Two centuries ago, Captain George Vancouver laid anchor in Burrard Inlet.
But the captain might be sad to learn that modern Vancouver seems to have lost its way.
Directional markers embedded in the sidewalks outside Canada Line stations are designed to help tourists navigate the city.
The trouble is one of the markers - the one outside the Downtown Vancouver station - is a little off.
Matt Armstrong, who works for Mountain Equipment Co-op and has spent a lot of time navigating the outdoors, checked the marker against a compass and high-tech GPS device.
True north was off by about 25 degrees.
"Captain Vancouver would not be happy," he said. "He'd be lost."
Passersby regretted the city's lack of direction.
"There's going to be millions of visitors looking at this and they won't know which way north is," one man said.
"I think they should take that off, put it on right!" one woman laughed.
Vancouver city planner Chris Robertson admitted they goofed.
It'll cost a few hundred dollars to fix. The city hopes to get the money back from the contractor that did the work.
So, soon, the compass will point the way Captain Vancouver had intended - true north, strong and free.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward
