Abbotsford is a city located in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, adjacent to the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: ...

, Greater Vancouver and the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual ...

. With an estimated population of 153,524 people it is the largest municipality in the province outside metropolitan Vancouver. Abbotsford-Mission has the third highest proportion of visible minorities among census metropolitan areas in Canada, after the Greater Toronto Area and the Greater Vancouver CMA. It is home to Tradex, the University of the Fraser Valley, and

Abbotsford International Airport Abbotsford International Airport is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, southwest of the city centre. It is the second largest airport in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, after Vancouver International Airport (YVR), ...

. As of the 2021 census, it is the largest municipality of the Fraser Valley Regional District and the fifth-largest municipality of British Columbia. The Abbotsford–Mission metropolitan area of around 195,726 inhabitants as of the 2021 census is the 23rd largest census metropolitan area in Canada. It has also been named by Statistics Canada as Canada's most generous city in terms of charitable donations for nine straight years. The community of is the largest city by area in British Columbia. The municipality's southern boundary is the Canada–United States border. In Canada, it is bordered by the Township of Langley to the west, the District of Mission to the north, and the City of Chilliwack to the east. Abbotsford borders the town of

Sumas, Washington Sumas () is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 1,307 as of the 2010 census. Sumas is located adjacent to the Canada–U.S. border and borders the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Sumas-Hunting ...

, to the south. Much of Abbotsford has views of

Mount Baker Mount Baker ( Lummi: '; nok, Kw’eq Smaenit or '), also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington in the United States. ...

(to the southeast, in Washington) and the Coast Mountains (to the north).

History

Settlement

The first residents of the area are the Stó:lō Nation. The Upper Sumas 6

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." In ...

of the

Sumas First Nation The Sumas First Nation (Halkomelem: ''Sema:th'') ''Sumalh'' or Sumas Indian Band is a band government of the Sto:lo people located in the Upper Fraser Valley region, at the community of Kilgard a.k.a. Upper Sumas, part of Abbotsford, British Co ...

is located at Kilgard within Abbotsford city limits. European settlement began when the Royal Engineers surveyed the area in response to the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

along the

in 1858. This led to the building of Yale Road (today Old Yale Road), the first transportation route to link the Fraser Valley. The settlement grew and the production of butter, milk and tobacco began by the late 1860s. In 1889, former Royal Engineer John Cunningham Maclure applied for a Crown grant to obtain the that would become Abbotsford. The Gur Sikh Temple, located on 33089 South Fraser Way, is the oldest Sikh temple in North America. Built in 1908 and opened in 1911, it is now over 110 years old, outlasting the now demolished 2nd Avenue temple in Vancouver (opened in 1908), and the Golden temple (opened in 1905) which was destroyed by fire. There is some controversy over the origin of the Abbotsford name. The most commonly cited origin is that Maclure named the land "Abbotsford" after family friend Henry Braithwaite Abbott, the western superintendent of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

. Maclure's sons later stated that the property had actually been named for Sir Walter Scott's home, Abbotsford House, and pronounced it with the accent on ''ford'', In his later years Maclure himself claimed that the naming had been "a combination of two ideas". The Akriggs say that Maclure in an 1844 letter said that when the town was laid out in 1844, the town was named for Henry Abbott, general superintendent of the

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

and brother of Sir

John Abbott Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party. Abb ...

, prime minister.

Contemporary period

The title passed hands to Robert Ward, who filed a townsite subdivision on July 9, 1891. Also in 1891, the CPR built a railway line through the area that connected Mission with the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway at

. This route was the only rail connection between

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

until 1904. The Village of Abbotsford was incorporated in 1892. At that time Robert Ward sold many of the lots to private investors, but also sold off a significant portion to the Great Northern Railway's subsidiary company the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway. The

British Columbia Electric Railway The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company (now BC Hydro), the BCER assumed contr ...

(BCER) arrived in 1910. The Interurban, as the BCER tram linking Abbotsford with Vancouver and Chilliwack was called, was discontinued in 1950, but BCER's successor BC Hydro retains the right to re-introduce passenger rail service. Service to Vancouver runs from neighbouring Mission by way of the West Coast Express. The most notable natural disaster to hit Abbotsford was a major flood of the

in 1948. In September 1984,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

held an open-air Mass for over 200,000 people at

. The amalgamation of the Village of Abbotsford and the

District of Sumas Sumas was a district municipality in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada, located between the then-Village of Abbotsford (W) and Chilliwack (E). It was amalgamated with the Village of Abbotsford in 1972 into the District of Abbo ...

into the District of Abbotsford occurred in 1972. The District of Abbotsford amalgamated with the District of Matsqui in 1995 to become the City of Abbotsford, raising the population significantly. In June 2013, the City of Abbotsford spread chicken manure on a homeless camp located in the city. Abbotsford Mayor

Bruce Banman Bruce Banman is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2020 British Columbia general election.Sumas Prairie Sumas Prairie is a landform in British Columbia, Canada and the State of Washington, United States. Part of the Fraser Lowland, it was created by the draining of Sumas Lake early in the 20th Century, and extends from the Vedder Canal southwest ...

were given an evacuation order given the flooding in British Columbia at the time, the city calling the situation "catastrophic".

Government

Abbotsford City Council comprises a council-manager form of local government. The mayor and council were last elected in 2018. The current mayor

Henry Braun Henry Braun (July 25, 1930 – Oct. 11, 2014) was an American poet, teacher, and peace activist. Biography Henry Braun was born in Olean, New York in 1930. His mother died when he was two years old, and he grew up in an orphanage and foster hom ...

, was re-elected with 56.91% of the popular vote. Councillors elected in 2018 were: Patricia Ross (9.8%), Les Barkman (6.42%), Moe Gill (6.15%), Ross Siemens (6.04%), Brenda Falk (5.72%), Dave Loewen (5.59%), Kelley Chahal (5.21%), and Sandy Blue (5.16%). School trustees elected are: Cindy Schafer (9.72%), Stan Petersen (9.39%), Shirley Wilson (9.04%), Rhonda Pauls (8.89%), Preet S. Rai (8.74%), Freddy Latham (8.29%), and Phil Anderson (7.55%). The Abbotsford flag and coat of arms are the same, featuring straight, diagonal crosses representing Abbotsford as at a "crossroads". At the centre is a strawberry blossom to symbolize the local berry industry. The flag of Abbotsford was originally blue in colour. The change to green was initiated in 1995 when the District of Abbotsford and the District of Matsqui amalgamated to create the City of Abbotsford.

Demographics

City of Abbotsford

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

, Abbotsford had a population of 153,524 living in 53,234 of its 55,659 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 141,397. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 43,190 persons or 28.6% of the total population of Abbotsford. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

(23,830 persons or 55.2%),

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

(2,310 persons or 5.3%),

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(1,735 persons or 4.0%),

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

(1,395 persons or 3.2%),

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(895 persons or 2.1%),

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

(885 persons or 2.0%),

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

(850 persons or 2.0%),

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

(845 persons or 2.0%),

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

(820 persons or 1.9%), and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

(565 persons or 1.3%).

Languages

According to the 2021 Census, 92,460 persons or 61.0% of Abbotsford's population have

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

as a mother tongue;

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

is the mother tongue of 34,280 persons or 22.6% of the population, followed by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

(3,065 or 2.0%), Spanish (1,375 or 0.9%), Korean (1,190 or 0.8%),

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...

(1,180 or 0.8%), Vietnamese (1,105 or 0.7%), Dutch (990 or 0.7%),

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

(955 or 0.6%), Mandarin (945 or 0.6%),

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

(860 or 0.5%),

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

(720 or 0.5%),

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

(555 or 0.4%), Russian (415 or 0.3%), and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Furthermore, the 2021 census stated 141,175 persons or 93.6% of Abbotsford's population have knowledge of the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

; 41,145 persons or 27.3% of the population have knowledge of the

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 ...

, followed by

(7,080 or 4.7%),

(6,295 or 4.2%),

(3,665 or 2.4%), Spanish (2,880 or 1.9%),

(1,835 or 1.2%), Korean (1,430 or 0.9%), Vietnamese (1,170 or 0.8%), Dutch (1,145 or 0.8%), Mandarin (1,430 or 0.9%),

(1,030 or 0.7%),

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

(810 or 0.5%), and Russian (805 or 0.5%).

Religion

A plurality of Abbotsford's population is Christian. Many of the largest congregations in the city are Mennonite Brethren. The next largest religious group is Sikh. Opened in 1911, the city contains the oldest existing Sikh Gurdwara built in Canada and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, with earlier Gurdwaras built in Kitsilano (1908) and Golden (1905) since being demolished or destroyed by fire. A National Historic Site, located in Central Abbotsford, the

Gur Sikh Temple The Gur Sikh Temple (Gurdwara) ( pa, ਗੁਰ ਸਿੱਖ਼ ਗੁਰਦੁਵਾਰਾ) of Abbotsford in British Columbia is the oldest existing Sikh temple in North America and a National Historic Site Canada. It is the only Sikh temple ...

is now over 110 years old. The 2021 census reported the religious demography in the city of Abbotsford was: *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

(56,900 persons or 37.7%) *

Irreligion Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ...

(47,550 persons or 31.5%) *

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

(38,395 persons or 25.5%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

(3,620 persons or 2.4%) *

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

(2,125 persons or 1.4%) *

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

(1,000 persons or 0.7%) *

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

(90 persons or 0.1%) * Indigenous Spirituality (75 persons or <0.1%) *Other (1,060 persons or 0.7%)

Ethnicity

According to the 2021 census, the largest pan-ethnic group is European, comprising approximately 55.2% of the municipal population. This group includes German, Dutch, British, Irish, Scandinavian and Slavic ethnic origins. The next largest pan-ethnic group in Abbotsford is South Asian, comprising 30.2% of the city population; this group includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka national origins, while the population in Abbotsford primarily includes persons of Punjabi ethnic origin. Members of the ethnic group first arrived in the early 1900s to work on farms and in the lumber industry. This is followed by

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

at 4.6% of the population, Southeast Asians (3.1%), and East Asians (2.7%).

Abbotsford CMA

At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the Abbotsford–Mission CMA had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...

reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 50,085 persons or 26.1% of the total population of the Abbotsford-Mission CMA. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were India (25,990 persons or 51.9%), United Kingdom (3,295 persons or 6.6%), Philippines (2,065 persons or 4.1%), United States of America (1,725 persons or 3.4%), Germany (1,085 persons or 2.2%), Netherlands (1,070 persons or 2.1%), Vietnam (1,040 persons or 2.1%), China (990 persons or 2.0%), South Korea (930 persons or 1.9%), and Pakistan (600 persons or 1.2%).

Ethnicity

Abbotsford has the third highest proportion of visible minorities among Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada, after the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver. The Abbotsford metropolitan area has Canada's highest Census Metropolitan Area proportion of South Asians.

Climate

Abbotsford has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate type ''Cfb''), with just enough summer precipitation not to be classified as warm-summer mediterranean. Summers are generally warm and drier than at other times of the year and winters are rainy and very mild by Canadian standards. Snowfall can be heavy but usually not very long lasting, on average falling mostly in December and January.

Economy

Some 62 percent of residents in Abbotsford work in the City of Abbotsford itself. Most of the remaining 38 percent commute to Mission, Chilliwack or Vancouver and its suburbs (primarily

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

and Langley). More than 25 percent of Abbotsford's workforce commutes to Abbotsford from other municipalities. The Conference Board of Canada has identified the local economy as one of the most diverse in the country.
/ref> Abbotsford's main industries are agriculture, transportation, manufacturing and retail. The city earns the highest dollar per acre of agricultural land in the country, greater than the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Niagara Region and the

North Okanagan North Okanagan was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia beginning with the 1916 British Columbia general election, election of 1916. Following the 1975 British Columbia general election, 1975 el ...

. Total sales from agricultural businesses grew from $635,000,000 in 2010 to nearly $1billion as of 2021 and accounts for almost 50% of all chicken eggs and dairy milk production for all of British Columbia. The BC government's Animal Health Centre, at the Abbotsford Agriculture Centre offers "more than 400 laboratory diagnostic tests for agents that may be found in wild and domestic birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians" and is the leading accredited full-service veterinary laboratory in Western Canada. The facility has housed a Biosafety level 3 laboratory since October 2009. Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre and community health services make Fraser Health the city's largest employer with about 2,500 staff. The city is also home to three federal prisons, each of which employs between 200 and 500 officers and support staff. There is also a growing

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and ast ...

industry led by

Cascade Aerospace Cascade Aerospace Inc. of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada is a specialty aerospace and defence contractor, focused on providing long-term integrated aircraft support programs for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), military, government ...

and Conair Group Inc. Local and privately owned confectionery company Brookside Foods was acquired by The Hershey Company in 2011. In 2016, it announced it would be closing.

Education

Forty-six public elementary, middle, and secondary schools are administered by the Abbotsford School District. This includes a virtual school called the "Abbotsford Virtual School" that offers more than 30 semestered online courses. This school offers a unique animation and modeling program that teaches students aspects of the video game industry. Private schools include Dasmesh Punjabi School,

St. John Brebeuf Regional Secondary St. John Brebeuf Regional Secondary is a Catholic school, under the administration of the Catholic Independent Schools Vancouver Archdiocese school board. The school is co-educational, offering academic, fine arts, and business programs, as well ...

Mennonite Educational Institute The Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) is an independent country day school located in Abbotsford British Columbia, approximately 70 kilometres from Vancouver. MEI consists of four divisions — a preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary ...

, and Abbotsford Christian School. Post-secondary institutions in the city include the University of the Fraser Valley, religious institutions such as

Columbia Bible College Columbia Bible College (CBC) is an institution of higher education in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. The college states that its mission is to "equip people for a life of discipleship, ministry and leadership in service to the church an ...

and

Summit Pacific College Summit Pacific College (formerly Western Pentecostal Bible College) is an undergraduate and postgraduate Bible college and seminary, on a foothill of Sumas Mountain in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. It is affiliated with Trinity Western ...

, as well as career colleges such as Career Gate Community College, Sprott Shaw College, Vancouver Career College, Métis Skills and Employment Centre, and CDI College.

Arts, culture and heritage

The Abbotsford Arts Council hosts a number of free local events including music in

Mill Lake Park Mill Lake is a small lake in the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, located between the Trans-Canada Highway and South Fraser Way. It is the centrepiece of Mill Lake Park. History Originally called lake Lekw'ōquem (Le-kwa-kwem) by ...

, the Arty Awards and more recently, the Christmas Artisan Gift Fair. It has been involved in projects such as the Abbotsford "Unity Statue", Abbotsford Christmas Craft Fair, Art in the Park, Abbotsford's Art and Heritage Unity Festival, and the Historical Downtown Art Bench Project. As well as maintaining the Kariton Art Gallery which features and hosts exhibitions from local artists of all mediums residing in the Lower Mainland.

The Reach Gallery Museum The Reach Gallery Museum is a public art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in ...

features exhibitions from across Canada and around the world, as well as the work of local artists. It houses a heritage archive, runs special events, programs and courses and seeks to promote local arts and culture. Trethewey House Heritage Site features a restored 1920s Craftsman-style house built by J.O. Trethewey, one of the owners of the lumber and shingle mill that gave

its name. The municipally designated heritage house and adjacent gallery are open to the public for special events, educational programming, and drop-in tours. The Mennonite Heritage Museum, which opened in January 2016, features a permanent exhibit that tells the 500-year-old story of the Anabaptist/

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the R ...

movement, with a particular focus on the history of those Mennonites who settled in Abbotsford beginning in the early 1930s. The Museum also has a gallery that features the work of local Mennonite artists, a coffee shop serving traditional Mennonite foods, a bookstore, and a replica traditional Mennonite housebarn that includes a permanent exhibit focusing on Mennonites and agriculture. The Museum is also home to the library and archive of the Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia. Gallery 7 Theatre and Performing Arts has been one of Abbotsford only performing arts organizations since 1991 and operates out of

. They produce four mainstage productions every year.

