Squamish, British Columbia


Squamish is a community and a district municipality in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located at the north end of Howe Sound on the Sea to Sky Highway. The population of the Squamish census agglomeration, which includes First Nation reserves of the Squamish Nation although they are not governed by the municipality, is 24,232.
The Indigenous Squamish people have lived in the area for thousands of years. The town of Squamish had its beginning during the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway in the 1910s. It was the first southern terminus of that railway. The town remains important in the operations of the line and also the port. Forestry has traditionally been the main industry in the area, and the town's largest employer was the pulp mill operated by Western Forest Products. However, Western's operations in Squamish permanently ceased on January 26, 2006. Before the pulp mill, the town's largest employer had been International Forest Products with its sawmill and logging operation, but it closed a few years prior to the pulp mill's closing. In recent years, Squamish has become popular with Vancouver and Whistler residents escaping the increased cost of living in those places, both less than one hour away by highway. Tourism is increasingly important in the town's economy, with an emphasis on outdoor recreation.
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Squamish people

The Squamish people are an indigenous people whose homeland includes the present day area of Squamish, British Columbia. Oral stories and archaeological evidence show that they have lived there for thousands of years. The name Keh Kait was the traditional name for the site of downtown Squamish.

Activities

[Image:Chief RP(2).JPG|thumb|right|The Stawamus Chief]
[Image:Squamish valley.JPG|thumb|right|Squamish and the Squamish Valley from the summit of the Chief]
Squamish is known for mountain biking, hiking, climbing, kiteboarding, and more.
Attractions include the Stawamus Chief, a huge cliff-faced granite massif favoured by rock climbers. As well as over 300 climbing routes on the Chief proper, a majority of which require traditional climbing protection, there are steep hiking trails around the back to access the three peaks that make up the massif, all giving views of Howe Sound and the surrounding Coast Mountains. In all, between Shannon Falls, Murrin Park, The Malamute, and the Smoke Bluffs, there are over 1500 rock-climbing routes in the Squamish area. In recent years, Squamish has also become a major destination for bouldering, with over 2500 problems described in the local guidebook.
Kiteboarding and windsurfing are popular water sports in Squamish during the summer. Predictable wind on warm sunny days makes the Squamish Spit a top kiteboarding location in western Canada.
Squamish's extensive quality trail system is a key feature of an annual 50-mile ultramarathon, the Squamish 50. Solo runners and relay teams run on many of the same trails as the Test of Metal, and pass through Alice Lake Provincial Park and the campus of Capilano University. "The Double" is an award offered annually to the participant with the fastest combined time for both the Test of Metal and Squamish 50.
From 1974 to 1999, Squamish served as the terminus for the Royal Hudson steam excursion train. The train was pulled by the restored ex-Canadian Pacific No. 2860 and ran from North [Vancouver (city)|North Vancouver] on Howe Sound, until it reached Squamish. The train significantly boosted tourism in the region. Due to issues with No. 2860, back up locomotives were used to pull the train from 2000-2001, including No. 3716 and diesel locomotive No. 4069, until the train was phased out and no longer was running.
Other tourist attractions in Squamish include Shannon Falls waterfall; river-rafting on the Elaho and Squamish rivers; snowmobiling on nearby Brohm Ridge; and bald eagle viewing in the community of Brackendale, which has one of North America's largest populations of bald eagles. Squamish is also a popular destination among Greater Vancouver hikers, mountaineers and backcountry skiers, who visit the large provincial parks in the surrounding Coast Mountains.

Politics

The current mayor of Squamish is Armand Hurford, who won the 2022 election, after having served as a council member. Previous mayors have included Karen Elliot ; Patricia Heintzman ; Rob Kirkham ; Greg Gardner ; Ian Sutherland among others. Current council members are Lauren Greenlaw, Eric Andersen, John French, Andrew Hamilton, Chris Pettingill, and Jenna Stoner. The municipality is part of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.
On the provincial level, Squamish is in the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky electoral district. The current MLA is Jeremy Valeriote. He was elected in the 2024 provincial election after running and losing to Jordan Sturdy in the 2020 provincial election by 41 votes.
Federally, Squamish is a part of the West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country electoral district. It is represented by Patrick Weiler of the Liberal Party of Canada, who took office after the 2019 Canadian federal election.

Education

Squamish has five English language public elementary schools: Brackendale Elementary, Garibaldi Highlands Elementary, Mamquam Elementary, Squamish Elementary, and Valleycliffe Elementary. Under the Sea to Sky Learning Connections, the public schools district also manages Sea to Sky Online, Sea to Sky Alternative, Cultural Journeys, and Learning Expeditions. The Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates one Francophone primary school in that city: the école Les Aiglons. There are two public secondary schools – Howe Sound Secondary School and Don Ross Middle School – as well as the board office for School District 48 Howe Sound.
Squamish hosts three private schools:,, and for grades seven through 12. Coast Mountain Academy is located next to Capilano University's Squamish campus.
Capilano University offers post-secondary education through its Squamish campus, including diploma programs and university transfer courses. It bought the campus of Quest University, which opened in September 2007 and closed in April 2023, and was Canada's first private, non-profit, secular university.

Society and culture

Squamish is home to a variety of faiths. There are eleven churches and religious organizations, including several Christian denominations, as well as the Baháʼí Faith, and a Sikh temple.
The is located in the downtown area, on Second Avenue. It houses a collection of books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines. It has an art for loan collection and an online historical archive of various photographs, periodicals, and a library of things. Nearby museums include the Britannia Mine Museum and the West Coast Railway Association.
In 1998, Squamish was briefly the home of the world's first unionized McDonald's franchise, although the union was decertified by the summer of 1999.
From 2010 until 2016, the municipality hosted the Squamish Valley Music Festival. Usually taking place in August, the event has hosted artists such as Eminem, Bruno Mars, Macklemore, and Arcade Fire.

In media

Squamish has been a filming location for a number of media works and is a very popular place to film movies and TV shows. Examples include the films Free Willy 3: The Rescue, Insomnia, Before I Fall, Walking Tall, Chaos Theory, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, The 12 Disasters of Christmas, Star Trek Beyond, Woody Woodpecker, the television series Men in Trees, The Guard, A&E's U.S. adaptation of The Returned, the Hallmark Channel's Aurora Teagarden mysteries, Netflix's Lost in Space reboot and Netflix's Virgin River. Sneaky Sasquatch, an Apple Arcade game, is also based there.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Squamish had a population of 23,819 living in 9,191 of its 9,906 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 19,497. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Squamish included:

Climate

Squamish has an oceanic climate with warm summers and moderately cold winters. Squamish is one of the wettest inhabited locations in Canada, with over of rainfall per year, often falling in long stretches through the winter.

Industry

Carbon Engineering, a company focusing on the commercialization of direct air capture technology, is headquartered in Squamish.
A $5.1 billion electric liquefied natural gas export facility is being built in the area.

Transit

Public transportation is provided by the Squamish Transit System; this service is free over the summer to students at school age.
Regional flights are operated from Squamish Airport (YSE) with daily bus service to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) provided by YVR Skylynx for international departures.

Neighbourhoods

Neighbourhoods of Squamish include:

Nearby localities

Notable people

Sister cities

Squamish has a sister city arrangement with the following city: