The
City's logo depicts the confluence of railways, highways, and rivers. This is also the traditional territory of the
Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, which means "people where the rivers come together" in the Carrier language.
Today, Prince George is city of 72,000 people and is the largest city in the northern part of British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province. Prince George is a community with special assets that include a university and college, affordable housing, well-paying jobs, exceptional transportation infrastructure, and access to the outdoors that all contribute to a fantastic quality of life and standard of living.
The highways and railways are complemented by an international airport. These vital transportation links connect our people and resources, primarily forest products, energy, minerals and metals, and agricultural products, to markets around the world. In fact, Prince George is the gateway to a region unmatched in Canada for the scale and diversity of resources.
The Fraser and Nechako rivers are focal points of a park and trail system that is simply world-class. There are more than 100 City parks comprising an area about five times the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park. In addition, there are nearly 100 kilometres of trails, including a new Centennial Trail, that links the rivers and urban parks with the
University of Northern British Columbia and diverse neighbourhoods.
Being at the centre of British Columbia affords residents of the City with unsurpassed outdoor recreation opportunities.
There are five ski hills within a two-hour drive of the City and numerous opportunities for camping, hiking, fishing, snowshoeing, and mountain-biking. On the edge of Prince George is the Otway Nordic Centre, which boasts 55 kilometres of groomed trails.
Prince George celebrated its centennial in 2015 and hosted the
Canada Winter Games.
Learn more about
Prince George's history.
Location
Prince George is located at the confluence of Highways 16 and 97 near the geographic centre of British Columbia. It is 778 kilometres north of Vancouver and 737 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Climate and Temperatures
Prince George's location allows it to experience all four seasons. With an average of 2,000 hours of sunshine per year, residents of Prince George enjoy the outdoors all year round. The average summer temperature is 16 degrees Celsius though it's normal to see temperatures peak in the low 30s. In the winter, while the average temperature is -6, temperatures can range from above zero to the -30s.
Housing
In 2016, the average selling price of a home in Prince George was just under $300,000. About two-thirds of Prince George's housing stock is comprised of single-family homes and homes in Prince George are larger than the BC average.
Economy
The Prince George economy is diversified across multiple sectors. Over recent decades, Prince George has developed from a mainly forest-based economy to a city that has a strong natural resource base, but also supplies goods and services for a broad range of sectors throughout northern BC, within Canada, and internationally.
Compared to other mid-sized cities covered in the Conference Board of Canada's Mid-Sized Cities Outlook 2016, Prince George was tops for economic growth. Following growth of 2.6 per cent in 2015, Prince George's economy is forecast to make further gains with real GDP rising by 2.4 per cent in 2016 and 2.8 in 2017.
In 2016, private sector investment in the community was higher than any year since 1990.
Prince George is situated in the Cariboo Development region and the region's five largest employment sectors are: Wholesale & Retail Trade; Manufacturing; Healthcare & Social Assistance; Accommodation & Food Services; and Construction.
Personal income levels tend to be higher in Prince George than elsewhere. In fact, the media total income in Prince George is nearly 20% than the media for BC as a whole.
Education
There is perhaps no city of Prince George's size in Canada that has such a diverse range of educational offerings. The University of Northern British Columbia opened in 1994 and its 3400 students are registered in a range of undergraduate and graduate programs that include engineering, medicine, and doctoral programs. It has been ranked by Maclean's magazine as #1 among Canada's two-dozen small universities.
The
College of New Caledonia has its main campus in Prince George and delivers a range of trades and university-transfer programs.
Complementing the post-secondary institutions are
School District 57 and a selection of private schools.
Arts and Culture
With a thriving theatre community, a local symphony, galleries, and museums, Prince George has a diverse and growing arts, culture, and music scene. Civic facilities include the Prince George Playhouse, the Two Rivers Gallery, Studio 2880, as well as CN Centre and the Prince George Convention and Civic Centre. There are also the Exploration Place and BC Railway and Forestry Museum located within City parks.
Learn more about Prince George's
Arts and Culture,
History, and
Heritage.