Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as

Cultus Lake Cultus Lake may refer to: * Cultus Lake, British Columbia, Canada *Cultus Lake (Oregon), United States *Little Cultus Lake Little Cultus Lake is a natural lake in Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. Near its larger a ...

and

Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdoor ...

s. There are numerous outdoor activities in the area in which to participate, including hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking horseback riding, whitewater kayaking, camping, fishing, golf and paragliding. Chilliwack is known for its annual corn harvest, and is home to the Province's second largest

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, cl ...

br>The Book Man
The Fraser Valley Regional District is headquartered in Chilliwack, which is the Fraser Valley's second largest city after Abbotsford. The city had a population of 93,203 in 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 ...

, with a census metropolitan area population of 113,767 people.

Etymology

In Halq'eméylem, the language of the Stó:lō communities around Chilliwack and Sardis, ''Tcil'Qe'uk'' means "valley of many streams". It also lends its name to the

Chilliwack River Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdoor ...

, and group of aboriginal people, the ''Ts'elxwéyeqw'' (also spelt ''Ts'elxwíqw'' or ''Sts'elxwíqw''). The spelling of Chilliwack is sometimes a matter of confusion. Prior to the amalgamation of the City of Chilliwack and the Municipality of Chilliwhack, there were two different spellings. When amalgamated, the current spelling of the city was adopted. Anglicized spellings include "Chilliwhyeuk" and other versions closer to the original Halq'eméylem.

History

Yale Road Chilliwack - 1908 - Site of City Hall

The archaeological record shows evidence of Stó:lō people in the Fraser Valley, or ''S'ólh Téméxw'', 10,000 years ago. Permanent structures in the Chilliwack area date from around 5,000 years ago. It is estimated that at the time of the

first contact First contact may refer to: *First contact (astronomy), the moment in astronomical transit when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch *First contact (anthropology), the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another ...

with

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

s, there were as many as 40,000 people living within Stó:lō territory. By 1859, over 40,000 gold miners had trekked to the

goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United Sta ...

of the upper Fraser River, many travelling through the Chilliwack area. By the mid-1860s, several farms had grown up around the steamboat landings on the Fraser River called Miller's Landing, Minto Landing, Sumas Landing and Chilliwack Landing. The Township of Chilliwhack was incorporated in 1873, the third municipality in British Columbia. The initial settlement was along the Fraser River at Chilliwack Landing. Steamboats were the main mode of transportation, carrying goods and passengers between Chilliwack and New Westminster. After the construction 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 Canadi ...

in 1885, many residents began to cross 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 d ...

at Minto Landing to catch the train at Harrison Mills. With little room for expansion along the river, the commercial area of the town moved south to the junction of the New Westminster-Yale Wagon Road, Wellington Avenue and Young Road, called "Five Corners". A large subdivision called Centreville was built in 1881. The name "Centreville" was replaced In 1887 by the more popular "Chilliwack." The Chilliwack area experienced extensive flooding in the

1894 Fraser River flood The history of flooding in Canada includes floods caused by snowmelt runoff or freshet flooding, storm-rainfall and " flash flooding", ice jams during ice formation and spring break-up, natural dams, coastal flooding on ocean or lake coasts from ...

. The Chilliwack (formerly Centreville) area was incorporated in 1908 as a separate municipality, the City of Chilliwack. The city and the township co-existed for 72 years. The Chilliwack area again experienced extensive flooding in the

1948 Fraser River flood The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Van ...

. In 1980, the Township of Chilliwhack and the City of Chilliwack merged to form the District of Chilliwack. The District of Chilliwack became the City of Chilliwack in early 1999. Chilliwack has the largest number of

rainbow crosswalk DIY rainbow crossing was a protest movement that emerged in Sydney, Australia in 2013. The campaign involved individuals creating rainbow pedestrian crossings in chalk to protest the removal of a temporary rainbow crossing from Oxford Street, ...

s in BC despite City Council's decision not to install more. In November 2021, an atmospheric river caused widespread flooding in Chilliwack, forcing major roads, including

Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...

, to close indefinitely. The Highway has since been reopened for traffic in this area.

Geography

Chilliwack is located in the Upper Fraser Valley, 100 kilometres (60 mi) east of Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Highway. The city is bounded on the north by the

, and on the south by the Canada-United States border. Chilliwack is surrounded by tall mountain peaks, such as

Mount Cheam Cheam Peak or Mount Cheam (pronounced and in English, in Halqemeylem, the local indigenous language, referring to the lowland below. The Halqemeylem name for the mountain is Lhílheqey – ''Theeth-uhl-kay'' – from the word ''Lhelqey'' – "g ...

and

Slesse Mountain Slesse Mountain, usually referred to as Mount Slesse, is a mountain just north of the US-Canada border, in the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia, near the town of Chilliwack. It is notable for its large, steep local relief. For example, its w ...

, and large rivers (the Fraser and

Vedder Vedder is a Dutch and Low German surname. ''Vedder'', related to Dutch ('father'), meant 'uncle' (father's or mother's brother) in Middle Dutch and Eastern dialects of Dutch. Notable people with the surname include: * Adam Swart Vedder (1834–1 ...

