fortune smiles on you

In 2005 Victoria was designated the Cultural Capital of Canada by the Government of Canada. The cultural mosaic is represented by a large Asian community, German, Italian, Russian and Japanese communities and more than 4o aboriginal cultural groups in British Columbia. Cuisine, architecture, languages and art all thrive.  For example Chinese and Punjabi are the most commonly spoken languages after English. The diverse culture is also represented by multicultural day that is sponsored by the University of Victoria. There are many other ways that Victoria supports cultural diversity, for example “the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA) helps individuals and organizations to connect across cultures. We provide information, support and tools to help immigrants reach their goals. By engaging people through networks, education and arts programming we create a welcoming community.” The ICA creates many events to help build cultural connections. Their largest event is called Luminara, “The essence of the Luminara tradition – gathering and sharing the light from all parts of the world to illuminate the commonality and diversity among cultures – continues to guide and inspire our approach to creative community celebration.” Another organization is known as The Victoria Native Friendship Centre which has been around for 40 years. It serves approximately 15 000 Aboriginals and their goal is to provide a better understanding between First Nations people and non-aboriginal people. 

Victoria’s climate is the mildest in Canada since the Pacific Ocean keeps a constant temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, but mountainous topography and latitude are also factors that affect the climate. The average daily high and low temperatures are 8 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees Celsius in the winter, and 22 degrees Celsius and 11 degrees Celsius in the summer. The total annual precipitation is 608mm making Victoria the driest major city in the summertime. Temperatures are warmer than other areas in Canada at the same latitude with more diverse weather and practically snow free winters. While the British Columbia Coast Mountains and islands tend to have heavy rainfall, the surrounding mountains help to protect Victoria causing it to have the lowest rainfall in the West Coast with lots of sunshine. Lots of sun, rain, winds and clouds can be experienced in one morning which is where the saying “if you don’t like the weather, wait half an hour – it’ll change” comes from. This is the only city in Canada where are no recordings of the temperature dropping below freezing during the winter, and it is known as a “Sub – Mediterranean” climate.