The provincial government allocates about one-third of its budget to education. Public school education is free and compulsory to age 15. Postsecondary education is provided by a number of institutions, including the degree-granting University of Victoria (established 1963; originally Victoria College, 1903) and Royal Roads University (1995) in Victoria, the University of British Columbia (1908) and the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (1925) in Vancouver, Simon Fraser University (1963) in Burnaby, and the University of Northern British Columbia (1990) in Prince George.

The arts

The majority of cultural activities in British Columbia tend to reflect the pioneer background of the province, the great distances between pockets of population, and the various economic backgrounds of areas still oriented to resource industries and to the outdoors. The Williams Lake Stampede is the great annual rodeo event of the ranching country of the interior. Even the annual Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver is largely oriented to the agricultural communities of the lower Fraser valley rather than to the urban interest of Vancouver. Other centres hold annual logging festivals, salmon contests, and pioneer events related to outdoor industry and pursuits.

The province has been home to many notable writers, including Constance Libby Skinner, Audrey Thomas, Carol Shields, Earle Birney, and George Woodcock. Vancouver boasts a lively music scene that is bolstered by the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, held annually in mid-July, and the Vancouver Opera, which mounts productions featuring visiting artists from the world’s great opera houses.

Because of its mild climate and scenic beauty, British Columbia has long attracted filmmakers. In the late 20th century, film and television production in the province grew rapidly with the introduction of tax incentives that attracted both national and international productions and the creation of top-rate studios in and around Vancouver (which is sometimes called “Hollywood North”). The province has produced several notable filmmakers, including Edward Dmytryk and Atom Egoyan.

Cultural institutions

Cultural events in Vancouver increasingly reflect its cosmopolitan status. Among the most noteworthy institutions are the Centennial Museum in Langley, the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria, and, in Vancouver, the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium, the Bloedel Conservatory, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre complex, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Orpheum Theatre. Prince George boasts a fine library that offers innovative programs to people of the interior plateau area, while in the southwest Nanaimo and White Rock present excellent summer theatre. In Victoria the Royal British Columbia Museum preserves artifacts and documents pertinent to the province’s natural and cultural history.

Also notable is the restored historic site of Barkerville, once the thriving centre of the Cariboo gold rush of the 1860s. There the provincial government has rebuilt scores of old buildings to re-create the old gold town as it appeared in the second half of the 19th century. The restoration of historic buildings of Victoria also reflects the province’s cultural heritage. Scores of derelict buildings of historical interest have been restored and rented to merchants. Squares have been opened, and whole streets have been revitalized without recourse to bulldozers or slum clearance.

Sports and recreation

There are four national parks and three national park reserves in British Columbia. Glacier, Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke, and Yoho national parks preserve the rich diversity of the province’s mountainous interior, while Gulf Islands, Gwaii Haanas, and Pacific Rim national park reserves protect the forested regions of the coast. In addition, numerous provincial parks and recreational areas throughout British Columbia provide residents and tourists with a wealth of opportunities for outdoor activities. Winter sports such as curling, ice skating, snowboarding, and skiing are extremely popular. Kootenay and Yoho parks, along with Jasper and Banff national parks in Alberta, collectively were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984; three of British Columbia’s provincial parks were added in 1990. In 1994 another provincial park (Tatshenshini-Alsek), in the northwestern corner of the province, was incorporated into an existing multinational World Heritage site there. Vancouver was chosen to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, with many of the events at nearby Whistler to the north.

Rodeo and logging sports hold a special place in the culture and history of the province. The province has also embraced traditional Canadian team sports such as ice hockey and gridiron football. Vancouver is home to several professional franchises, including the Canucks of the National Hockey League and the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.

Media and publishing

The Vancouver region is the third largest newspaper market in Canada and is by far the largest in British Columbia. It is served by two daily newspapers, and one national paper includes a section with local content. These dailies and others in the province are owned by large national chains. Scores of community newspapers are published, including those focused on multicultural and aboriginal interests. Nearly all daily and community papers are available online. Several dozen magazine publishers, some with multiple titles, operate in the province, producing literary, scholarly, news and opinion, lifestyle, leisure and recreation, sports, education, and other special-interest periodicals. There are a variety of publishing houses specializing in a wide array of subjects.