Vancouver news: growth of the Black diaspora and the search for community, the Whitecaps returning home for the new season, and a shift in Canadians’ travel preferences as they travel to the U.S. less often.
Vancouver’s growing Black diaspora seeks connection points
Despite the common misconception that the Vancouver metro area has virtually no Black population, this community not only exists but is growing rapidly, actively seeking new ways to come together and create its own cultural space. This is a story of overcoming historical isolation, searching for identity, and attempts to build community in a city where an entire Black neighbourhood was once erased.
According to Statistics Canada data, the Black population of the Vancouver metropolitan area grew by 38% between 2016 and 2021, from 29,830 to 41,180 people. Across British Columbia, growth was 42% — to 61,760 people, about 1.3% of the province’s total population. As Vicki Birungi Namuyomba, who moved from Uganda eight years ago, notes in a CBC News piece, the situation is changing: “You used to feel like a lone wolf walking around Vancouver. Now I feel a shift.” UBC student Gankal Ka, who arrived from Senegal in 2021, confirms: she used to be the only Black student in a lecture hall, and now she sees many more people she can connect with.
However, a larger population does not automatically resolve the issue of fragmentation. Handel Kashop Wright, director of the Centre for Culture, Identity and Education at UBC, points to several reasons: the relatively small number of Black residents, their geographic dispersion across the region, and the lack of so-called “ethnoburbs” — neighbourhoods with a high concentration of a particular ethnic group where people might meet serendipitously. A key historical trauma was the destruction of Hogan’s Alley — Vancouver’s Black neighbourhood that existed from the early to mid-20th century. This three-block area in Strathcona was home to a vibrant community, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church and many Black-owned businesses, such as the legendary Vie’s Chicken and Steak House. By the 1970s the community was displaced and buildings were demolished to make way for the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts. As Jaqa Ble, executive director of the Hogan’s Alley Society, explains, that destruction had long-term consequences, leading to the isolated experience of many Black Vancouverites who grew up being the only one in a class, school, or workplace and who faced racism alone. Wright adds that Hogan’s Alley could have become a hub from which “Blackness” could grow and thrive, and its erasure sent a message that Black people were not particularly welcome there. In 2022 the city approved transferring the historic neighbourhood’s land into a community land trust to the Hogan’s Alley Society for mixed-use development including housing, infrastructure, and a cultural centre, but specific timelines for implementation have not yet been set.
While the prospect of a revived community centre remains future work, Black residents of the metropolis are finding other ways to connect. One such place is the African Immigrant Integration Centre in New Westminster, founded more than 20 years ago by Paul Mulangu. The centre runs job fairs, tax clinics, events for seniors and youth, and Black History Month celebrations. Mulangu notes that because Black communities are often family-oriented, in-person meetings at the centre help forge connections for finding work and housing. However, sustained funding for such programs remains a challenge. The Black Bloc Association faces similar difficulties; for four years it has hosted the annual summer Black Bloc Party at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The event, featuring musical guests, local entrepreneurs, and food courts, strives to be free and accessible, but organizing it costs about $60,000, necessitating sponsor support. Ayobami Suara, the association’s operations lead, says the hard work is worth it to bring people together, but success depends on people showing up and supporting the event.
Another potential hub is Surrey, home to a significant portion of the metro area’s Black population. There, Ekaose Nwadiani runs the restaurant VanSuya, which has become a cultural centre. The restaurant hosts karaoke nights, fundraisers, independence day celebrations for various African countries, and Caribbean-themed evenings. However, licensing restrictions and the venue’s small capacity limit the number of large events outside regular hours to roughly six per year. Nwadiani hopes to secure an extended licence from the city to provide a safe space where Black people can relax and socialize. As Suara says, the ultimate goal is to create a permanent, long-term hub — a place to gather on multiple levels — recreational, creative, and professional — to do things that haven’t been done in the city before. This aspiration reflects the broader desire of a growing but still dispersed community to overcome the legacy of isolation and build a visible, sustainable future in the region.
Homecoming: Vancouver Whitecaps open the 2026 season at BC Place
Major League Soccer club the Vancouver Whitecaps are returning to their home stadium, BC Place, to kick off the new MLS season. It’s a long-awaited event for fans who will once again be able to support their team at the home arena. The season opener promises to be lively: in the first match the Whitecaps will host Real Salt Lake, a test of Vancouver’s ambitions after coming close to a title last year.
The Whitecaps’ 2026 season begins with a home match against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, according to CityNews Vancouver. The match itself starts at 4:30 p.m., but fan festivities are scheduled from 3:00 p.m., creating a special return atmosphere. The team enters the season as a clear leader among Canadian MLS clubs. Last year the Whitecaps had an outstanding run to the MLS Cup final, where they lost to Inter Miami. While other Canadian teams — Toronto and Montréal — finished the previous season near the bottom of the table, Vancouver aims this time to take the final step and win the championship. A key factor could be roster stability: the core of the team that performed well in 2025 has been retained. Special hopes are pinned on German star Thomas Müller. The striker, a Bayern legend, joined the Whitecaps only last August but showed high class, scoring nine goals and providing four assists in 13 matches across all competitions. Now, fully settled in Vancouver and having gone through a full preseason with the team, more is expected from Müller. His experience and scoring ability could be decisive in the trophy chase. Thus, the return to BC Place is not just the first match of the season but a symbolic start to a new campaign in which the Whitecaps intend to confirm their high status and finally achieve their primary goal.
Canada turns outward: why residents are visiting the U.S. less often
New data from Statistics Canada paint an intriguing picture of changing travel preferences among Canadians. While the world is again drawing them abroad, the traditional short-trip destination — the United States — is losing its former appeal. This is not merely a seasonal dip but a sustained trend that may reflect deeper economic and social shifts.
According to a report published on CityNews Vancouver, in December the number of Canadians’ return trips to the U.S. fell by a full 25% year over year. This is a sharp contrast to the overall growth in international mobility. At the same time, trips by Canadians to overseas countries (that is, beyond North America) rose by 12.9%, and arrivals of tourists from those overseas countries to Canada increased by 14.1%. So Canadians are not staying home — they’re actively exploring the world, just choosing different destinations.
Interestingly, Americans also visited their northern neighbours less often. Their trips to Canada decreased by 7.5%, equivalent to 1.6 million fewer person-trips. The decline was especially noticeable in British Columbia. Statistics Canada attributes this in part to a “base effect”: in December 2024 Vancouver hosted three sold-out final shows of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, which produced an anomalous tourism boom then. Compared with that unusually high level, current figures look more modest.
Looking at modes of travel, statisticians note a 7.5% decrease in arrivals to Canada by car, with more than half of those trips being day trips. Air travel also dipped slightly (by 4.6%). However, the geography of Canadians’ long-haul travel has noticeably expanded: there were more trips from Europe (+8.7%), Asia (+15.9%) and other American countries excluding the U.S. (+19.7%). As for foreign visitors to Canada, the top three source countries were the United Kingdom (59,600 people), France (52,700) and Mexico (47,200), which together accounted for 31.3% of all overseas tourist arrivals.
These figures may indicate several important trends. First, the waning draw of the U.S. could be linked to economic factors such as the Canadian dollar’s exchange rate, cost of living, and fuel prices for car travel. Second, after a period of restrictions people may be seeking a more “authentic” and distant travel experience rather than short shopping trips across the border. And finally, the growth in visitors from Europe and Asia points to Canada’s successful efforts to attract tourists from farther afield and to the growing global recognition of its cities and attractions. The map of Canadian tourism is becoming more diverse and global, pushing traditional cross-border travel to the background.
