Qayqayt First Nation
UFCW 1518 acknowledges that our New Westminster office is located on traditional Indigenous territory belonging to the Coast Salish peoples, in particular the Qayqayt First Nation.

New Westminster, city, southwestern British Columbia, Canada, on the Fraser River estuary, in the southeastern part of Vancouver metropolitan area. Founded in 1859 on a site chosen by Colonel Richard C. Moody, it was called Queensborough until renamed at the suggestion of Queen Victoria.

1898
On September 10, 1898 a fire broke out on a wharf along New Westminster’s waterfront and when it was done raging through town, over $2.5 million in damage was done.

New Westminster is the former capital of British Columbia and famous for its heritage buildings, waterfront area, various festivals and Queens Park. The city is located on the north bank of the Fraser River. Columbia Street is also a popular commercial area with stores and older heritage buildings.

As one of the three career staffed fire halls in the City, it has suppression fire fighters on duty 24 hours a day.

New Westminster
It was the British Columbia Mainland’s largest city from that year until it was passed in population by Vancouver during the first decade of the 20th century….

Queen Victoria
Governor James Douglas established New Westminster in 1859 as the capital of British Columbia. The Royal Engineers surveyed the city and Queen Victoria named it. As a result, New Westminster’s nickname is “The Royal City.” New Westminster is western Canada’s oldest city.

New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District.

What is the current air quality in New Westminster?

Ninety-five percent of British Columbia, including Vancouver, is on unceded traditional First Nations territory. Unceded means that First Nations people never ceded or legally signed away their lands to the Crown or to Canada.

The Qayqayt First Nation
The Qayqayt First Nation is one of the smallest First Nations in Canada and the only one registered without a land base.

British Columbia’s largest and smallest towns are Comox and Port McNeill with populations of 13,627 and 2,505 respectively.

In 1863 the New Westminster Fire Department (Hyack Company No. 1) was comprised of 58 members, 5 boys and 5 Honorary members. In the year 1862 the Hyack Brigade afforded fire protection to a City of approximately 150 buildings with a total population of 1800 people.

One of the most disastrous fires in the early history of New Westminster occurred in June 1864 at the Camp (Sapperton). It was caused from a forest fire which raged through dry timber and slashings and spread quickly, consuming the theatre and three Sapperton residences.

The Fire King was delivered from San Francisco through Victoria and accompanied across the gulf, to New Westminster, by 28 members of the Victoria Fire Department.

The city of Westminster as a whole has also evolved from its roots as a small farming community on the outskirts of Denver to the city it has become today. Westminster is now a vibrant, dynamic, and affluent city of approximately 114,000 citizens and 45,446 households.