McBride, British Columbia
McBride is a small village in British Columbia’s Robson Valley. It sits about 210 km southeast of Prince George and 166 km west of Jasper, Alberta. The town was founded in 1913 as Mile 90 of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and was incorporated in 1932. It is named after Sir Richard McBride, a former premier of British Columbia.
The village is in a valley surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and the Cariboo Ranges. Farmland lies in the valley floor, while forests and alpine areas surround it. The main crops are barley, oats and other forage plants. The area has clay soils.
In 2016, about 616 people lived in McBride. In 2021, the population of the village was about 588, within a 4.6 square kilometer area.
McBride’s local forest is managed by the McBride Community Forest Corporation (MCFC), created in 2002. MCFC controls a timber license for roughly 60,000 hectares, supporting local jobs and community needs.
The town has a hospital and health centre with emergency care, three acute care beds, eight long-term beds, X-ray and lab services, plus access to acupuncture and massage. An ambulance station and 911 service serve McBride and nearby areas.
Outdoor activity is popular all year. In winter there are cross-country ski trails, snowmobiling areas and ice fishing. In warmer months people hike, camp, fish and watch birds. Nearby recreation sites include Beaver Falls, Beaver River, LaSalle Lake and Horseshoe Lake, plus McBride Peak Halfway Hut. The town also has a ball field, a recreation centre with an indoor ice arena, curling sheets and a multi-use court, a library, and the Valley Museum and Archives.
McBride Station on Main Street is a key stop on Via Rail’s Jasper–Prince Rupert route, with service three times a week. The station, built in 1913 and rebuilt after a 1918 fire, last hosted trains in 1989. The Village bought the station in 1996, and today it houses the Whistle Stop art gallery, the Visitor Information Centre, and a local cafe called The Beanery.
Main Street offers a variety of shops and serves as the town’s focal point. McBride is known to be quite wet, with July having many rainy days, and Crescent Spur recording especially high July rainfall in Canada.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:48 (CET).