Fraser Valley Regional District

Fraser Valley
Regional district
Fraser Valley Regional District
View departing Abbotsford Airport
View departing Abbotsford Airport
Official logo of Fraser Valley
Logo
A map of British Columbia depicting its 29 regional districts and equivalent municipalities. One is highlighted in red.
Location in British Columbia
CountryCanada
ProvinceBritish Columbia
SeatChilliwack
Government
[1]
 • TypeRegional district
 • BodyBoard of directors
 • ChairJason Lum (Chilliwack)
 • Vice chairPatricia Ross (Abbotsford)
 • Electoral areas
  • A - Boston Bar–North Bend–Canyon Alpine
  • B - Yale/Choate/Dogwood Valley/Emory Creek/Laidlaw/Othello/Ruby Creek/Spuzzum/Sunshine Valley
  • C - Sasquatch Country
  • D - Popkum–Bridal Falls
  • E - Chilliwack River Valley
  • F - McConnell Creek-Hatzic Prairie
  • G - Nicomen Island–Deroche–Dewdney–Hatzic Island
  • H - Cultus Lake–Columbia Valley–Lindell Beach
Area
 • Land13,335.28 km2 (5,148.78 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[2]
 • Total295,934
 • Density22.2/km2 (57/sq mi)
Websitewww.fvrd.ca Edit this at Wikidata

The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. Its headquarters are in the city of Chilliwack. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km2 (5,159 sq mi). It was created in 1995 [3] by an amalgamation of the Fraser-Cheam Regional District and Central Fraser Valley Regional District and the portion of the Dewdney-Alouette Regional District from and including the District of Mission eastwards.

The FVRD is the third most populous Regional District in British Columbia,[3] incorporating roughly the eastern half of the Lower Mainland of southwestern BC, and is bordered by Whatcom County, Washington to the south, Metro Vancouver to the west, the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District to the east, the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District to the northwest, and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District to the northeast.

It also includes unincorporated areas north of the City of Pitt Meadows, which were part of the Dewdney-Alouette Regional District but which were not transferred to the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD) when it expanded to include Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.

Demographics[edit]

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Fraser Valley Regional District had a population of 324,005 living in 118,217 of its 124,988 total private dwellings, a change of 9.5% from its 2016 population of 295,934. With a land area of 13,319.34 km2 (5,142.63 sq mi), it had a population density of 24.3/km2 (63.0/sq mi) in 2021.[4]

Population by census subdivision[edit]

Area Population (2006) Population (2011) Population (2016) Population (2021)
City of Abbotsford 123,864 133,497 141,397 153,524
City of Chilliwack 69,217 77,936 83,788 93,203
City of Mission 34,505 36,426 38,554 41,519
District of Hope 6,185 5,969 6,181 6,686
District of Kent 4,738 5,664 6,067 6,300
Village of Harrison Hot Springs 1,573 1,468 1,468 1,905
Electoral Area "A" 478 442 405 495
Electoral Area "B" 796 721 892 869
Electoral Area "C" 952 973 1,023 1,133
Electoral Area "D" 1,296 1,346 1,529 2,092
Electoral Area "E" 3,481 3,358 1,540 1,568
Electoral Area "F" 1,339 1,303 1,293 1,384
Electoral Area "G" 1,914 1,764 1,776 1,692
Electoral Area "H" 394 N/A (dissolved) 1,847 2,459
First Nation Reserves 8,164 9,161

Ethnicity[edit]

Panethnic groups in the Fraser Valley Regional District (2001−2021)
Panethnic
group 		2021[5] 2016[6] 2011[7] 2006[8] 2001[9]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
European[a] 212,630 66.93% 208,025 72.04% 205,540 75.66% 199,415 78.56% 193,020 82.54%
South Asian 53,585 16.87% 39,920 13.82% 33,375 12.29% 26,365 10.39% 19,295 8.25%
Indigenous 24,010 7.56% 22,205 7.69% 18,540 6.82% 14,535 5.73% 11,525 4.93%
Southeast Asian[b] 8,480 2.67% 4,985 1.73% 3,115 1.15% 2,820 1.11% 2,515 1.08%
East Asian[c] 7,940 2.5% 6,700 2.32% 5,890 2.17% 6,375 2.51% 4,245 1.82%
African 3,520 1.11% 2,495 0.86% 1,840 0.68% 1,275 0.5% 915 0.39%
Latin American 3,045 0.96% 2,050 0.71% 1,385 0.51% 1,785 0.7% 1,325 0.57%
Middle Eastern[d] 2,045 0.64% 860 0.3% 635 0.23% 495 0.2% 255 0.11%
Other[e] 2,405 0.76% 1,515 0.52% 1,330 0.49% 780 0.31% 755 0.32%
Total responses 317,670 98.04% 288,765 97.58% 271,655 97.86% 253,840 98.76% 233,850 98.44%
Total population 324,005 100% 295,934 100% 277,593 100% 257,031 100% 237,550 100%
  • Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

