Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024,
History
The Coast Salish people were the first to live in this area, and archaeology confirms continuous occupation of the territory for at least 9,000 years. The name Kwikwetlem is said to be derived from a Coast Salish term "kʷikʷəƛ̓əm" meaning "red fish up the river".
Explorer Simon Fraser came through the region in 1808, and in the 1860s Europeans gradually started settling the area. Coquitlam began as a "place-in-between" with the construction of North Road in the mid-19th century to provide Royal Engineers in New Westminster access to the year-round port facilities in Port Moody.
The young municipality got its first boost in 1889 when Frank Ross and James McLaren opened what would become Fraser Mills, a $350,000, then state-of-the-art lumber mill on the north bank of the Fraser River. The Corporation of the District of Coquitlam was incorporated in 1891. In the late 1900s, a mill manager's residence was built that would later become Place des Arts. At the same time, Sikh immigrants also constructed a gurdwara.
Over the next two years, several contingents of French Canadian mill workers arrived from Quebec, and Maillardville was born. Named for Father Edmond Maillard, a young Oblate from France, it became the largest Francophone centre west of Manitoba. Maillardville's past is recognized today in street names, the Francophone education system and French immersion programs, French-language Girl Guides and scouts, and celebrations such as Festival du Bois.
Following World War II, Coquitlam and the rest of the Lower Mainland experienced substantial population growth that continues today. The opening of Lougheed Highway in 1953 made the city more accessible and set the stage for residential growth. In 1971, Coquitlam and Fraser Mills were amalgamated, which gave the city a larger industrial base. The mill closed in 2001, and is now currently the subject of a proposed waterfront community.
Geography
Coquitlam is situated some east of Vancouver, where the Coquitlam River connects with the Fraser River and extends northeast along the Pitt River toward the Coquitlam and Pitt lakes. Coquitlam borders Burnaby and Port Moody to the west, New Westminster to the southwest, and Port Coquitlam to the southeast. Burke Mountain, Eagle Ridge, and tall Coquitlam Mountain form the northern boundary of the city. Coquitlam's area, , is about six times larger than either Port Moody or Port Coquitlam.
Coquitlam is in the Pacific Time Zone (winter UTC−8, summer UTC−7), and the Pacific Maritime Ecozone.
Neighbourhoods
thumb|right|[[Coquitlam City Hall]]
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Coquitlam's geographic shape can be thought of as a tilted hourglass, with two larger parcels of land with a smaller central section connecting them.
Southwest Coquitlam comprises the original core of the city, with Maillardville and Fraser River industrial sector giving way to the large, elevated, flat-plateaued residential areas of Austin Heights. These older residences, with larger property dimensions, are increasingly being torn down and replaced with newer and larger homes. The Poirier Street area was the city's original recreational centre with the Coquitlam Sports Centre, Chimo Aquatic and Fitness Centre, and sports fields located there, while City Hall was previously located further south in Maillardville.
The Austin Heights area contains Como Lake, a renowned urban fishing and recreation area, and headwaters for the Como watershed. The watershed represents one of the last urban watersheds in the Tri-Cities that supports wild stocks of coho salmon as well as other species at risk such as coastal cutthroat trout (both sea-run and resident) and bird species such as the great blue heron and green heron. It also contains Mundy Park, one of the largest urban parks in the Metro Vancouver area.
thumb|[[Lafarge Lake at Coquitlam Town Centre]]
In 1984, the provincial government sold formerly attached to Riverview Hospital to Molnar Developments. Shortly afterward, this land was subdivided and became Riverview Heights, with about 250 single-family homes. The remaining of this still-active mental health facility has been the subject of much controversy amongst developers, environmentalists, and conservationists. In 2005, the city's task force on the hospital lands rejected the idea of further housing on the lands and declared that the lands and buildings should be protected and remain as a mental health facility. In May 2021, the Government of British Columbia announced that the Riverview lands had been renamed səmiq̓wəʔelə (pronounced suh-MEE-kwuh-EL-uh), meaning "The Place of the Great Blue Heron". The kʷikʷəƛ̓əm Nation and BC Housing are working on a long-term master plan for development of the site.
Coquitlam Town Centre, was designated as a "Regional Town Centre" under the Metro Vancouver's Livable Region Strategic Plan. The concept of a town centre for the area dates back to 1975, and is intended to have a high concentration of high-density housing, offices, cultural, entertainment and education facilities to serve major growth areas of the region, served by rapid transit service.
With development on Westwood Plateau completed and the opening of the David Avenue Connector in 2006, Coquitlam's primary urban development has now shifted to Burke Mountain in the northeastern portion of the city.
With new development of the Evergreen Extension of the Millennium Line of the SkyTrain rapid transit system which began operation in December 2016, Coquitlam's urban development area has again shifted to Burquitlam and secondly Burke Mountain. The Burke Mountain area plan is now divided into 4 new neighbourhood plans: Lower Hyde Creek Neighbourhood, Upper Hyde Creek Neighbourhood, Partington Creek, and Smiling Creek.
thumb|right|[[Westwood Plateau, with Burke Mountain behind it and Golden Ears Provincial Park in the distance]]
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|+Coquitlam land use (2001)