FOCUS  Vancouver and Victoria

Victoria remains a First Nations centre. The city is home to aboriginal people from many other communities and traditions, as well as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, on whose ancestral lands the city was built, and neighbouring T'souke and Saanich First Nations.

The Victoria Native Friendship Centre provides services to an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 aboriginal people living off- and on-reserve in the Greater Victoria area. A nonprofit organization with an aboriginal board of directors and an aboriginal staff, the Victoria Native Friendship Centre has been in continuous operation for over 30 years, improving the quality of life for First Peoples in Victoria and supporting people from all indigenous cultures who are making a transition to the urban environment. Programs are offered on education and employment, health and social services, culture, community relations, housing, recreation and youth.