Gibsons
Gibsons is a coastal community of 4,758 in southwestern British Columbia, Canada on the Sunshine Coast, along the Strait of Georgia.
Gibsons | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Town of Gibsons | |
Gibsons Harbour | |
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Flag | |
Gibsons Location of Gibsons in British Columbia | |
| Coordinates: 49°24′4″N 123°30′27″W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Region | Sunshine Coast |
| Regional district | Sunshine Coast |
| Founded | 1886 |
| Incorporated | 1929 |
| Government | |
| • Governing body | Gibsons Town Council |
| • Mayor | Silas White |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.32 km2 (1.67 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 4,758 |
| • Density | 1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| Postal code | V0N 1V0 & V0N 3V0 |
| Area code(s) | 604, 778 |
| Gibsons Way / Highway 101 | 101 |
| Waterways | Howe Sound |
| Website | www |
During its early history as a European-descended settlement, the town was a local centre for forestry and commercial fishing. However, changing economics and resource availability have led Gibsons to increasingly become a bedroom community to workers in Greater Vancouver (especially remote or hybrid workers). Due to its location in the Pacific Coastal Rainforest, adjacent the Salish Sea and the Coast Mountains, and its position as gateway to the rest of the Sunshine Coast, Gibsons is a regional tourist destination.
In 2009, the International Awards for Liveable Communities (LivCom) named Gibsons the most liveable community in the world with a population under 20,000.
Gibsons is perhaps best known in Canada as the setting of the popular and long-running CBC Television series The Beachcombers, which aired from 1972 to 1990. The storefront "Molly's Reach" (a former cafe now up for lease as of 2023), the restored tug Persephone, and a display about the series at the Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives are popular attractions. Other films that have used Gibsons as a location include Charlie St. Cloud (2010), starring Kim Basinger and Zac Efron (as a stand-in for Marblehead, Massachusetts); and Needful Things (1993), starring Max von Sydow and Ed Harris.
Gibsons, like the remainder of the Sunshine Coast, is inaccessible by road directly from the rest of the lower mainland, and is primarily accessed by a BC Ferries ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.