Geology

The Chilliwack

Batholith A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, such ...

forms much of the North Cascades in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and the U.S. state of Washington. The geological structure is primarily named after the City of Chilliwack, where it is the most notable geological feature. The Chilliwack Batholith is part of the Pemberton Volcanic Belt and is the largest mass of exposed intrusive rock in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. The age of the Chilliwack batholith ranges from 26 to 29 million years old. In 2013, '' Maclean's'' reported that, with an average annual temperature of , Chilliwack is the warmest city in Canada.

Cityscape

The city is made up of several amalgamated villages and communities. The urban core follows a north–south axis bisected by the Trans-Canada Highway. The city is bounded in the north by the

, in the east by the Eastern Hillsides, in the south by the Canada–US border, and in the west by the

Vedder Canal Vedder is a Dutch and Low German surname. ''Vedder'', related to Dutch ('father'), meant 'uncle' (father's or mother's brother) in Middle Dutch and Eastern dialects of Dutch. Notable people with the surname include: * Adam Swart Vedder (1834–190 ...

. With 939 farms on approximately of dedicated farmland, farming remains an important part of the Chilliwack landscape.

Neighbourhoods

Neighbourhoods on the north side

Also referred to as "Chilliwack Proper Village West", the north side covers the area from the Trans-Canada Highway in the south, to the

in the north, and includes the communities of Camp River, Chilliwack Mountain, Downtown Chilliwack, East Chilliwack, Fairfield Island, Rosedale and

Popkum Popkum, also known as Popkum Village, is a rural farming and tourism based community in the Fraser Valley Regional District, just east of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. The community is named after the Indian reserve of the Popkum First Na ...

. Downtown Chilliwack is the historical urban centre of the city. Several cultural attractions, such as the

Chilliwack Coliseum Chilliwack Coliseum (formerly known as Prospera Centre) is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, built in 2004 as a replacement of the former Chilliwack Coliseum. It is the home of the Chilliwack Chiefs (2011-), ...

Chilliwack Cultural Centre , operator = , capacity = 575 (est.) , type = Proscenium theatre , opened = {{Start date, 2010, 09, 25 , reopened = , yearsactive = 2010–present , rebuilt = , cl ...

, The Book Man and the Eagle Landing Shopping Centre are located there, as well as key government buildings, such as city hall, FVRD offices, and the

Provincial Court of British Columbia The Provincial Court of British Columbia (BC Provincial Court) is a trial level court in British Columbia that hears cases in criminal, civil and family matters. The Provincial Court is a creation of statute, and as such its jurisdiction is lim ...

Neighbourhoods on the south side

The south side includes the communities of

Atchelitz Atchelitz is a rural community within the City of Chilliwack in the Fraser Valley, Eastern Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located southwest of the city core, to the north of the Vedder Canal. Atchelitz Pioneer Village, lo ...

, Cultus Lake Park, Greendale, Promontory Heights, Ryder Lake, Sardis, Vedder Crossing, Garrison Crossing and Yarrow. Sardis is the urban core of the south side and is a popular shopping destination.

Parks

Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park is a BC Parks, BC Park located on the Trans-Canada Highway just east of Rosedale, British Columbia, Rosedale, British Columbia, Canada, part of the Chilliwack, City of Chilliwack. The community of Bridal Falls, B ...

* Cheam Wetlands Regional Park * Chilliwack Heritage Park *

Cultus Lake Provincial Park Cultus Lake is a lake, associated community and provincial park in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is the source of the Sweltzer River. Cultus Lake is located south of the Chilliwack River, near the city of Chilliwa ...

* Fairfield Park * Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve * Gwynne Vaughn Park * Island 22 * Salish Park * Sardis Park * Townsend Park

Arts and culture

Music

Chilliwack has an active rock music scene, centering mostly around young ska and punk rock bands. Bands originating in Chilliwack include:

These Kids Wear Crowns These Kids Wear Crowns is a six-member Canadian power pop and pop-rock band, formed in 2009 in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. They were "discovered" on MuchMusic's ''disBand'' and signed to a contract with Capitol Records/EMI. They have per ...

, Mystery Machine, and

The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets is a rock band from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Their music largely consists of often tongue-in-cheek homages to the works of H. P. Lovecraft, specifically the Cthulhu Mythos. History Band formatio ...

. Chilliwack also has a thriving

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

community, featuring the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra and the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra. The drumline from

Sardis Secondary School Sardis Secondary, abbreviated as SSS, is a public high school in Chilliwack, British Columbia part of School District 33 Chilliwack. The current principal is Dan Heisler. Sardis Secondary has a focus on agricultural and skilled trades education ...

played at several venues during the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

in Vancouver. Chilliwack also offers many other community events and classes throughout the year. The Downtown Chilliwack Business Improvement Association is hosting music in Central Park on Saturdays for the month of August 2022. Despite their name, the band Chilliwack was actually formed, and is based, in nearby Vancouver.

Performing arts

The

Chilliwack Cultural Centre , operator = , capacity = 575 (est.) , type = Proscenium theatre , opened = {{Start date, 2010, 09, 25 , reopened = , yearsactive = 2010–present , rebuilt = , cl ...

is a performing arts venue located in downtown Chilliwack. The building is home to the Chilliwack Players' Guild (the resident theatre company), as well as the Chilliwack Academy of Music. The UFV Theatre is a 206-seat thrust stage venue formerly belonging to the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Theatre Department. Until 2017, UFV produced three or four mainstage shows each year, as well as the annual Directors' Festival, which featured student directors and performers from UFV, