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Abbotsford, British Columbia
Partial skyline of Abbotsford as viewed from Mill Lake. Abbotsford is the third most ethnically diverse city in Canada, after Toronto and Vancouver. It is also home to Abbotsford International Airport, which serves as a reliever airport to Vancouver International Airport. The municipality's southern boundary is the Canada-US border, which it shares with Whatcom County. In Canada, it is bordered by Langley to the west, Mission to the north, and Chilliwack to the east. Much of Abbotsford has dramatic views of Mount Baker, which is less than 100 km from the city. To the north, the southernmost Coast Mountains are visible.
HistoryThe first stage in Abbotsford's colonial development occurred when the Royal Engineers surveyed the area in response to the Gold Rush along the Fraser River in 1858. This led to the building of Old Yale Road, the first transportation route to link the Fraser Valley. Settlement continued and butter, milk and tobacco were produced by the late 1860s. In 1889 former Royal Engineer John Cunningham Maclure applied for a crown grant to obtain the 160 acres that would become Abbotsford. Maclure transferred the title to his son, John Charles Maclure, who then sold it to Robert Ward. Ward then filed a town site subdivision on 9 July, 1891. The Maclures named Abbotsford after a family friend Harry Abbott, the Western Superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway[1] . Also, in 1891 the CPR built a railway line through the area that connected Mission with Sumas, Washington. This route was that of the rail connection between Seattle and Vancouver until the completion of the New Westminster rail bridge.The Village of Abbotsford was incorporated in 1892. At that time Robert Ward sold many of the lots to private investors, however he sold off a significant portion to the Great Northern Railroad?s subsidiary company the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway. British Columbia Electric Railway arrived soon after in 1910, ensuring a rapid rate of growth that has continued to this day. The most notable natural disaster to ever hit Abbotsford was a major flood in 1948. 1972 saw the amalgamation of the Village of Abbotsford and the District of Sumas into the District of Abbotsford. The District of Abbotsford amalgamated with the District of Matsqui in 1995 to become the City of Abbotsford. GovernmentThe City of Abbotsford uses a Council-Manager system of local government. The current Mayor and Council were elected on November 15, 2008. The current mayor is George W. Peary. Councillors elected in 2008 are: Patricia Ross (9% of popular vote), Lynne Harris (8%), Moe Gill (8%), John Smith (7%), Simon Gibson (6%), Les Barkman (6%), Dave Loewen (6%), and Bill MacGregor (6%). School trustees elected are: Joanne Field, Korky Neufeld, Shirley Wilson, Cindy Schafer, John R. Sutherland, Uultsje DeJong, and Preet S. Rai. [2] 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, symbolizing the local berry industry, and the Fraser River. 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. DemographicsAbbotsford is the third most ethnically diverse city in Canada. It now leads the country with the highest proportion of people of South Asian origin per capita, according to results from the 2006 census. It also contains a large German and Dutch population in addition to the associated religious community of Lutheran, Mennonite, Dutch Reformed and various other fundamentalist denominations. There are also large components of the population of Scandinavian and Eastern and Southern European origins. Abbotsford's largest religious group is Christian at 61.4% of the population, with associated Lutheran and other Protestant denominations and the Anabaptist (Mennonite Brethren and Mennonite Church) being the largest congregations. The next largest religious group are the Sikhs, comprising 13.4% of the population. The city contains the first Sikh temple built in Canada, which is also one of the oldest in North America. The largest racial group is Caucasian, comprising approximately 79.6% of the population. This includes English, German, Canadian, Scottish, Dutch, Irish, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, Hungarian, Russian, Polish, Danish and Spanish.[3] (see table below) The next largest racial group in Abbotsford is South Asian (countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) comprising 14.9% of the population. This is followed by East and Southeast Asian at 4.71% and Aboriginals at 2.2% of the population (3.4% of which includes Metis and indigenous peoples from other parts of Canada and the United States). English is the primary language spoken, with 71.2% of the population having it as their first language. Punjabi is the second most spoken language. 23.8% of the city's population was born outside of Canada. Of that percentage, a majority is from South Asia, followed by groups from Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Latin America. Quick Facts:
Tables of ethnic groups
LivingApproximately 92% of employed residents work in the city or in neighbouring communities. Agriculture is Abbotsford's main industry, followed closely by transportation, manufacturing and retail. There is also a small, but growing aerospace industry led by Conair Group Inc., and Cascade Aerospace. Abbotsford also is home to three federal prisons, each of which employs between 200 to 500 officers and support staff. EducationPublic elementary, middle, and secondary schools are administered by School District 34 Abbotsford. Post Secondary institutions in the city include the University of the Fraser Valley, two religious institutions: Columbia Bible College and Summit Pacific College, as well as career colleges such as Sprott Shaw Community College, Vancouver Community College, CTC Changes Training Centre and CDI College of Business, Technology and Health Care. There is also a virtual school called "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 gaming industry. PoliceThe City of Abbotsford has its own municipal police force. The Abbotsford Police Department is one of eleven other municipal police forces in British Columbia. It was officially formed in 1995 when Matsqui and Abbotsford amalgamated to become the City of Abbotsford. Prior to the amalgamation, Matsqui was patrolled by the Matsqui Police and Abbotsford by the RCMP. During the referendum citizens elected to keep a municipal police force. As of 2006, the Abbotsford Police Department employs nearly 200 officers and 80 civilian employees. It is the third largest municipal police force in British Columbia (behind Vancouver and Victoria). As of July 20, 2006, the Abbotsford metropolitan area (which includes Mission) has 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. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=b66ee731-3fb2-4f7d-a32a-acdfac405b45&k=72509. TransportationAbbotsford is served by a regional transit system (ValleyMAX), with funding from the City of Abbotsford and the District of Mission. Major transportation routes leading into Abbotsford are the Trans-Canada Highway (#1), Abbotsford-Mission Highway (#11), and the Fraser Highway (#1A). Access to the United States is via the Huntingdon border crossing. Abbotsford is served by the Abbotsford International Airport, located in the southern part of the municipality. It is one of the fastest growing commercial airports in western Canada, and acts as a reliever airport for Vancouver International Airport. WestJet provides regular scheduled service from the airport, due to its close proximity to Vancouver's eastern suburbs. The airport is also the home of the annual Abbotsford International Airshow. SportsAbbotsford'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 is also home to the Canadian Junior Football League's Abbotsford Air Force; however, the Air Force fell into non-playing status for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The Abbotsford Pilots of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League (Junior B level) play at MSA Arena, which is Abbotsford's 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 (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. Ironically, construction has now started in Abbotsford on a far bigger sports & entertainment centre (with 7,500 seats).[5] 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 2005-2006 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. ( http://www.abbotsfordminorhockey.com/ ) Abbotsford has a superior Youth soccer program, winning 2 national titles, and numerous provincial titles. It is also home of soccer all stars Sophie Schmidt and Brad Petoom. Abbotsford is home to the Abbotsford Rangers of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League, the highest level of amateur soccer in North America. Abbotsford is home to many high school sports, with Abbotsford Collegiate, W.J. Mouat Secondary, Rick Hansen Secondary, Robert Bateman Secondary, Yale Secondary, and the Mennonite Educational Institute, 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 Coah Al Friesen, won the 2008 TELUS BC Boys ?AAA? Provincial Championship.[6] 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, Bryn Keys, and Brodie Henderson (http://www.abbotsfordrugby.com/). Neighbourhoods
AreasWest Abotsford, Central Abbotsford, East Abbotsford, Sumas Mountain, Sumas Prairie, Poplar, Matsqui, Bradner, Aberdeen, Neighbouring cities and towns
Notable Residents
Sister citiesReferences
External links
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