Golden, British Columbia

Golden is a town in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, 262 kilometres (163 mi) west of Calgary, Alberta, and 713 kilometres (443 mi) east of Vancouver.

Golden
Town
Town of Golden[1]
View of Golden in 2005
View of Golden in 2005
Official seal of Golden
Seal
Golden is located in British Columbia
Golden
Golden
Location of Golden in British Columbia
Coordinates: 51°18′7″N 116°58′0″W
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
RegionColumbia Valley
Regional DistrictColumbia-Shuswap
Incorporated1957
Government
 • MayorRon Oszust
 • Governing BodyGolden Town Council
 • MPRob Morrison (politician)[2] (Conservative-Kootenay/Columbia)
 • MLADoug Clovechok (BC Liberal Columbia/Revelstoke)
Area
 • Total11.33 km2 (4.37 sq mi)
Elevation
800 m (2,600 ft)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total3,986
 • Density351.9/km2 (911/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−7 (Mountain Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Postal code span
V0A 1H0 & V0A 0A0
Area code250 / 778 / 236
Highways Hwy 1 (TCH)Trans-Canada Highway
Hwy 95
Websitewww.golden.ca

History

In 1807, David Thompson – renowned fur trader, surveyor, and map maker – was tasked by the North West Company to open a trading route to the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest. He first crossed over the Rocky Mountains and travelled along the Blaeberry River to the future site of Golden.[4]

In 1881 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hired surveyor A. B. Rogers to find a rail route through the Selkirk and Rocky Mountains, and in 1882 he found the pass now named for him. Rogers established a base camp for his survey crew led by a man named McMillan. Initially known as McMillan's Camp, the settlement was the beginning of the town of Golden. By 1884, in response to a nearby lumber camp naming itself Silver City, the residents of McMillan's Camp, headed by Baptiste Morigeau,[5] decided not to be outdone and renamed the settlement Golden City.[6] The word city was later dropped.

Golden is also the site of notable South Asian Canadian history, after Sikh settlers first arrived in Golden in 1902 to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company.[7] These early settlers built the first gurdwara (Sikh temple) in North America in 1905,[8][9] which burned down in 1926.[10]

Much of the town's history is tied into the CPR and the logging industry. The town's economy still relies heavily on those two influences, but the development of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, along with other outdoor adventure companies, has allowed the town to diversify into tourism. Mount 7, which is just southeast of town, is popular with paragliding, hang gliding, and mountain biking enthusiasts. The town forms part of the Golden Triangle cycle route.

Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge is the longest freestanding timber-framed bridge in Canada.[11] Planned as a community project by the Timber Framers Guild,[12] volunteers from Golden were joined by carpenters and timber framers from the United States and from Europe. The bridge structure is 46 metres (150 ft) long, with a 95-tonne (210,000 lb) Burr arch structure. The bridge was completed in September 2001.

In June 2021, the Golden Skybridge opened. The bridge is the highest suspension bridge in Canada.[13]

The Golden meteorites fell there on October 4, 2021.[14]

Geography

Golden is nestled in the Rocky Mountain Trench, built around the confluence of the Columbia and Kicking Horse rivers, surrounded by three different mountain ranges (most notably the Purcell Mountains and Rocky Mountains) and five national parks: Yoho National Park, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Glacier National Park, and Kootenay National Park.

Golden is on Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway), and it is the northern terminus of Highway 95, connecting it to the United States via the rest of the East Kootenay region and the city of Cranbrook, British Columbia (B.C. Highway 95 is a continuation of U.S. Route 95, which runs north-to-south through the U.S. and into Mexico). The Trans-Canada Highway east of Golden has numerous upgrade projects ongoing to greatly improve the roadway west of the Yoho National Park boundary. The Ten Mile Hill section of the project was recently completed and is a major upgrade to the old highway.

Climate

Golden has a climate with influences of the humid continental (Dfb) and semi-arid (BSk) varieties. Summers are warm but rarely hot, with winters being somewhat moderated in comparison to areas east of the Rockies. Annual snowfall is heavy, averaging 184 centimetres (72 in).

