Quesnel, British Columbia

Quesnel
City
City of Quesnel
Aerial view of Quesnel in 2009
Flag
Motto:  "Quesnel: It's in our nature"[1]
Quesnel Location of Quesnel in British Columbia
Coordinates: 52°58′47″N 122°29′37″W / 52.97972°N 122.49361°W / 52.97972; -122.49361[2]
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	North Cariboo
Regional district	Cariboo Regional District
Founded	1861
Incorporated as village	1928
Incorporated as town	1958
Incorporated as city	1981
Government
• Mayor	Ron Paull
• Governing body	Quesnel City Council
Area  (2021)[3]
• Land	35.5 km2 (13.7 sq mi)
• Population centre	25.23 km2 (9.74 sq mi)
• Census agglomeration	21,708.62 km2 (8,381.75 sq mi)
Elevation  at Quesnel Airport[4]	545 m (1,788 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	9,889
• Density	279.8/km2 (725/sq mi)
• Population centre	12,110
• Population centre density	480.0/km2 (1,243/sq mi)
• Census agglomeration	23,113
• Census agglomeration density	1.1/km2 (3/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−08:00 (PST)
Forward sortation area	V2J
Area code(s)	250, 778, 236, 672
Highways	Hwy 97 Hwy 26
Waterways	Fraser River, Quesnel River
Website	quesnel.ca

Quesnel (/kwɪˈnɛl/; Kee-nel in French) is a city located in the Cariboo Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. Located nearly evenly between the cities of Prince George and Williams Lake, it is on the main route to northern British Columbia and the Yukon. Quesnel is located at the confluence of the Fraser River and Quesnel River. As of 2021, Quesnel's metropolitan area (census agglomeration) had a population of 23,113 making it one of the largest urban centres between Prince George and Kamloops.^[5]

Quesnel is a sister city to Shiraoi, Japan. Quesnel hosted the 2000 BC Winter Games, a biennial provincial amateur sports competition. To the east of Quesnel is Wells, Barkerville, and Bowron Lake Provincial Park, a popular canoeing destination in the Cariboo Mountains.