Tri-Cities (British Columbia)

The Tri-Cities are an informal grouping of the three adjacent suburban cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody, along with the two villages of Anmore and Belcarra in the north-east sector of Metro Vancouver in British Columbia. Combined, these five communities have a 2016 population of 234,300 residents:

Municipality	Type	Population
Anmore	village	2,210
Belcarra	village	643
Coquitlam	city	139,284
Port Coquitlam	city	58,612
Port Moody	city	33,551

The Tri-Cities within the GVRD.

Demographics

Ethnic groups in the Tri-Cities (2016) Source:		Population	%
Ethnic group	European	128,835	55.5%
	East Asian	54,875	23.6%
	Middle Eastern	12,275	5.3%
	Southeast Asian	11,265	4.9%
	South Asian	9,810	4.2%
	Aboriginal	7,515	3.2%
	Latin American	3,690	1.6%
	Black	2,720	1.2%
	Other	4,165	1.8%
Total population		234,300	100%

Other terms

When referring to schools, residents commonly refer to the Tri-Cities as "District 43," after the public school district that serves this area.

Media

The Tri-Cities area has access to a wide variety of media available in the Lower Mainland. After Glacier Community Media merged several community newspapers, only one remains: the Tri-City News.

CKPM-FM in Port Moody became the first radio station dedicated to the Tri-Cities area when it took to the air in 2011.

Transportation

Roads

For motorists, the Trans-Canada Highway provides freeway access to Burnaby, Vancouver, Surrey, and other municipalities in the Lower Mainland. Lougheed Highway is an alternative route to the Trans-Canada, entering Coquitlam through Maillardville, past the Riverview Hospital area, up to Coquitlam Centre where it turns sharply east to Port Coquitlam and then into Pitt Meadows via the Pitt River Bridge. Barnet Highway begins at the Coquitlam Centre area and heads directly west through Port Moody and on to Burnaby and downtown Vancouver.

Public transit

Bus service in the Tri-Cities is provided by TransLink. The West Coast Express, which runs from Downtown Vancouver to Mission stops at Port Coquitlam Station, Coquitlam Central Station and Port Moody Station.

SkyTrain currently serves the area, since the completion of the Evergreen Extension on December 2, 2016. The line serves Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby, and passes through the southwestern part of Coquitlam into Port Moody and central Coquitlam, where it terminates at Lafarge Lake–Douglas station.

Business

Businesses in the Tri-City area are represented by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce.

References