Abbotsford, British Columbia
Encyclopedia : A : AB : ABB : Abbotsford, British Columbia
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'' |- |Census Division | |- |Regional District |Fraser Valley Regional District |- | Area: | or 359.18 (use for info after initial value, and for unformatted area field)}}} }}} km²}}} |- |style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px;" | Founded |style="padding: 0 5px 0 0" |1892 |- |style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px;" | Incorporated |style="padding: 0 5px 0 0" | 1995 |- |Population: City Population | valign="top" | 115,460 (2001) |- |Population density:||321.5/km² |- | Time zone: | |- |Postal code span: | |- | Latitude: Longitude: | |- |Elevation:|| m MSL}}} |- |Highways |Highway 1 Highway 1A Highway 11 |- |Waterways |Fraser River |- | Mayor: | |- |: | |- | align="center" colspan="2" | }}} |- | colspan="2" align="right"| Census.}}}}}}}}} [Edit Template] |}
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.
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GovernmentThe 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. 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 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 21st, 2005, Abbotsford had the third highest crime rate in Canada (behind Regina and Saskatoon) for cities with a population of 100,000 to 500,000. This statistic is based on the "metropolitan area" which includes Abbotsford, Mission and points to the east. [link] LivingHousing 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 CAD, a single detached home was $255,152 CAD, a townhouse was $196,503 CAD, and an apartment was $121,985 CAD. There are 41,352 dwellings in the city. PeopleAbbotsford 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 Asian 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:
IndustryApproximately 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. EducationPublic elementary, middle, and secondary schools are administered by School District 34 Abbotsford. Post Secondary institutions in the city include the University College of the Fraser Valley and two religious institutions; Columbia Bible College and Summit Pacific College. SportsAbbotsford is the home of the Abbotsford Pilots of the Pacific International Junior Hockey League (Junior B level). 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 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 has a great rugby club supporting three men's teams, two women's teams, and a variety of teams under 19, many of Abbotsford's players have gone on to play for Canada, such as Erin Lockwood. http://abbotsford.net/rugby TransportationAbbotsford 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. Communities
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