Year in Review: Biggest Vancouver news stories of 2016

Sun setting in Vancouver/Shutterstock

Thank god that’s over with.

2016 was a big year for bad news with celebrity deaths, political shocks, and a certain American President-elect dominating the headlines.

It was also a big year in Vancouver where everything from pipeline protests to Prince William caught readers’ attention over the past 12 months.

So as we get ready to say adieu to another year, we’ve compiled a list of the biggest Vancouver news stories – a trip down memory lane before we head into 2017.

Real Estate

Image: @ldgarbs/Instagram

Right, let’s get this one out of the way with shall we? Yes it wouldn’t be a year in Vancouver without the prerequisite barrage of real estate stories. From soaring prices to shadow-flipping, via people living in their trucks and foreign buyers taxes, it’s been another big year for real estate news in BC.

Squamish Music Festival cancelled

Image: Squamish Festival

Music fans were left disappointed this summer as the annual Squamish Festival was cancelled at the last moment. The event, which was one of Canada’s largest music festivals, attracted more than 120,000 revellers in 2015 and its absence left a gaping hole in the region’s live music scene.

Squamish Music Festival cancelled

Pipeline protests

A protest against the Kinder Morgan pipeline in downtown Vancouver (Image: Byron Sobe)

The environment has been at the heart of some of 2016’s biggest headlines with the controversial Kinder Morgan pipeline front and centre in many of the city’s biggest debates. After much wrangling, Justin Trudeau confirmed that he had green-lit the controversial project in early December, which led thousands of Vancouverites to take to the streets in protest.

Royal visit

Kate and Prince William leaving Sheway, a Downtown Eastside charity which helps mothers battling addiction (Lindsay Barker/Daily Hive)

Kate and Prince William leaving Sheway, a Downtown Eastside charity which helps mothers battling addiction (Image: Lindsay Barker/Daily Hive)

Protestors weren’t the only ones taking to the streets in 2016 as thousands of Vancouverites flocked to get a glimpse of the Royals as they visited Canada for the first time since 2011. This was Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s first visit to Vancouver as a married couple, and this time they even brought their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, along for the ride.

Snowmageddon

@antong_hrv/Instagram

The wintery weather made headlines across the city this December as Mother Nature dumped mounds of the white stuff on Vancouver. The snow was great news for the local mountains but less welcome in the city causing transit chaos, cancelled classes, and controversy over the appropriate use of an umbrella.

Fentanyl crisis

Image: Drugs/Shutterstock

One of the most persistently tragic stories of 2016 has centred on our city’s overdose crisis. Vancouver has been in the grip of an opioid epidemic with overdose deaths caused by fentanyl an almost daily occurrence. In fact fentanyl-related deaths are up more than 211% compared to 2015 and the situation has grown so dire that it’s been declared a public health emergency and a new tax has been implemented to help tackle the fallout.

Pot

Cannabis/Shutterstock

From 420 to legalization, via the continued battle on legislating Vancouver’s ever growing array of pot shops, Mary Jane has been a mainstay of the media in 2016.

Prime Ministerial pride

There was a lot for Vancouver to feel proud about during this year’s Pride festival. It felt like the whole city was out in force at the annual event but most eyes were focussed on one man as Justin Trudeau became the first sitting Prime Minister to march in the Vancouver Pride Parade. “It’s a time where the whole city and families and communities come out. We celebrate the great diversity that is such a strength of our country. We celebrate community, we celebrate family, and all these things together means that we’re going to have a great Pride, and it’s a pleasure for me to be here,” Trudeau said before the parade started.

BC Storm

Image: NOAA / NASA

Snow flurries weren’t the only weather news to hit the headlines over the past 12 months. In October, Vancouver also battened down its hatches as a big wind storm approached the BC coast. The storm, which was fuelled by the remnants of Typhoon Songda, took a late turn saving the city from the worst of the windspeeds. However the storm still caused its fair share of chaos and tragically caused the death of a student on their way home from school in Surrey.

Pokemon GO

Image: A group of gamers gather to play Pokémon Go at Metrotown

People took to the streets in protest in 2016, but they also took to the streets in search of Psyducks, Snorlaxes and Squirtles. Yes, we are of course talking about Pokemon GO, the fad which gripped Vancouver, and the world, by the pokeballs for much of this summer.

Racist parking video in Abbotsford

Image: YouTube screenshot

This video went viral after it showed a racist assault after a parking altercation in Abbotsford. The footage caused shock among readers who flooded the comments section to condemn the individual who was later arrested by the authorities.

Tsawwassen Mills congestion

Image: Drive BC

The much-anticipated opening of the new 1.2 million square foot Tsawwassen Mills outlet shopping mall was greeted with enthusiasm by shoppers, 284,000 of which passed through its doors during the opening week. However shoppers got more than they bargained for as traffic congestion led to huge delays in the region with some shoppers taking more than four hours just to get out of the parking lot.