Transportation

Public bus transportation is provided by the

Central Fraser Valley Transit System Central Fraser Valley Transit System (formerly known as ValleyMAX) is a public transit system which provides bus services in the Central Fraser Valley area of British Columbia, Canada. Funding for the system is provided by the City of Abbotsford ...

. Passenger rail service to Vancouver currently runs from nearby Mission by way of the West Coast Express. Air links are provided by the

. WestJet provides regular scheduled service from the airport, due to its proximity to Vancouver's eastern suburbs. The airport is also the home of the annual

Abbotsford International Airshow The Abbotsford International Airshow is held annually on the second Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August at Abbotsford International Airport in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. It is Canada's largest airshow. In the mid-1970s, Abbotsford w ...

. Major transportation routes leading into Abbotsford are the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

(No. 1), the Abbotsford-Mission Highway (No. 11) and the

Fraser Highway Fraser Highway is a major arterial road in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Connecting the cities of Surrey and Abbotsford, the highway formerly constituted a major portion of British Columbia Highway 1A until the latter was decommiss ...

(No. 1A). Access to the United States is via the Sumas–Huntingdon Border Crossing.

Media

Due to its proximity to Vancouver, most Vancouver television and radio stations are also available in Abbotsford, although in a few cases there are repeater stations licensed to different centres in the region.

Radio

Two radio stations originate from Abbotsford: CIVL-FM, campus radio station of the University of the Fraser Valley, and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

station CKQC-FM.

Print

* ''

The Abbotsford News The ''Abbotsford News'' is a Canadian community newspaper in Abbotsford, British Columbia published by Black Press. ''The News'' publishes more than 40,000 copies two times a week distributed across Abbotsford and also the adjacent municipality of ...

'' * '' The Abbotsford Times'' (ceased publication in December 2013) * ''The Punjabi Patrika''

Online

* ''Abbotsford Today'' *''Fraser Valley Current''

Sports

Hockey

Abbotsford Minor Hockey is one of the largest associations in British Columbia with more than 1000 players registered from the ages of 5 through 18 years old. This association is recognized by many as a model and a leader in the development of minor hockey programs, and several Abbotsford-raised players have gone on to the highest levels of this sport. In the 2005–06 hockey season, Abbotsford's bantam AAA team were ultimately the Western Canadian Bantam Champions, and eight individual players from this team (the most ever) were selected in the 2006 WHL Bantam Draft. The

Abbotsford Pilots The Abbotsford Pilots are a junior "B" ice hockey team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Harold Brittain Conference of the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL). The Pilots play their home games at MSA Arena. ...

of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League (junior B level) play at MSA Arena, which is Abbotsford's second largest arena at just over 400 seats. Abbotsford was considered as a possible home for the Chilliwack Chiefs (junior A), who were forced to move in 2006 when the

Chilliwack Bruins The Chilliwack Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. The 2006–07 season marked the Bruins' inaugural season in the WHL. The team played at Prospera Cent ...

(a WHL expansion team) took over their arena, Prospera Centre. Abbotsford would have become the home of the Chiefs if the city had supported them in building a new arena; instead, the Chiefs moved to Langley. Construction has now been completed in Abbotsford on a far bigger sports and entertainment centre (with 7,500 seats). From 2009 until 2014, Abbotsford hosted the NHL's

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat ...

. Home games were played at the

Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre The Abbotsford Centre, formerly Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre, is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The arena was expected to cost $64.7 million. Construction began on September 24, 2007. As of 2023, i ...

. On May 6, 2021, the NHL's

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

were approved to relocate their AHL affiliate to Abbotsford for the 2021–22 season as the Abbotsford Canucks.

Other sports

From 2012 and 2013, the

BC Angels The BC Angels were a women's football team in the Lingerie Football League (LFL) and played in the 2012 LFL Canada season. Based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, (70 kilometres away from Vancouver) the Angels played their home games at the Abbot ...

of the

Legends Football League The Extreme Football League (X League) is an American women's semi-professional tackle football league. The league was originally founded in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League (LFL), and later rebranded as the Legends Football League in 2013. ...

