Vancouver is the only legit city on Canada’s entire thousands of miles of west coast, it is like LA, Bay Area, Portland and Seattle all rolled into one, in terms of its function within Canada. Because the ocean causes the temperature to be warmer, Vancouver is also the only place in the entire country whose temperature is moderately cool, rather than punishingly cold. The temperatures in Vancouver from what I can see are actually warmer than say, NYC and Philly, about on par with DC or northern parts of the US South—not a comfortable place to spend a winter night outside (especially with the constant cold rain), but perhaps at least, sometimes a survivable one. Of course many people will move there, since it’s the closest Canada gets to palm trees and warmth. However, large amounts of the people in Downtown Eastside are still from British Columbia or nearby provinces, and Vancouver is their nearest large city.