British Columbia, or simply B.C. (French: la Colombie-Britannique) is the westernmost of Canada's provinces. It was the sixth province to join the confederation of Canada in 1871. As of 2004, the population was 4,168,123 (British Columbians). British Columbia started as two British colonies, New Caledonia (created in 1846) and Vancouver's Island (created in 1849). New Caledonia was renamed British Columbia in 1858. After the sparsely populated Caledonia almost went bankrupt from building roads in the interior of the provinces, the two colonies agreed to merge and share the debt. The merger took place in 1866, and the name British Columbia was adopted for the newly created political region.

Its capital is Victoria, at the south-east of Vancouver Island. Its most populous city is Vancouver, which is in the south-west corner of the mainland of Canada (the city is not on Vancouver Island). Other major cities include Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). The Canadian Rockies and the Inland Passage's fjords provide some of British Columbia's renowned and spectacular scenery, which forms the backdrop and context for a growing outdoor adventure and ecotourism industry.