's LFL Canada division played at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. Abbotsford's Jane and Gerry Swan Track at Rotary Stadium is home to the Valley Royals Track & Field Club, who have produced numerous Olympians including two for the 2008 Olympics. Rotary Stadium was also home to the now-defunct

Abbotsford Air Force The Abbotsford Air Force was a Canadian Junior Football team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Air Force played in the eight-team B.C. Football Conference, which itself is part of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) and competes a ...

of the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profe ...

. Abbotsford has a superior youth soccer program, winning two national titles, and numerous provincial titles. It is also home of soccer all-stars Sophie Schmidt, Brad Petoom and Adam Lang. Abbotsford is home to the

Abbotsford Mariners Fraser Valley Mariners is a Canadian soccer team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division ...

of the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Premier Development League, the highest level of amateur soccer in North America. Abbotsford is home to many high school sports, with

Abbotsford Senior Secondary School Abbotsford Senior Secondary School is a public high school in Abbotsford, British Columbia, part of School District 34 Abbotsford. History Abbotsford Secondary School was established in 1952, when Abbotsford was a village. The school name was ...

, W.J. Mouat Secondary, Rick Hansen Secondary,

Robert Bateman Secondary Robert Bateman Secondary is a public high school in Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford is a city located in British Columbia, adjacent to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser River. With an estimated popu ...

, St. John Brebeuf Secondary, Yale Secondary, and the

, among others, doing very well in track and field, volleyball, basketball, and football. These schools have consistently ranked among the highest in the province. The Yale Secondary senior boys basketball team, under Coach Al Friesen, won the 2008 'AAA' provincial boys' basketball championship. Abbotsford's rugby club supports three men's teams, two women's teams, U19 men's and women's, U15 U16 and U17 men's, and a great mini rugby program. Many of Abbotsford's players have gone on to play for Canada, such as Erin Lockwood, Ryan McWhinney, Scott Hunter and Brodie Henderson. In Olympic sports, Abbotsford's Alana Kraus has won medals in short-track speed skating.

Crime

In 2005, the Abbotsford–Mission metropolitan area had the highest property crime rate and the second highest violent crime rate for cities with a population of 100,000 to 500,000 in Canada. The metropolitan area had the highest rate of homicides nationally for two years running (2008 and 2009) with a rate of 5.22 homicides per 100,000 population, compared with the national average of 1.81. In 2010, the rate was 2.3. The City of Abbotsford has its own municipal police force, one of eleven municipal police forces in British Columbia. It is the third largest municipal police force in British Columbia (behind Vancouver and Victoria). , the Abbotsford Police Department employed nearly 200 officers and 80 civilian employees. The Abbotsford Police Department was officially formed in 1995 when the District of Matsqui and the District of Abbotsford amalgamated to become the City of Abbotsford. Prior to the amalgamation, the District of Matsqui was patrolled by the Matsqui police and the District of Abbotsford by the RCMP. During the referendum citizens elected to keep a municipal police force.

Cityscape

These places represent parts of the city that have more than one neighbourhood in them. * Abbotsford East * Abbotsford West * Aberdeen * Bradner * Central Abbotsford * Matsqui * Poplar * Sumas Mountain * Sumas Prairie

Neighbourhoods

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia U ...

* Auguston * Blueridge *

Bradner Bradner is a village in Wood County, Ohio, United States. The population was 985 at the 2010 census. History Bradner was platted in 1875, and named for John Bradner, proprietor. A post office called Bradner has been in operation since 1876. The ...

Clayburn Clayburn is British Columbia’s first company town. It is situated at the foot of Sumas Mountain within the boundaries of the City of Abbotsford. Today the village and the brick plant site are classified as the municipally designated Clayburn Vil ...

* Clearbrook * Downtown * Eagle Mountain * Gifford * Glen Mountain *

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cr ...

* Kilgard * Matsqui * McKinley Heights * Mill Lake *

Mount Lehman Mount Lehman or Mt. Lehman (49°07'00"N, 122°23'00"W) is a small rural community located in the Fraser Valley of south western British Columbia, Canada.http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/27429.html BC Geographical Names The community was e ...

* North Poplar * Peardonville * Pepin Brook * Sandy Hill * South Poplar * Straiton * Townline

Sister cities

* Fukagawa, Hokkaidō,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Notable people

* Bacon Brothers (gangsters) *

Karen Lee Batten The first season of ''Canadian Idol'' debuted on June 9, 2003. Ryan Malcolm of Kingston, Ontario was the eventual winner. On July 15, 2003, CTV and INSINC announced that broadband video of the program would be available over the Internet. Au ...

* Chase Claypool *

Ryan Craig Ryan F. Craig (born January 6, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and current assistant coach with the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League. Prior to retirement, he was the captain of the Cleveland Monst ...

Kyle Cumiskey Kyle Cumiskey (born December 2, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with the Düsseldorfer EG in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Cumiskey won the 2015 Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks. P ...

* Frank Davey * Sunny Dhinsa * Dianne Doan * Brian Doerksen *

Jacob Doerksen Jacob Luke Doerksen (born October 16, 1987) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. Career A native of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Doerksen played basketball and football at Rick Hansen Secondary School, he was named the British ...

* Burkely Duffield *

Victoria Duffield Victoria Eileen Elizabeth Duffield (born January 3, 1995) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. She is best known for her debut single "Shut Up and Dance", which peaked at number 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart in 2011 and was c ...

Jared Falk Jared Falk (born 1981 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian professional drummer, teacher and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Drumeo. Biography Falk started playing drums at age 15 and teaching his first student at a ...

Michael Funk Michael "Mike" Funk (born August 15, 1986 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Abbotsford, British Columbia) is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres. He was drafted by the ...

Amy Gough Amy Gough (born August 24, 1977, in Williams Lake, British Columbia) is a Canadian skeleton racer who has competed since 2002. Her best result in a Skeleton World Cup event was first at Winterberg, Germany in December 2011, while her best overall ...

* Derek Grant * Adam Hadwin * Charles Hill-Tout *

Jacob Hoggard Jacob William Hoggard (born July 9, 1984) is a Canadian convicted sex offender and former singer-songwriter who was the lead singer for the pop-rock band Hedley. Before Hedley was formed, Hoggard competed on the second season of '' Canadian Id ...

Marek Klassen Marek Klassen (born June 11, 1992) is a Canadian professional basketball player for Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A. Highschool career Klassen attended Yale Secondary School from 2007–2010. He won two provincial championships with the Yale Lions ( ...

* Chad Kroeger * Evangeline Lilly * Brad Moran *

Greg Neufeld The fifth season of ''Canadian Idol'' is the fifth installation of the ''Idol'' series in Canada. It was again hosted by Ben Mulroney, with Farley Flex, Jake Gold, Sass Jordan and Zack Werner all returning as judges. The show premiered on June ...

Larry Nickel Larry Nickel (born March 12, 1952) is a Canadian composer, conductor, music publisher and singer who devotes much of his focus to choral music. An associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre. he has composed for a wide spectrum of genres; el ...

Gladys Powers Gladys Stokes Luxford Powers (10 May 1899 – 15 August 2008) was thought to be, at age 109, the last female veteran of the First World War following the 27 March 2007 death of fellow 109-year-old Charlotte Winters from the US. However the subse ...

Jordan Pritchett Faber Drive is a four-piece Juno Award-nominated Canadian pop punk band from Mission, British Columbia, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Dave Faber, lead guitarist Jordan Pritchett, bass guitarist Jeremy "Krikit" Liddle and drum ...

* Nathan Lieuwen * Mauro Ranallo * Sophie Schmidt * Jared Slingerland *

Devon Toews Devon Toews ( ; born February 21, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Toews was drafted 108th overall by the New York Islanders in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Toew ...

* David Van der Gulik * Jake Virtanen *

Shane Wiebe Shane Anthony Wiebe (born January 12, 1983) is a singer-songwriter who competed on the second season of Canadian Idol. He made it to the top five of the competition before being eliminated. Zack Werner said Shane could sing the phone book and it ...

Notes

References

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* * {{authority control Cities in British Columbia Populated places established in 1892

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Abbotsford CMA

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