The constituency bears the name of the Spanish explorer who surveyed the area in 1775, Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra.

[2] Since 2007, the riding has been represented by Liberal MP Joyce Murray, who has served in the 29th ministry under Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.

Within the boundaries of this riding are the University of British Columbia and the western portions of the affluent West Side of Vancouver.

[citation needed] The Vancouver Quadra riding has a very high level of educational attainment; it has the highest percentage of people with a university certificate or degree in all of Canada (53.1%) and also tops the following educational attainment sub-categories: According to the 2016 Canadian census: Languages: 66.0% English, 1.6% French, 31.3% other, 1.1% multiple languages Religions: 27.9% Protestant, 16.3% Catholic, 4.5% Buddhist, 4.2% Other Christian, 3.8% Jewish, 2.4% Christian Orthodox, 1.1% Muslim, 38.5% no religious affiliation Average income: $46,991 The district includes the parts of the West Side of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia Endowment Lands.

These new boundaries were legally defined in the 2013 representation order, which came into effect upon the call of the 42nd Canadian federal election, scheduled for October 2015.