19th century
- 1808 – Simon Fraser becomes the first European to reach the area overland, descending the river which bears his name.
- 1818 – Treaty of 1818.
- 1827: HBC Fort Langley established east of present-day Vancouver. Contact and trade began accelerating significantly, primarily with the Fraser River Salish.
- 1846 – The Oregon Treaty permanently established the 49th parallel as the boundary between the United States and British North America to the Pacific Ocean.
- 1858 – Fraser Canyon Gold Rush begins. Gold is found within the Fraser River and then within a few weeks time, about 25,000 prospectors make their way over for their share of the gold.
- 1858 – Colony of British Columbia established.
- 1859 – New Westminster is named the capital of the Colony of British Columbia.
- 1866 – The Colony of British Columbia and Colony of Vancouver Island are united as British Columbia, with the capital at Victoria.
- 1867 – Hastings Mill founded.
- 1867 – Gassy Jack opens the first saloon to provide drinks to workers from the Hastings Mill. Gastown then builds up around this popular saloon.
- 1867 – Weekly stage service is established between the Brighton Hotel, a popular summer vacation spot which is located just west of the Second Narrows Bridge and New Westminster.
- 1869 – Gastown is surveyed as Granville Townsite.
- 1872 – Louis Gold is the first Jew among the merchants of newly emergent Gastown, opening a general store on the waterfront.
- 1885 – The last spike of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) from Montreal to Vancouver is driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia.
- 1886 – The Town of Granville is incorporated as the City of Vancouver (the name was in fact chosen by the President of Canadian Pacific Railway). Rate-payers elect Malcolm Alexander MacLean, a real estate dealer, as the first mayor of Vancouver. The city has a population of about 1,000 people.
- 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway’s first transcontinental train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody. The very first Granville Street Bridge was completed and then another bridge was built later in 1909.
- 1886 – Great Vancouver Fire.
- 1886 – Vancouver General Hospital opened on Pender Street.
- 1886 – Vancouver Police Department formed.
- 1886 – Vancouver Rowing Club formed.
- 1887 – Vancouver Board of Trade incorporated.
- 1887 – The Canadian Pacific Railway extends its line westward from the terminus at Port Moody to Vancouver.
- 1887 – Canadian Pacific Railway’s Engine 374 brings the first transcontinental train into Vancouver.
- 1887 – British mail liner SS Abyssinia arrives.
- 1888 – Vancouver Daily World newspaper founded.
- 1888 – The real estate board formed.
- 1888 – Stanley Park opens.
- 1889 – The original Granville Street Bridge is completed.
- 1890 – The original Brockton Point Lighthouse is built. The current structure was built in 1914.
- 1892 – The Great Marpole Midden is excavated for its archeology by Charles Hill-Tout.
- 1897 – The Klondike Gold Rush boosts a continent-wide depression of the 1890s. By 1900, Vancouver displaces Victoria, the provincial capital, as the leading commercial centre on Canada's west coast.
- 1898 – The 9 O'Clock Gun is placed at Brockton Point (it still signals the time by being discharged every evening at 9:00 p.m. precisely).
- 1898 – The Province newspaper founded.
- 1898 – J. S. Matthews, later City Archivist, settles in Vancouver.
20th century
- 1903 – Woodward's building constructed.
- 1905 – Asiatic Exclusion League formed.
- 1907 – Spencer's department store opened at Richards & Hastings (later Eaton's).
- 1908 – B.C. Legislature passes legislation establishing the University of British Columbia (UBC).
- 1909 - Industrial Workers of the World Local 45 (Lumber Workers) chartered on December 29, one of the first lumber worker locals in the province.[1]
- 1910
- 1911 – The Denman Arena, an artificial ice rink, opens to the public; home to the Vancouver Millionaires professional hockey club.
- 1913 – A worldwide depression lasts two years and severely reduces trade and slows railway development. Declining resources also end a provincial mining boom.
- 1914 – Komagata Maru incident
- 1915 – University of British Columbia (UBC) opens its Fairview district campus on the site of Vancouver General Hospital.
- 1916
- 1918 – Vancouver general strike.
- 1919
- 1920 – Growth resumes and Vancouver soon replaces Winnipeg as the leading city in western Canada.
- 1923 – Vancouver and District Waterfront Workers' Association established.
- 1925
- 1926 – The Orpheum Theatre opens to the public.
- 1927 – Charles Lindbergh refused to include Vancouver in his North American tour because of the lack of a proper airport. Two years later, the city purchased land on Sea Island for aviation purposes; it is the location of Vancouver International Airport.
- 1929 – Vancouver amalgamates with the municipalities of Point Grey and South Vancouver.
- 1930s – Relief Camp Workers' Union organized.
- 1934 – Malkin Bowl presents the first performance of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
- 1935
- 1936 – The new Vancouver City Hall at 12th and Cambie is completed.
- 1937 – Non-Partisan Association established.
- 1938
- 1939 – The third Hotel Vancouver landmark is completed.
- 1942 – Vancouver Magic Circle formed.
- 1948 – The first television broadcast is received from Seattle.
- 1954
- 1953 – Vancouver's first TV station, CBUT, goes on the air.
- 1956 – Vancouver Aquarium opened.
- 1958 – Vancouver Opera founded.
- 1959 – Oakridge Centre, Vancouver Maritime Museum, Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the Deas Island Tunnel officially open.
- 1960 – Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing opened.
- 1962 – Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company founded.
- 1963 – The Port of Vancouver ranks first among Canadian ports in tonnage.
- 1964 – The BC Lions football team win the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup.
- 1967
- 1970 – The Vancouver Canucks play its first game in the National Hockey League in the Pacific Coliseum.
- 1971
- 1972 – Vancouver Marathon started.
- 1973 – Granville Square completed. The control tower of Vancouver Harbour Water Airport is located in top of it.
- 1974
- 1978 – Vancouver International Children's Festival debuted.
- 1979 – The Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL) win the North American Soccer League championship.
- 1981 – Vancouver Men's Chorus debuted.
- 1982 – Vancouver International Film Festival began.
- 1983 – BC Place Stadium opens. The world's largest air-supported Dome (60,000 seats) is the home of the BC Lions football team as well as trade shows, large gatherings, and major star concerts.
- 1984 – Vancouver International Jazz Festival established.
- 1985 – SkyTrain opens with much of its route being along that of the city's first public transit system, the 1891 interurban.
- 1986
- 1989 – Skybridge (TransLink) built.
- 1990 – Vancouver Learning Network debuted.
- 1992 – Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society incorporated.
- 1993 – Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre formed.
- 1994 - The Vancouver Canucks hockey team reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in twelve years, only to lose out to the New York Rangers; Fans riot in the streets of downtown Vancouver following the loss. The BC Lions football team win the Grey Cup.
- 1995
- 1996 – The Vancouver International Airport expands its terminal and adds a third runway.
- 1997 – CIVT-TV goes on the air.
- 1998
- 2000 – Vancouver Canadians founded.
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