Coquitlam, city, a suburb of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It lies between the Fraser River to the south and the flanks of the Coast Mountains to the north. Coquitlam is the largest of the Tri-City communities, which also include Port Moody and Port Coquitlam. These three cities make up the northeast sector of the Greater Vancouver Area. Coquitlam is served by Vancouver International Airport and the smaller Pitt Meadows Airport. The Tri-Cities are all linked to downtown Vancouver by the West Coast Express, a commuter train service. Coquitlam is largely residential, but it does have a significant retail sector and some large industries, including warehousing and quarrying. Points of interest include the historic French Canadian neighborhood Maillardville, Coquitlam Town Centre, a campus branch of Douglas College, and Minnekhada Regional Park.
The earliest residents of the Coquitlam area were the Coast Salish. European settlement began in the 1860s with the opening of the North Road, which provided access to the area from the city of New Westminster. Coquitlam incorporated as a district municipality in 1891. The opening of a lumber mill, Fraser Mills, at the end of the 19th century helped the area's economy. In 1909 and 1910 experienced loggers from Québec were recruited to work at the mill, and many of them settled in the neighborhood of Maillardville. For many years Maillardville was the largest French Canadian community west of Manitoba. While use of the French language declined in British Columbia, Maillardville continued to reflect its French history. In the 1950s and 1960s the Lougheed and Trans-Canada highways were built, making Coquitlam more accessible to Vancouver. As a result, Coquitlam experienced rapid growth, which continued when the West Coast Express was built during the 1990s. Between 1976 and 1996 , the population of Coquitlam nearly doubled. Coquitlam incorporated as a city in 1992.
