Profile of Vancouver, British Columbia INTRODUCTION This research provides a pr

Vancouver is situated on a peninsula which is defined by the Strait of Georgia, English Bay, Burard Inlet, and the North Arm of the Fraser River. The area is sheltered from the open sea by Vancouver Island to the west. The city's excellent harbour is located on Burard Inlet.

The Greater Vancouver metropolitan area encompasses most of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. This area stretches from the communities along the North Shore of Burard Inlet to the American border in the south, and eastward to Pitt Meadows. The mild climate of the Lower Mainland facilitates the conduct of industrial, service, and agricultural activities.

The Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) of Vancouver had a population approximating 1.4 million at the 1986 census.1 The

1J. Paxton, (ed.), The Statesman's YearBook, 126th ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989), 272.

incorporated City of Vancouver had a population of somewhat over 431 thousand at the 1986 census.

Both the Lower Mainland generally and the City of Vancouver specifically are ethnically diverse, although the strength of the diversity is greater in the city than it is in the metropolitan area.

Ethnically, one tends to perceive Canada in an Anglo/ French context. This perception, however, is not

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lignment. Others believe that the rise in the number of citizens who refer to themselves politically as independent need not in itself necessarily be an indication of a decline in party alignment. Still others reject the validity of the argument that deteriorations in voter participation in Canada is necessarily an indicator of a significant decline in 5support among the Canadian general public for political parties in general. Dealignment and realignment are two of the crucial con cepts involved in the party support decline debate. It is essential, therefore, to define these two terms. Dealignment is defined as a weakening of partisan attachment to political parties.2 Most analysts apply this definition to a weakening of partisan attachment to what are described as "the major political parties."3 In Canada, the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives (or the predecessor parties) are the only two parties which have formed a national government.4 For the past quarter of a century, however, the New Democrats have been a significant presence in Canadian politics. During this entire period, however, their parliamentary representation has not exceeded 20 percent.5 New Democrat strength is concentrated in just
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Progressive Conservative, Canada POLITICAL, British Columbia, Politics July, Enterprise Institute, City Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Canada United, Progressive Conservatives, Progressive Conservatives, british columbia, city vancouver, lower mainland, party identification, party support, voter participation, british columbia vancouver, vancouver metropolitan, party realignment, political parties, burard inlet, britain united comparative, partisan change dealignment, change dealignment canada, canada britain united,
Approximate Word count = 2061
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)