Climate data for Golden Airport
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex 6.7 8.4 19.6 25.5 34.2 41.0 38.5 38.4 32.0 22.4 11.2 5.4 41.0
Record high °C (°F) 8.3
(46.9)		 12.2
(54.0)		 20.2
(68.4)		 28.9
(84.0)		 35.6
(96.1)		 40.7
(105.3)		 40.0
(104.0)		 37.8
(100.0)		 33.9
(93.0)		 25.6
(78.1)		 17.2
(63.0)		 10.0
(50.0)		 40.7
(105.3)
Average high °C (°F) −4.3
(24.3)		 −0.1
(31.8)		 6.6
(43.9)		 13.3
(55.9)		 18.4
(65.1)		 21.7
(71.1)		 24.5
(76.1)		 24.2
(75.6)		 18.4
(65.1)		 10.1
(50.2)		 1.0
(33.8)		 −4.8
(23.4)		 10.7
(51.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) −7.9
(17.8)		 −5
(23)		 0.8
(33.4)		 6.5
(43.7)		 11.3
(52.3)		 14.9
(58.8)		 17.3
(63.1)		 16.7
(62.1)		 11.5
(52.7)		 5.0
(41.0)		 −2
(28)		 −7.8
(18.0)		 5.1
(41.2)
Average low °C (°F) −11.5
(11.3)		 −9.8
(14.4)		 −5
(23)		 −0.5
(31.1)		 4.1
(39.4)		 8.0
(46.4)		 10.0
(50.0)		 9.1
(48.4)		 4.6
(40.3)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 −5
(23)		 −10.9
(12.4)		 −0.6
(30.9)
Record low °C (°F) −46.1
(−51.0)		 −39.4
(−38.9)		 −31.7
(−25.1)		 −19.4
(−2.9)		 −9.4
(15.1)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −2.2
(28.0)		 −2.8
(27.0)		 −9.4
(15.1)		 −18.3
(−0.9)		 −32.8
(−27.0)		 −43.9
(−47.0)		 −46.1
(−51.0)
Record low wind chill −42.3 −31.2 −28.1 −14.3 −5.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 −4.5 −15 −29.9 −38 −42.3
Average precipitation mm (inches) 45.9
(1.81)		 24.1
(0.95)		 24.4
(0.96)		 24.4
(0.96)		 34.5
(1.36)		 49.7
(1.96)		 50.6
(1.99)		 45.3
(1.78)		 38.0
(1.50)		 34.9
(1.37)		 51.1
(2.01)		 43.9
(1.73)		 466.8
(18.38)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 6.4
(0.25)		 5.5
(0.22)		 14.1
(0.56)		 21.9
(0.86)		 33.3
(1.31)		 49.7
(1.96)		 50.6
(1.99)		 45.3
(1.78)		 38.0
(1.50)		 32.3
(1.27)		 21.6
(0.85)		 6.4
(0.25)		 325.2
(12.80)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 45.3
(17.8)		 20.7
(8.1)		 12.1
(4.8)		 2.5
(1.0)		 1.1
(0.4)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 2.8
(1.1)		 31.8
(12.5)		 42.5
(16.7)		 158.7
(62.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 14.6 9.1 9.8 10.6 12.5 15.4 13.7 13.2 10.6 12.1 13.9 13.5 148.8
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 2.4 2.7 6.3 9.9 12.4 15.4 13.7 13.2 10.6 11.3 6.8 1.9 106.5
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 13.5 7.1 4.8 1.5 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.3 8.2 12.8 49.5
Average relative humidity (%) 81.2 70.7 53.6 38.8 38.6 42.4 42.0 44.2 50.0 60.0 80.4 82.2 57.0
Mean monthly sunshine hours 25.2 55.3 111.3 155.2 209.6 194.1 227.0 228.9 162.5 85.0 26.1 12.9 1,492.9
Percent possible sunshine 9.7 19.6 30.3 37.4 43.5 39.2 45.5 50.7 42.7 25.6 9.7 5.2 29.9
Source: [15][16][17]

