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 served as the most important port 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, overlooking the gardens. New Westminster is also the third-most populous city in British Columbia, after Vancouver and Burnaby, and is the seat of the Lower Mainland Lieutenancy. In 2021 New Westminster had a population of 638,489.