List of tallest buildings in British Columbia

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British Columbia, the third-most populous province in Canada, is home to the second highest number of skyscrapers and high-rises in the country, after Ontario. The vast majority of buildings taller than 100 metres (328 ft) in British Columbia are in Greater Vancouver, the third largest metropolitan area in Canada, with the remainder in Kelowna. There are nine cities in British Columbia with at least one building exceeding 100 m (328 ft) in height: Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Surrey, and Kelowna. Of these, Vancouver and Burnaby make up over half of all buildings in the list. The tallest building in the province is Two Gilmore Place, a 215.8 m (708 ft), 67-storey residential skyscraper in Burnaby.

Vancouver's skyline from Granville Street Bridge in 2024
Brentwood, in Burnaby, is home to Two Gilmore Place, the tallest building in British Columbia
Skyscrapers surrounding King George station in Surrey City Centre

The Legislative Building in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, was the tallest building in the province when it was completed in 1897. As Vancouver subsequently overtook Victoria in population and economic importance, it would go on to have the majority of the tallest buildings in British Columbia during the 20th century. The first building in British Columbia to surpass 100 m (328 ft) in height was the Hotel Vancouver in 1939. High-rise development was slow before the mid-1960s. Notable office towers such as TD Tower and the Harbour Centre being added to Vancouver's skyline in the 1970s. Since the 1980s, Vancouver's urban planning has been highly influenced by the philosophy of Vancouverism, which encourages mixed-use development, narrow high-rise residential towers atop a commercial base, and reliance on public transit.[1][2] In 2009, the first skyscraper exceeding 150 m (492 ft) in height in British Columbia, Living Shangri-La, opened in Vancouver. This reflected a uptick in the height of new developments in Vancouver, which has since completed six more such skyscrapers.

The 21st century also seen an increasing number of residential high-rises being built throughout the city's metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver (also known as Metro Vancouver). Between 2000 and 2025, the number of buildings taller than 100 m (328 ft) in Greater Vancouver quintupled from 31 to 175. This surge in condominium towers has been especially notable in Burnaby. Burnaby has less stringest height restrictions than Vancouver, where municipal regulations forbid any building from exceeding 200 meters (677 ft) in height above mean sea level in order to preserve sight lines out toward the Pacific Ranges.[3] As a result, Burnaby has surpassed Vancouver in the number of skyscrapers taller than 150 m (492 ft). In 2024, Two Gilmore Place was completed in Burnaby, ending Vancouver's reign of having the tallest building in the province since 1910. A smaller high-rise boom has also taken place in Kelowna since the late 2010s, with the Okanagan Valley city having four buildings taller than 100 m (328 ft) by 2025.

In Greater Vancouver, the SkyTrain has encouraged transit-oriented development (TOD), with most high-rise developments occurring near a SkyTrain station.[4][5][6][7] This has led to the creation of many urban cores throughout Greater Vancouver, each with a distinct cluster of tall buildings. The most prominent clusters outside downtown Vancouver are Metrotown and Brentwood in Burnaby, Coquitlam Town Centre and Burquitlam in Coquitlam, and Surrey City Centre in Surrey. Other clusters include Edmonds and Lougheed in Burnaby, Suter Brook Village in Port Moody, Marine Drive in southern Vancouver, Lonsdale in North Vancouver, Downtown and Sapperton in New Westminster, central Richmond, West Vancouver, and the unincorporated area of University Endowment Lands.

History

Number of buildingsYear03060901201501801920194019601980200020202040Buildings taller than 100 m (328 ft)Buildings taller than 150 m (492 ft)Buildings taller than 200 m (656 ft)Growth of skyscrapers in Greater Vancouver
Number of buildings by height in Greater Vancouver by the end of each year, based on the information in this article. Click on the legend to toggle a specific height on or off. View chart definition.

Tallest buildings

This list ranks completed buildings in British Columbia that stand at least 100 m (328 ft) tall as of 2026, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The “Year” column indicates the year of completion. Buildings tied in height are sorted by year of completion with earlier buildings ranked first, and then alphabetically.

  Was the tallest building in British Columbia upon completion
More information Rank, Name ...
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Cities with the most skyscrapers

Every city in British Columbia with at least one building taller than 100 m (328 ft) is part of Greater Vancouver, with the exception of Kelowna.

More information City, 100 m (328 ft)+ ...
City 100 m (328 ft)+ 150 m (492 ft)+ 200 m (656 ft)+
Vancouver 72 7 1
Burnaby 57 17 1
Surrey 23 1
Coquitlam 14 4
New Westminster 7 1
Delta 1
Langley 1
North Vancouver 1
Greater Vancouver (total) 176 30 2
Kelowna 4
Greater Kelowna (total) 4
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Tallest demolished

This table lists buildings in British Columbia that were demolished or destroyed and at one time stood at least 100 metres (328 ft) in height.

More information Name, Image ...
Name Image Height
m (ft)
Floors Year completed Year demolished Notes
Empire Landmark Hotel 120.1 (394) 42 1973 2019 This building was the tallest free standing hotel in the city. This building was often referred to by its original name, the Sheraton Landmark. The hotel and its restaurant closed on September 30, 2017, and the building was demolished, floor by floor between March 2018 and May 2019.[233][234]
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Timeline of tallest buildings

This is a list of buildings that in the past held the title of tallest building in British Columbia.

More information Name, Image ...
Name Image City Years as tallest Height
m (ft)
Floors Reference
Legislative Building Victoria 1897–1910 44.2 (145) 5 [235]
Dominion Building Vancouver 1910–1912 53.3 (175) 14 [236]
Sun Tower Vancouver 1912–1914 84.1 (276) 17 [237]
Marine Building Vancouver 1930–1939 98 (322) 21 [238]
Hotel Vancouver Vancouver 1939–1972 111 (364) 17 [239]
TD Tower Vancouver 1972–1973 127.1 (417) 30 [104]
Royal Centre Vancouver 1973–1977 141.0 (462.6) 37 [240]
Harbour Centre Vancouver 1977–2001 147.0 (482.3) 28 [241]
One Wall Centre Vancouver 2001–2008 149.8 (491) 48 [242]
Living Shangri-La Vancouver 2008–2024 200.9 (659) 62 [11]
Two Gilmore Place Burnaby 2024–present 215.8 (708) 64 [243]
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Notes

  1. Sources do not state the exact height of this building. This figure was determined using Google Earth by subtracting the altitude of the building's lowest main pedestrian open-air entrance from its highest architectural point.

See also

References

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