New Westminster

New Westminster, colloquially New West, is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), located in the south-central region of the Lower Mainland, the province's main metropolitan area, along the northern shores of the Fraser River. At the time of its establishment, these shores serves as the most important pot of call between the West Coast– and Fraser River–bound sailors. In the 20th century, the Port of Vancouver, north of the Fraser River Delta, would overtake the Fraser and the rest of the maritime industry as the new shipping centre behemoth.

Home of the British Columbia Legislative Gardens, the Assembly of British Columbia gathers formally in the Legislative Palace, just overlooking the gardens. New Westminster is also the third-most populous city in North Fraser County and the wider Lower Mainland, after Vancouver and Burnaby, and is the seat of the Lower Mainland Lieutenancy (the administration of the ceremonial county of the Lower Mainland). In December 2020 New Westminster had a population of approximately 350,700, making it the third-most populous city in North Fraser Regional Municipality, after Vancouver and Burnaby.