbia general election|2013 election]], the Liberals lagged behind the NDP by a double-digit gap in the polls but were able to achieve a surprise victory, winning a majority and making Clark the first woman to lead a party to victory in BC.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 15, 2013 |title=Christy Clark leads BC Liberals to surprise majority |work=[[CBC News]] |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/christy-clark-leads-b-c-liberals-to-surprise-majority-1.1315526 |url-status=live |access-date=April 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407132113/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/christy-clark-leads-b-c-liberals-to-surprise-majority-1.1315526 |archive-date=April 7, 2014}}</ref> Her government went on to balance the budget, implement changes to liquor laws and continue with the question of the proposed [[Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines]]. In [[2017 British Columbia general election|the 2017 election]], the NDP formed a minority government with the support of the Green Party through a [[confidence and supply]] agreement. In July 2017, NDP leader John Horgan was sworn in as a premier. Clark resigned and [[Andrew Wilkinson]] became leader of the BC Liberals. In the [[2020 British Columbia general election]], the NDP won 57 seats and formed a majority government. Wilkinson resigned as the leader of the BC Liberals.

British Columbia has been significantly affected by demographic changes within Canada and around the world. Vancouver was a major destination for many immigrants from [[Hong Kong]] who left the former UK colony prior to [[Handover of Hong Kong|its handover]] to China. British Columbia has been a significant destination for internal Canadian migrants, because of its natural environment, mild climate, relaxed lifestyle, and strong economy.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} It moved from 10 percent of Canada's population in 1971 to 13 percent in 2006. Trends of urbanization mean the [[Greater Vancouver]] area now includes 51 percent of the province's population, followed by [[Greater Victoria, British Columbia|Greater Victoria]] with 8 percent. These two metropolitan regions have dominated the demographics of BC.

By 2018, housing prices in Vancouver were the second-least affordable in the world.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kwan |first=Shawna |date=January 21, 2019 |title=Hong Kong Housing Is World's Least Affordable for 9th Year |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-21/hong-kong-housing-ranked-world-s-least-affordable-for-9th-year |url-status=live |access-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012033331/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-21/hong-kong-housing-ranked-world-s-least-affordable-for-9th-year |archive-date=October 12, 2020}}</ref> Many experts point to evidence of money-laundering from China as a contributing factor. The high price of residential real estate has led to the implementation of an empty homes tax, a housing speculation and vacancy tax, and a foreign buyers' tax on housing.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Gaming_Final_Report.pdf |title=Dirty Money: An Independent Review of Money Laundering in Lower Mainland Casinos conducted for the Attorney General of British Columbia |last=German |first=Peter M. |publisher=Government of British Columbia |date=March 31, 2018 |access-date=June 27, 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116102035/https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Gaming_Final_Report.pdf |archive-date=November 16, 2018 }}</ref> The net number of people coming to BC from other provinces in 2016 was almost four times larger than in 2012 and BC was the largest net recipient of [[Interprovincial migration in Canada|interprovincial migrants in Canada]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Carman |first=Tara |date=August 5, 2016 |title=Canadians flock to B.C. in search of jobs |website=[[Vancouver Sun]] |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/canadians-flock-to-b-c-in-search-of-jobs |url-status=live |access-date=April 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511211232/http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/canadians-flock-to-b-c-in-search-of-jobs |archive-date=May 11, 2017}}</ref>

By 2021, the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] had had [[COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia|a major effect on the province]],<ref>{{cite web |publisher= Brititish Columbia Ministry of Health |title=British Columbia's Response to COVID-19|url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/response|access-date=January 1, 2022|website=www2.gov.bc.ca|archive-date=December 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231233932/https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/response|url-status=live}}</ref> with over 2,000 deaths and 250,000 confirmed cases. However, the [[COVID-19 vaccine]] reduced the spread, with 78 percent of people in BC over the age of five having been fully vaccinated. The [[Canadian Indian residential school gravesites|unmarked gravesites of hundreds of Indigenous children]] were discovered at three former [[Canadian Indian residential school system|Indian residential schools]] ([[Kamloops Indian Residential School|Kamloops]], [[Kootenay Indian Residential School|St. Eugene's Mission]], [[Kuper Island Indian Residential School|Kuper Island]]).<ref>{{Cite news |title=Remains of 215 children found at former Kamloops, B.C. residential school |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |agency=[[The Canadian Press]] |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-remains-of-215-children-found-at-former-residential-school-in-british/ |url-status=live |access-date=June 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618213750/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-remains-of-215-children-found-at-former-residential-school-in-british/ |archive-date=June 18, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news |date=July 13, 2021 |title=Former Native Residential School: Over 160 Graves Found on Kuper Island |website=The Canadian |url=https://thecanadian.news/2021/07/13/former-native-residential-school-over-160-graves-found-on-kuper-island/ |url-status=dead |access-date=July 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713014746/https://thecanadian.news/2021/07/13/former-native-residential-school-over-160-graves-found-on-kuper-island/ |archive-date=July 13, 2021}}</ref>