The Sunshine Coast Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the southern mainland coast, across Georgia Strait (part of the Salish Sea) from Vancouver Island. It borders on the qathet Regional District to the north, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District to the east, and, across Howe Sound, the Metro Vancouver District to the south. The regional district offices are located in the District Municipality of Sechelt.

Geography

The majority of the Sunshine Coast is sparsely populated. The Coast Mountains make up the inland area. Population is concentrated along the coast. Midway up the coast, beginning at the town of Sechelt, the coastal area forms a peninsula separated from the inland area by Sechelt Inlet. The 2016 census reported a total population of 29,970 persons living on a land area of 3,778.17 km2 (1,458.76 sq mi). The Sunshine Coast is typically accessed via boat or plane; no roads connect the district with the rest of the province. From Vancouver, ferries run from Horseshoe Bay to Gibsons across Howe Sound. At the northern end of the peninsula, ferries run from Earl's Cove to Saltery Bay.

Communities

District municipality

Town

First Nations Government District

First Nations Reserve Lands

Unincorporated

Sources Statistic Canada Census. Area A revised from 2,678 (2016)

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Sunshine Coast Regional District had a population of 32,170 living in 14,935 of its 17,982 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 29,970. With a land area of 3767.43 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Provincial Parks