Ten fun facts about Victoria

Fact 1
In July 2013, Victoria received the most sunshine ever recorded in any month in British Columbia history with 432.8 hours of sunshine.

Fact 2
With British settlement in 1843, Victoria is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest.

Fact 3
In 2009 the city was nicknamed the 'Cycling Capital of Canada' because of the large amounts of bicycle paths, lanes and routes.

Fact 4
Victoria is home to the once Victoria Cougars, who won the Stanley Cup in 1925 and then relocated to Detroit and are better known as the Detroit Red Wings.

Fact 5
In 2008 a program was developed and introduced in Victoria for anti-homelessness offering a community for the homeless to inhabit, but as of 2013, no residents have actually lived there yet.

Fact 6
Vancouver Island, where Victoria is located, was voted top island in the continental U.S. and Canada and one of the top ten islands in the world by Travel+Lesiure World.

Fact 7
Because of the rain shadow effect of the Olympic Mountains, Victoria is the driest location on the British Columbia coast and has some of the driest summers in Canada.

Fact 8
When gold was discovered in the mainland in 1858, Victoria became the port for miners, changing the population from 300 to 5,000 in days.

Fact 9
The city received it's name, originally Fort Victoria, in 1846 after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Fact 10
Since the city takes pride in its many flowers, every February an annual flower count takes place. A record high of 21 billion blooms occurred in 2010. That was enough to give a bouquet of 650 to every man, woman and child in Canada.