Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: Round 1 — Nature

From trees to mountains, rivers to fruits, the unique natural aspects of British Columbia have long been powerful symbols of this province. But which one is the best?

From the battle of Okanagan fruits to a tree tussle, voters will pick 8 natural B.C. symbols to advance

Justin McElroy · CBC News · Posted: Jul 15, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 15

The Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: Round 1 — Nature

2 days ago

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From July 14 to Aug. 13, channel your provincial pride and cast your vote in The Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: a five-week-long contest powered by your votes. This is your chance to shape our provincial identity, one symbol at a time. CBC’s Justin McElroy has more on the voting criteria and guidelines.

The geography and natural beauty of British Columbia have always sparked the imagination of people who have moved here — right down to one of its first colonial symbols.

"Long before the Maple Leaf was an official emblem in Eastern Canada, B.C. had an evergreen tree ... being used on an official symbol," said Forrest Pass, a curator at Library and Archives Canada.

The symbol in question was the Great Seal of Vancouver Island, and the part of a tree depicted was a pinecone, reflecting the many evergreen trees in the region.

"Local flora and fauna, I think those symbols become more meaningful because they are aspects of people's everyday life. They're aspects of people's memories," said Pass.

From trees to mountains, rivers to fruits, the unique natural aspects of British Columbia have long been powerful symbols of this province.

But which one is the best?

First round matchups in the nature section of the Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol. (CBC News)

64 Symbols, 1 Winner

It's day two of the Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol, a friendly vote to determine which iconic thing in this province represents us best.

Voting will take place over several weeks. A series of one-on-one matchups will narrow the number of symbols from 64 to 32, 32 to 16, and eventually down to one champion:

Animals (voting takes place on Mondays).
Nature (voting takes place on Tuesdays).
Coastal (voting takes place on Wednesdays).
Provincial (voting takes place on Thursdays).

WATCH | Here's how it works:

After more than 50,000 votes on Day 1 in the animal section, today we look at symbols in nature — including three evergreen trees in the Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Red Cedar (with the Arbutus tree rounding out our tree quadrant).

Symbols give insight into who we are and what we value: experts

Search for B.C.'s Best Symbol: Round 1 — Animals

Pass says that while the vote may be an unscientific competition, it's also a unique opportunity to see what symbols resonate the most for people in this province.

"As a historian, it's often difficult to tell how much particular symbols do resonate," he said.

"When we do have these opportunities to see what the public thinks about symbols and see which ones do resonate, it becomes really interesting data for a future historian to look at it in 2025, and see what symbolized British Columbia to British Columbians."

Voting is open until 10 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday. Happy voting!