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
19813,476—    
19863,584+3.1%
19913,721+3.8%
19963,968+6.6%
20014,020+1.3%
20063,811−5.2%
20113,701−2.9%
20163,708+0.2%
20213,986+7.5%

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Golden had a population of 3,986 living in 1,734 of its 1,892 total private dwellings, a change of 7.5% from its 2016 population of 3,708. With a land area of 11.33 km2 (4.37 sq mi), it had a population density of 351.8/km2 (911.2/sq mi) in 2021.[18]

Ethnicity
Panethnic groups in the Town of Golden (1986−2021)
Panethnic
group		 2021[19] 2016[20] 2006[21] 2001[22] 1996[23] 1991[24][25] 1986[26][27][28]: 98 
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
European[lower-alpha 1] 3,200 82.05% 2,910 80.95% 3,310 87.68% 3,405 85.66% 3,440 87.42% 3,030 82.11% 2,965 84.23%
Indigenous 330 8.46% 360 10.01% 160 4.24% 255 6.42% 215 5.46% 265 7.18% 165 4.69%
South Asian 180 4.62% 125 3.48% 200 5.3% 250 6.29% 250 6.35% 340 9.21% 345 9.8%
Southeast Asian[lower-alpha 2] 100 2.56% 40 1.11% 10 0.26% 0 0% 0 0% 25 0.68% 5 0.14%
East Asian[lower-alpha 3] 40 1.03% 140 3.89% 75 1.99% 60 1.51% 25 0.64% 15 0.41% 25 0.71%
Latin American 10 0.26% 10 0.28% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 10 0.28%
African 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 10 0.25% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Middle Eastern[lower-alpha 4] 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 15 0.41% 5 0.14%
Other/Multiracial[lower-alpha 5] 0 0% 20 0.56% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% — — — —
Total responses 3,900 97.84% 3,595 96.95% 3,775 99.06% 3,975 98.88% 3,935 99.17% 3,690 99.17% 3,520 98.21%
Total population 3,986 100% 3,708 100% 3,811 100% 4,020 100% 3,968 100% 3,721 100% 3,584 100%
Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Golden included:[19]

Religious groups in Golden (1991−2021)
Religious group 2021[19] 2011[29] 2001[22] 1991[30]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Christian 1,225 31.41% N/A N/A 2,240 56.35% 2,280 61.79%
Sikh 115 2.95% N/A N/A 165 4.15% 300 8.13%
Hindu 40 1.03% N/A N/A 0 0% 15 0.41%
Buddhist 15 0.38% N/A N/A 20 0.5% 30 0.81%
Muslim 0 0% N/A N/A 0 0% 40 1.08%
Jewish 0 0% N/A N/A 0 0% 0 0%
Other religion 55 1.41% N/A N/A 35 0.88% 10 0.27%
Irreligious 2,430 62.31% N/A N/A 1,495 37.61% 1,020 27.64%
Total responses 3,900 97.84% N/A N/A 3,975 98.88% 3,690 99.17%

Economy

Golden has a service-based economy, relying heavily on tourism and services for tourists. Unlike many other Canadian towns with similar population size, Golden boasts nine automobile repair shops that all offer a wide range of services and are open extended hours. Golden also features a large number of hotels with mountain views that provide accommodation to both tourists and stranded drivers.

Education

Public education is provided by School District 6 Rocky Mountain which operates 3 primary schools and one secondary school. Community College education is offered by the Golden Campus of the College of the Rockies.

Sports
Club League Sport Venue Established Championships
Golden Rockets KIJHL Ice Hockey Golden Arena 1991 0

Notable people

Notes
  1. Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
  2. Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
  3. Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
  4. Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
  5. Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.

