[2] In 1913, the BC Government under Richard McBride expropriated the site, paying the inhabitants a fraction of the land's value,[2] and giving them two days to leave before burning their homes to the ground.

The land subsequently was expropriated by the Vancouver Harbour Commission, an agent of the Dominion government, in 1916.

Around the time of the second world war, the site was home to Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) station, Number 2 Equipment Depot.

Named for former Governor General of Canada Georges Vanier, the park officially opened on May 30, 1967.

The fill added additional acres onto the park which was then landscaped by Livingstone and his crew.