(()) is a
Canadian City , in the
Fraser Valley District of
British Columbia . It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 115,463 people in
2001 . The population for the Census Metropolitan Area was 147,370 (
2001 ). The city is located in the
Fraser Valley , where 253,844 people (
2001 ) live. Abbotsford is situated immediately north of the Canada-US border. Most of the city has dramatic views of
Mount Baker , a large glacier-clad volcano just across the border.
The village of Abbotsford was incorporated in
1892 . The village was named for a Maclure family friend, Harry Abbott, who was Western Superintendent of the
Canadian Pacific Railway . The city was incorporated in
1995 , through the merging of the District of Abbotsford with the District of Matsqui. The City of Abbotsford is 359.18 square kilometres in size, with a population density of 321.5 persons per square kilometre.
Additionally, Abbotsford is the
Sister City of
Fukagawa , Japan.
The City of Abbotsford uses the current Council-Manager system of local government. The present Mayor and Council were elected on November 19th, 2005. The current mayor is George Ferguson.
Housing prices in Abbotsford are some of the highest in the Fraser Valley. In
2003 , the average price of a single-family house was $309,267 CDN, a single detached home was $255,152 CDN, a townhouse was $196,503 CDN, and an apartment was $121,985 CDN. There are 41,352 dwellings in the city.
Abbotsford is the third most ethnically diverse city in Canada, after
Toronto and
Vancouver . Abbotsford now leads the country with the highest proportion of people of
South Asia n origin per capita, according to results from the 2001 census.
Abbotsford's largest religious group is
Christian at 61.4%, of which the largest denomination is
Protestant . The second largest religious group is
Sikh , comprising 13.4% of the population. The city contains the first Sikh temple built in
North America .
The largest ethnic group is
Caucasian , comprising approximately 79.6% of the population. The largest ethnic minority group in Abbotsford is South Asian (countries of
India ,
Pakistan ,
Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka ) comprising 14.9% of the population. In third place are
Aboriginals , at 2.2% of the population.
English is the primary language spoken, with 71.2% of the population having it as their first 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 . Immigrants from
Europe include those of English, German, Dutch, Scottish, Irish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish backgrounds.
Quick Facts:
- Population ( 2004 Estimate): 130,000
- % Change ( 1996 - 2001 ): 9.5
- Resident labour force ( 2001 ): 58,140
- Dwellings ( 2001 ): 41,352
- Area (sq. km.): 359.18
- Density (persons per sq. km.) ( 2001 ): 321.5
- Gross income of population ( 2002 ): $2,337,376,686
- Average household income ( 2001 ): $56,165
- Average individual income ( 2001 ): $26,794
Approximately 92% of employed residents work in the city or in neighboring 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 Aviation , and
Cascade Aerospace .
Abbotsford is the home of the Abbotsford Pilots of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League (Junior B level).
Perhaps more notably, Abbotsford is home to the Valley Royals Track & Field Club. Among the club's members are Canadian Olympian Stephanie McCann and World Junior Champion (2004) high jumper Michael Mason. The Valley Royals are led by their longtime head coach Gerry Swan - a legendary coach of national fame - and are based at the Jane and Gerry Swan Track at Rotary Stadium.
Abbotsford is served minimally by a regional transit system. The service is operated by Township Transit Inc., with funding from the City of Abbotsford and the
District Of Mission . Transportation infrastructure includes the Trans-Canada Highway (#1), Abbotsford-Mission Highway (#11), and the Fraser Highway (#1A). Access to the United States is also possible via the Huntington border crossing.
Abbotsford is served by the
Abbotsford International Airport , which is located in Southern Abbotsford. It is one of the fastest growing airports in Western Canada.
