I close the series of articles resulting from my visit to Canada by talking about Victoria Island, capital of the province of British Columbia. It is an island of extraordinary beauty, accessible only by air or sea. And the main means of making this connection are the seaplane and the ferry, some of which can carry up to 500 vehicles and 2,000 people. As it is the provincial capital, the main professional activities are governmental, but it is tourism that brings in income. It is one of Canada’s top tourist destinations. It is also the second largest city in the province, after Vancouver.

It is known as the city of gardens, due to the beautiful colorful gardens scattered there. However, to make your visit to the island unforgettable, you must visit Butchart Gardens. There are 25 hectares of garden, bringing together the most beautiful in terms of flowers, harmoniously distributed, with identification plates and more than 50 gardeners to inform you. But it’s not just flowers and government activities that inhabit this city of 80,000 people, totaling 330,000 in its metropolitan area. There is information that, when it comes to employment, the IT field already overcomes these two. There are approximately 900 technology companies employing 15,000 people and generating revenues of C$4 billion.

Vancouver is considered the city with the warmest climate in the Canadian winter, where temperatures rarely reach zero degrees. However, residents of Victoria say the title of warmer winter climate goes to them, adding that the winter is shorter and less rainy than in Vancouver. It should be noted that the island is located southwest of Vancouver, which justifies this argument.

And finally, some more general information. Both in Vancouver and on Victoria Island, public transport is good and there is an incentive to use bicycles, as more and more cycle paths are being built. Most use these systems, which facilitates the movement of vehicles. To live in one of these cities, as in the rest of Canada, you have two high expenses: housing and food. As for health and education, they are provided by the public system. In the field of health, there is their SUS, which bears the acronym MSP, but which, as in Brazil, is not able to serve the entire population, allowing the richest to benefit from the plans of health. Education is considered to be of a high standard. It is free from the age of 5 for all courses that form the basis and lead to preparation for university, called high school. The university is chargeable. As well as school for children under 5 years old.