| Cariboo | |
| Official Name: | Cariboo Regional District |
| Settlement Type: | Regional district |
| Image Blank Emblem: | Cariboo_BC_logo.png |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Logo |
| Image Map1: | CAN BC Cariboo Regional District locator.svg |
| Map Caption1: | Location in British Columbia |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | British Columbia |
| Governing Body: | Board of directors |
| Leader Title: | Chair – Margo Wagner |
| Leader Title1: | Vice chair – John Massier |
| Leader Title2: | Electoral areas / municipalities |
| Seat Type: | Administrative office location |
| Seat: | Williams Lake |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 80609.75 |
| Population As Of: | 2016 |
| Population Total: | 61988 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
The Cariboo Regional District spans the Cities and Districts of Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, and Wells in the Central Interior of British Columbia.
The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) in the Central Interior of BC encompasses 80,252 square kilometers of land.[2] The Cariboo and Coastal mountain ranges hug the CRD on its west and east side boundaries. The region straddles Highway 97 from 70 Mile House in the south to 5 km south of Hixon in the north. It belongs to the PDT/PST time zones.[3]
The Cariboo Regional District provides region-wide library services, recreational facilities, and local fire protection.
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Cariboo Regional District had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 80373.79km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[4]
| 2021[5] | 2016[6] | 2011[7] | 2006[8] | 2001[9] | 1996[10] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European | 48,375 | 48,120 | 48,945 | 50,355 | 54,390 | 56,920 | |||||||
| Indigenous | 11,160 | 10,465 | 10,775 | 9,090 | 7,865 | 5,895 | |||||||
| South Asian | 890 | 1,045 | 940 | 1,395 | 1,870 | 2,375 | |||||||
| Southeast Asian | 625 | 380 | 170 | 235 | 190 | 175 | |||||||
| East Asian | 495 | 560 | 740 | 495 | 540 | 545 | |||||||
| African | 210 | 165 | 75 | 110 | 200 | 220 | |||||||
| Latin American | 160 | 80 | 60 | 25 | 100 | 45 | |||||||
| Middle Eastern | 50 | 20 | 0 | 35 | 10 | 0 | |||||||
| Other | 210 | 170 | 30 | 45 | 40 | 35 | |||||||
| Total responses | 62,180 | 61,000 | 61,765 | 61,790 | 65,210 | 66,225 | |||||||
| Total population | 62,931 | 61,988 | 62,392 | 62,190 | 65,659 | 66,475 | |||||||
| 2021 | 2011 | 2001 | 1991[11] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | 20,930 | 27,935 | 36,895 | 37,340 | ||||
| Sikh | 645 | 745 | 1,560 | 2,155 | ||||
| Indigenous spirituality | 480 | 460 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||
| Hindu | 135 | 60 | 110 | 145 | ||||
| Buddhist | 125 | 100 | 135 | 25 | ||||
| Muslim | 65 | 15 | 65 | 15 | ||||
| Jewish | 40 | 0 | 10 | 35 | ||||
| Other religion | 680 | 525 | 420 | 405 | ||||
| Irreligious | 39,080 | 31,915 | 26,020 | 20,700 | ||||
| Total responses | 62,180 | 61,765 | 65,205 | 60,820 | ||||
Twelve electoral area directors and four municipal directors govern the affairs of the Cariboo Regional District. The electoral area directors are elected by area voters, and municipal directors are appointed by their municipal council. All directors serve for a four-year term.
Regional District Electoral Areas are A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K and L.
Electoral areas have no administrative or governmental significance; they are used only to elect rural representatives to regional district boards.
The Cariboo District and 100 Mile House are featured prominently in Al Purdy's poem "The Cariboo Horses" to examine the tradition of equinity against human civilization.[12]