Originally Fort Victoria, Victoria was the first European settlement on Vancouver Island. It was chosen by the British-owned Hudson’s Bay Company in 1843 to be the westernmost trading outpost and thus became the capital of British Columbia in 1868.  Victoria is Western Canada's oldest city. 

With the Fraser Valley gold rush in 1858, Victoria grew rapidly as the main port of entry to the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. For most of the nineteenth century, Victoria remained the largest city in British Columbia and was the foremost in trade and commerce.

However, with construction of the transcontinental railway, Vancouver, as its terminus, emerged as the major west coast port and the largest city in British Columbia.

A real estate and development boom ended just before World War I, leaving Victoria with a large stock of Edwardian public, commercial and residential structures that have greatly contributed to the City's character.

A number of municipalities surrounding Victoria were incorporated during this period, including the Township of Esquimalt, the District of Oak Bay, and several municipalities on the Saanich peninsula. Since World War II the Victoria area has seen relatively steady growth, becoming home to two major universities. Since the 1980s the western suburbs have been incorporated as new municipalities, such as Colwood and Langford.

 In the twentieth century, Victoria evolved primarily as a city of government, retirement and tourism. The city remains, however, Canada's western naval base and home to a major fishing fleet.

Shipbuilding and repair, as well as forest products and machine manufacturing industries, continue as significant sources of employment. Increasingly, the city is developing as a marine, forestry and agricultural research centre.

The City is also noted for its fine educational institutions, which include the University of Victoria, Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific (one of only six in the world operated by United World Colleges), and the recently opened Royal Roads University.