Since 2012, the majority of our work has been transcribing the minutes of earliest Vancouver City Council minutes. We have completed more than 5,500 pages from the first City Council meeting in May of 1886, and are currently working on minutes from mid-1898.
You can explore Vancouver City Council minutes by year: 1886 | 1887 | 1888 | 1889 | 1890 | 1891 | 1892 | 1893 | 1894 | 1895 | 1896 | 1897 | 1898 | 1900
or use the search function at the top of this page to search by topic; e.g., street railways, water works, police reports, etc.
We’ve also transcribed some significant by-laws, mayors and council for each year, a few committee minutes and decisions, and traced out some maps of the Ward System that Vancouver used for its first forty-five years (until 1931).
Finally, we have found a few personal documents written by early Vancouver residents, where they share their personal opinions about the events covered in the minutes.