Governing by way of its own legislation - the Vancouver Charter - the city's administration (www.vancouver.ca) is composed of a mayor, city council and a professional bureaucracy. The mayor is the chief administrative official and is elected separately from the nine city councillors. All are elected every three years and each represents the entire city. Vancouver's imposing City Hall building is located at the intersection of 12th Avenue and Cambie Street.

The city is also a member of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD; www.gvrd.bc.ca), an organization of cities and municipalities that co-ordinates common services, such as sewage, water and economic planning. The region's transportation system - including roads, bridges and public transit - is administered by TransLink (www.gvrd.bc.ca), also known as the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority.

In addition, the Government of B.C. (www.gov.bc.ca) has jurisdiction over Vancouver and the rest of the province from its Victoria base, while the Government of Canada (www.canada.gc.ca), located across the country in Ottawa, is responsible for federal political issues.

Trivia The first meeting of Vancouver's city council was delayed because no one had remembered to bring pen and paper to record the minutes. A boy had to be sent running to a local stationary store for supplies.