<P> When news of the discovery of gold on the British Columbia mainland reached San Francisco in 1858 , Victoria became the port , supply base , and outfitting centre for miners on their way to the Fraser Canyon gold fields , mushrooming from a population of 300 to over 5000 within a few days . Victoria was incorporated as a city in 1862 . In 1865 , the North Pacific home of the Royal Navy was established in Esquimalt and today is Canada 's Pacific coast naval base . In 1866 when the island was politically united with the mainland , Victoria was designated the capital of the new united colony instead of New Westminster -- an unpopular move on the Mainland -- and became the provincial capital when British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871 . </P>
when did victoria became the capital of bc
when British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871