BC Living
Recipe: How to Make Pie Crust from Scratch
Valentine’s Day Drink Recipe: Hy’s Love Is Love Cocktail
Recipe: Pork Belly and Asparagus
Nature’s Pharmacy: 8 Herbal Boutiques in BC
How Barre Enhances Your Flexibility
Top Tips for Workout Recovery
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Local Getaway: Hideaway at a Mystical Earth House in Kootenay
9 BC Wellness Hotels to Relax and Recharge in This Year
Local Getaway: Enjoy Waterfront Views at a Ucluelet Beach House
B.C. Adventures: Things to Do in February
5 Beautiful and Educational Nature and Wildlife Tours in BC
7 Beauty and Wellness Influencers to Follow in BC
11 Gifts for Galentine’s Day from B.C. Companies
14 Cute Valentine’s Day Gifts to Give in 2025
8 Gifts to Give for Lunar New Year 2025
As Movember comes to a close, we take a look back at some of B.C.'s most famous moustaches
As Movember comes to a close, BCLiving decided to take a look back at some of the province’s most prominent moustaches.
Whether they were politicians, actors or athletes, these famous (or, in some cases, infamous) moustachioed men were known not only for their accomplishments, but also for their glorious staches.
Our first favourite moustached man was the first governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island from its foundation in 1849 to his resignation in1851.
The face behind this salt-and-pepper moustache founded the village of Ladner’s landing and is one of B.C.’s most respected pioneers.
Sporting the most rebellious stache in the bunch, Bill Miner went down in history on September 10, 1904 as one of Canada’s first train robbers when he and two accomplices raided a train near Mission, B.C. Two years later they robbed a train in Kamloops but were soon caught by the police. Miner was sentenced to 25 years in the New Westminster Penitentiary, but he escaped in August 1907.
You may know him as the man whose name graces a beautiful Chinese Garden in downtown Vancouver. He’s been honoured there because of his leading role in the overthrow of the oppressive Ch’ing dynasty in 1911, which lead to him become the first president of the Republic of China. That revolution was financed by Chinese living ouside of China, many of them right in Vancouver.
On top of his moustache, Joe Forte is remembered for his community work during Vancouver’s early history. He devoted all his free time to patrolling the English Bay beach and teaching children to swim there. The self-appointed guard continued to support himself by working odd jobs until the city hired him as their first official lifeguard in 1900. Today, there is a branch of the Vancouver Public Library dedicated to him, a restaurant named after him (Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House) and his image (and stache) have been featured on a postage stamp.
This moustached Renaissance man held many titles in B.C.: Charter Member of the Board of the Bank of Canada from its founding in 1935; Lieutenant Governor of B.C. from 1941 to 1946; President of the Vancouver Board of Trade; Life Governor of the Vancouver General Hospital; Founder and Patron of the Vancouver Little Theatre; and, of course President of Woodward’s, the West Coast department store chain that lasted from 1892 until its bankruptcy in 1993.
Most famous for playing character Nick Adonidas for 18 years on Canadian drama The Beachcombers, as well as his stint as host of CBC’s popular Celebrity Cooks in the 1970s, the late actor’s quality moustache is nearly a national treasure.
Hockey player Dave Babych’s big bushy moustache was just as much his trademark as his #44 jersey was during his years playing for the Vancouver Canucks from 1991-1998. He still lives in Vancouver and was named Grand Marshall of the recent Moustache Miler run in Stanley Park. And to comply with Movember rules, he shaved off his famous stache (with an audience at Killyjoy Barbers) for the first time in years to grow out his facial hair with the other “Mo Bros” taking part.
Dennis Kearns, another NHL player, spent his entire career with the Vancouver Canucks (and most of it with this handlebar ’stache). The defenceman holds the franchise record for most assists in a single season, recording 55 in 1977, and still lives in Vancouver with his family.
His thick moustache was a constant accessory during his six-year run as Vancouver’s mayor in the 1980s and later as the 30th Premier of B.C. Currently he dons his stache at UBC as the Chair of their Regional Sustainability Council and Associate Director of the Centre for Sustainability Continuing Studies.
Harold Snepsts provided the Canucks’ defense with strength during their 1981-1982 quest for the Stanley Cup. When Snepsts left Vancouver to play for Minnesota a few years later, the Vancouver favourite (thanks partly to this burly moustache we’re sure) held records for games played and total penalty minutes.
This man with a mo’ has offered advice and assistance to First Nations across B.C. and Canada on the topic of recognition of Aboriginal rights, title and Treaty rights. He recently served two terms as the elected BC regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations.