Blaenau

Blaenau is a city in southeastern British Columbia. It is the seat of the district of Cymru Newydd.

Greater Blaenau is the third-largest metro region in BC by population, after Vancouver and Victoria.

History
The satellites of Brynmawr, Gwynedd, Gwyrddni, Llangefni, and Ylesylywêt were amalgamated into Blaenau in 1980.

Commerce
Blaenau is the industrial and commercial centre of eastern British Columbia; two major enterprises are Bedford Vehicles of British Columbia and the BC Forest Products sawmill, both in Pontypridd.

The Blaenau Railway Museum is a notable attraction.

Air
Maes Awyr Rhyngwladol Blaenau International Airport serves greater Blaenau with scheduled domestic and international services. Airlines operating here are Air BC, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Awyr Cymru - Air Wales, Caledonian Airways, Canadian Airlines International, CP Air, Harmony Airways, Hawkair, Horizon Air, Kelowna Flightcraft, Kootenay Airways, North Cariboo Air, Northern Thunderbird Air, Pacific Western Airlines, Royal Hawaiian Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Swoop, Transwest Air, Western Airlines, and WestJet.

The present terminal building was opened in 1985; the focal point of its central hall is suspended from the high, vaulted ceiling: the De Havilland Flamingo airliner that had originally belonged to Blaenau Air Lines - the first airline to operate scheduled services from Blaenau, having been established in 1927; it was merged with several other airlines in 1942 to form CP Air.

The defunct Awyr Cymru Newydd was based in Blaenau from 1950 to 1983, when it was absorbed by Kootenay Airways; Kootenay Airways maintains Blaenau as its primary operational hub.

Queen Victoria Hospital also has its own heliport.

The worst aviation disaster in BC history happened in Blaenau on 7 December 1988, when Air BC Flight 17 from Victoria crashed due to a microburst during a bad-weather landing; of the 147 passengers and crew aboard, only four survived.

Rail
Blaenau is the headquarters of the Blaenau Division of CP Rail's British Columbia Region; it is the eastern terminus of the Mountain Subdivision running to Stephen on the BC–Canada border and the western terminus of the CPR Shuswap Subdivision running to Kamloops; the former Arrow Lake Subdivision was closed in 1984, but the section from Blaenau Station to Aberystwyth Station is to be reopened by 2025 as part of a commuter rail service being developed by CP Rail in conjunction with the Greater Blaenau Public Transport Authority.

Passenger rail service for Blaenau is extensive, with one international Limited Express, one domestic and one international Express, one domestic Rapid, and one Local service.

Canada's passenger railway company, VIA Rail, operate the two international services. One is a Limited Express service running once daily in each direction between Vancouver and Calgary, Alberta; the westbound train (Train 106) is called the British Columbian, and the eastbound trail (Train 105) is the Canadian. The other is an Express running between Kamloops and Calgary (Trains 201/202).

The domestic services touching Blaenau are operated by CP Rail directly: the once-daily Express between Blaenau and Vancouver (Trains 501/502), three daily Rapid trains (Trains 629/630, 631/632, 633/634) between Blaenau and Cranbrook, and four daily Local trains (Trains 751/752, 753/754, 755/756, 757/758) between Sicamous and Yoho.

Road
The Inter-Dominion Highway (BC Highway 1) runs east-west through the northern part of greater Blaenau, eastwards from the satellite of Gwynedd in the west through Pontypridd into the city of Blaenau, then continuing east through the suburb of Trolif Mawr and the eastern satellites until leaving greater Blaenau in Llangefni. Trolif Mawr is also the northern terminus of the Revelstoke Highway (BC Highway 23). In Cymru Newydd, Highway 1 is called "Traffordd Rhyngarglwyddiaethiol" and Highway 23 is called "Traffordd y Revelstoke".

Football
Blaenau is well represented in both men's and women's football, with three men's clubs in the BC Football League and two in the British Columbia Women's Football League. Playing in the men's league are CP Aberystwyth (Stadiwm y Frenhines Victoria – Queen Victoria Stadium), capacity 16,234), CP Dinas Blaenau (Parc Canmlwyddiant – Centennial Stadium, capacity 30,960), and CP Llangefni (Stadiwm Ylesylywêt - Illecillewaet Stadium, capacity 18,374); in the women's are CPM Dinas Blaenau (Centennial Stadium) and CPM Llangefni (Illecillewaet Stadium).

Llangefni are the most successful of the three, having won the Division One title in 1998 and 2019, along with four BC FA Cup wins in seven appearances and two Super Cup wins in three appearances. Dinas Blaenau have won the Division Two championship four times and the BC FA Cup six times, whilst Aberystwyth have earned four titles in the Northeast Football Championship.

Hockey
The Blaenau Dragons of the British Columbia Hockey League play at Fforwm Blaenau ("Blaenau Forum"), which has a capacity of 6,016.

Rugby
CR Blaenau are the city's oldest representative in the BC Rugby Union. Playing at Centennial Park, they won the Rounsefell Cup in 2009 and 2010.

CR Aberystwyth, in the satellite of Aberystwyth, are greater Blaenau's other club in the BCRU; they play at Queen Victoria Stadium in Aberystwyth.

Military
Several units of the British Columbia Army are based in Blaenau, notably the A and B Companies of the 4th Air Defence Regiment (The Royal Welsh) and the 8th Anti-Tank Battery of the Royal BC Artillery.

RBCAF Blaenau, a base of the Royal BC Air Force in the satellite of Ffestiniog, is home to the 503 (Communications) Squadron; from 1975 to 2010 it was also home to the 606 (Surface-to-Air Missile) Squadron.