The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) deals with the driver's process in Vancouver, Canada. They state that if you are only visiting B.C. you may drive on your existing driver's licence for up to six months. Students attending designated educational institutions are also permitted to drive here on their out-of-province licence as long as they are registered as full-time students.

The ICBC goes on to note that the process you will need to follow to apply for a British Columbia driver licence, including the tests you will need to take, depends on the type of licence you have now.

British Columbia has driver licence exchange agreements with other areas of Canada, the United States, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea. You may exchange your other licence for an equivalent class B.C. driver's licence (please note that this requires you to surrender your other licence upon application).

The ICBC says that in most cases, you will not need to take a road test if you hold:

• a Canadian or American passenger car or motorcycle operator's licence, or
• an Austrian, German or Swiss Category B or German Class 3 driver's licence for passenger cars, or
• a Japanese Ordinary driver's licence or a South Korean Class 2 Ordinary driver's licence for passenger cars, or
• a Canadian licence equivalent to a B.C. Class 1, 2, 3 or 4 (commercial) licence

and your licence is valid or expired less than 3 years ago.

If you are visiting Vancouver, BC with your foreign (Washington State) driver's license is good only up to 6 months it appears thus you would need to obtain a BC driver's license if you plan to be there a year. You might actually be required to get a license issued from the ICBC earlier than 6 months if you are becoming a resident and are not just visiting Canada. You should contact the ICBC for more information on if you would need to get a Canadian license and if so what exact steps to take.