References
  1. "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. Richard Zussman. "Canada election results: Kootenay-Columbia". Global News. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  3. 2021 Community Profiles
  4. "Golden BC in the Canadian Rocky Mountains; History and Mountain Culture". www.tourismgolden.com. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  5. "Metis Week recognizes Golden's roots". November 7, 2019.
  6. "Golden BC in the Canadian Rocky Mountains; History and Mountain Culture". www.tourismgolden.com. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  7. "FIRST SIKH TEMPLE IN NORTH AMERICA". March 10, 2021. The first Sikhs came to Golden about 1902, arriving to work in the sawmill of the Columbia River Lumber Company. When the Sikhs arrived in Golden the community was in its infancy and the sawmill had recently opened. The Columbia River Lumber Company recognized the value of these tall strong men and had no problem with the men. They hired them to work in the lumberyard, planer, and sawmill. The first documented proof that we have of South Asians of the Sikh faith being residents of Golden is a copy of a telegram sent to G.T. Bradshaw, Chief of Police, New Westminster from Colin Cameron, Chief of Police, Golden, BC on July 20, 1902. It was sent collect and reads: Geha Singh of Golden sent a telegram to Santa Singh care of Small and Bucklin for one thousand dollars.
  8. "Sikhs celebrate history in Golden". April 26, 2018. The original temple in Golden sat on a corner of a lot, in the south western area of town at the end of the street looking toward where Rona is now. The largest influx of men came from South Asia around 1905, which would be the time period that the temple in Golden would have began services. In 1926, a fire burned the timber limits of the Columbia River Lumber Company, where the South Asian men worked.
  9. "Golden's Sikh heritage recognized on new Stop of Interest sign". November 9, 2016. "We acknowledge the Gurdwara in Golden as the first in B.C., and quite likely the first in North America," said Pyara Lotay, on behalf of the local Sikh community. "We thank the B.C. government for recognizing Golden's Sikh pioneers and their place of worship with this Stop of Interest."
  10. "Golden Gurdwara is recognized for its historical significance". June 7, 2017. The original temple sat on the corner of a lot, which is now owned by Gurmit Manhas, at the end of the street past the School Board Office looking towards the Rona. Plans are being put together to erect a kiosk there that would share information about the original building, the first South Asian people to Canada, the importance of the Gurdwara to the Sikh people and the history of why they left and what brought them back. The largest influx of men came from South Asia in about 1905-06, which would be the time period that the Temple would have begun services. In 1926 a fire burned the timber limits of the Columbia River Lumber Company, where all the South Asian men worked and the men left for the coast having no work to do. When the forest started to grow back the men came back and soon it was necessary to build the present Gurdwara on 13th Street South.
  11. "Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge". Tourism Golden. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008.
  12. Timber Framers Guild website
  13. "Canada's highest suspension bridge just opened in B.C." British Columbia. June 17, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  14. Staff, The Canadian Press (January 17, 2022). "Scientists study trajectory of meteorite that landed in Golden, B.C. last fall". Global News. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  15. "Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data". Environment Canada. 9 March 2013. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  16. "Daily Data Report for June 2021".
  17. "Hourly Data Report for June 30, 2021".
  18. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), British Columbia". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  19. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  20. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2021-10-27). "Census Profile, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  21. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-08-20). "2006 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  22. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-07-02). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  23. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-06-04). "Electronic Area Profiles Profile of Census Divisions and Subdivisions, 1996 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  24. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-03-29). "1991 Census Area Profiles Profile of Census Divisions and Subdivisions - Part B". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  25. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-03-29). "Data tables, 1991 Census Population by Ethnic Origin (24), Showing Single and Multiple Origins (2) - Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  26. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-06-27). "Data tables, 1986 Census Census Profile for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1986 Census - Part A". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  27. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-06-27). "Data tables, 1986 Census Census Profile for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1986 Census - Part B". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  28. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "Canada's aboriginal population by census subdivisions from the 1986 Census of Canada". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  29. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. "NHS Profile - Place name search results". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  30. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. "1991 Census of Canada: Census Area Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
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