Language[edit]

According to the 2011 Census, 76.47% of Fraser Valley's population have English as mother tongue; Punjabi is the mother tongue of 10.02% of the population, followed by German (3.49%), Dutch (1.39%), French (1.07%), Korean (0.69%), Spanish (0.66%), Tagalog (0.35%), Chinese, n.o.s. (0.33%), and Vietnamese (0.30%).[10]

Knowledge of languages in the Fraser Valley Regional District (1991−2021)
Language 2021[5] 2011[7] 2001[11] 1991[f][12]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
English 306,300 96.42% 264,790 97.47% 229,090 97.96% 176,445 98.59%
Punjabi 47,065 14.82% 30,595 11.26% 17,935 7.67% 7,595 4.24%
French 13,695 4.31% 12,625 4.65% 12,290 5.26% 8,470 4.73%
Hindustani[g] 10,295 3.24% 4,010 1.48% 4,180 1.79% 1,275 0.71%
German 7,600 2.39% 10,205 3.76% 13,555 5.8% 14,860 8.3%
Spanish 5,795 1.82% 3,900 1.44% 3,360 1.44% 1,675 0.94%
Chinese[h] 3,735 1.18% 2,295 0.84% 1,975 0.84% 1,200 0.67%
Dutch 3,565 1.12% 4,730 1.74% 5,525 2.36% 4,825 2.7%
Tagalog 3,275 1.03% 1,190 0.44% 545 0.23% 240 0.13%
Korean 2,170 0.68% 2,045 0.75% 1,100 0.47% 190 0.11%
Vietnamese 2,040 0.64% 730 0.27% 985 0.42% 435 0.24%
Polish 805 0.25% 730 0.27% 755 0.32% 605 0.34%
Ukrainian 555 0.17% 625 0.23% 1,055 0.45% 1,110 0.62%
Total responses 317,670 98.04% 271,655 97.86% 233,850 98.44% 178,975 98.21%
Total population 324,005 100% 277,593 100% 237,550 100% 182,243 100%

Services[edit]

While the member municipalities provide for their own municipal services, the FVRD acts as the local government for the electoral areas. As a local government or regional district, it can provide services such as water piping, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, street lighting, waste management, fire protection, mosquito control, E911 service, emergency preparedness/recovery, cablevision, air quality monitoring, library funding, growth management, park maintenance, building inspections and bylaw enforcement, planning, and development approvals. Each area does not necessarily receive all these services so each electoral area pays property taxes, through the provincial government, in accordance with the particular services they receive. The FVRD has opted to implement a regional growth strategy, as allowed by Section 25 of the BC Local Government Act.

Political structure[edit]

The regional district is a federation of municipalities and electoral areas. Each municipality appoints councillors to the board of directors for the regional district in proportion to their relative population sizes and the electoral areas directly elect one director each.

Economy[edit]

Economically, the area has grown around resource extraction, specifically farming, logging and gravel mining. Much of the Fraser Valley's land base is within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). The balance, not privately owned is in Crown Lands. Retirement and recreational services (like campgrounds, RV parks, boating, skiing etc.) have become increasingly important. However, most commercial and industrial activities are kept within the municipal boundaries and leaving the electoral areas for farming and rural residential uses.

Electoral area, geography, and climate[edit]

The areas in a regional district that are not incorporated are called ‘electoral areas’.

Electoral area "A"[edit]

Boston Bar and North Bend, with populations nearing 200 people each, are the two main small towns in this area. Other residents of this area live in small subdivisions (i.e. Canyon Alpine and Falls Creek) or Indian reserves which line the Fraser Canyon.

Electoral area "B"[edit]

Communities in this area are connected by three highways (Highway #1, #3, #5) which radiate out of the District of Hope. The communities of Dogwood Valley, Emory Creek, and Choate are just north of Hope and have a combined population of about 133 people. Sunshine Valley is a community on BC Highway 3 southeast of Hope with 164 people and was originally a Japanese internment camp named Tashme. Other communities in this area include Laidlaw, west of Hope, and Spuzzum, north of Yale.

Electoral area "C"[edit]

Communities in this area include Lake Errock with 368 people, Harrison Mills with 141 people, and the resort town of Hemlock Valley, with only 15 permanent residents (but several hundred hotel guests and condo residents during the ski season). There are vacation homes on islands in Harrison Lake.

Electoral area "D"[edit]

The population of this area lives in the unincorporated villages of Popkum and Bridal Falls. Combined they have a population of 972 people.

Electoral area "E"[edit]

The Chilliwack River runs east-west through this area. Most of the population live in the small area between the mountains and the river, which is generally divided into three areas: Slesse Park, Baker Trails and Bell Acres.

Other residents of this area live on the north end of Cultus Lake, or in the Columbia Valley, south of Cultus Lake, bordering Washington state.

Electoral area "F"[edit]

Area F lies between the boundaries of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District to the north and west, the Metro Vancouver Regional District to the west, Electoral Area G and the cities of Mission and Maple Ridge to the South, and Electoral Area C to the east. The Area F population of approximately 1,300 people lives exclusively in the southern, lowland portion of Area F, specifically that between Hatzic Lake and the southeast end of Stave Lake, as everything in this electoral area north of Stave Lake is inaccessible or uninhabitable. This inhabited lowland area is also known as Hatzic Valley, and includes the unincorporated localities of McConnell Creek and Miracle Valley in the north, and Hatzic Prairie and the farming town of Durieu in the south.

Electoral Area "G"[edit]

This small but populous (~1,800 pop.) Electoral Area lies mainly north of the Fraser River but also encompasses portions of Sumas Mountain to the south (formerly Electoral Area "H".) Area "G" borders the District of Mission to the west, Electoral Areas "F" and "C" to the North and East and the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia to the south. It includes the communities of Hatzic Island, Dewdney, Nicomen Island, and Deroche. FVRD local services provided to Area "G" include the Dewdney and Deroche Community Water Systems, North Fraser Fire Protection, North Side Street Lighting and North Side Garbage.

Farming (dairy, nursery and blue berries) and resource extraction (forestry and aggregate) along with recreation are the primary activities. Approximately one-quarter of the residents live on Hatzic Island with much of the Electoral Area's remaining population residing in more rural locations and on Leq’a:mel First Nation Reserve lands.

The Sasquatch Lions Club (member club of Lions Clubs International) is the predominant service organization found in Area "G" and the Deroche and District Community Association has been active since 1908.[citation needed]

Electoral Area "H"[edit]

This new Electoral Area H was re-established in 2014 to include Cultus Lake and Columbia Valley.[13] Previously, Electoral Area H was dissolved in 2008, with privately owned lands within the area being annexed into Abbotsford, and crown lands being reassigned to Electoral Area "G".[14] The previous area consisted of the majority of Sumas Mountain.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Statistic includes all persons that did not make up part of a visible minority or an indigenous identity.
  2. ^ Statistic includes total responses of "Filipino" and "Southeast Asian" under visible minority section on census.
  3. ^ Statistic includes total responses of "Chinese", "Korean", and "Japanese" under visible minority section on census.
  4. ^ Statistic includes total responses of "West Asian" and "Arab" under visible minority section on census.
  5. ^ Statistic includes total responses of "Visible minority, n.i.e." and "Multiple visible minorities" under visible minority section on census.
  6. ^ Statistic includes the results from the former regional districts of Fraser-Cheam and Central Fraser Valley, and the subdivision of Mission, all of which were later amalgamated to form the Fraser Valley Regional District
  7. ^ Combined responses of Hindi and Urdu as they form mutually intelligible registers of the Hindustani language.
  8. ^ Combined responses of the Chinese languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Min Nan, Hakka, Wu (Shanghainese), Min Dong, Chinese, n.o.s., and Chinese languages, n.i.e..

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Board of Directors". Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census divisions, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (British Columbia)". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b "What is the FVRD?". www.fvrd.ca. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census divisions". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (26 October 2022). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  6. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 October 2021). "Census Profile, 2016 Census". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (27 November 2015). "NHS Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  8. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (20 August 2019). "2006 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  9. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2 July 2019). "2001 Community Profiles". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (8 February 2012). "Statistics Canada: 2011 Census Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca.
  11. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (23 December 2013). "2001 Census Topic-based tabulations Various Non-official Languages Spoken (76), Age Groups (13) and Sex (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  12. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (29 March 2019). "1991 Census Area Profiles Profile of Census Divisions and Subdivisions - Part B". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Electoral Area H OCP | Fraser Valley Regional District". www.fvrd.ca. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

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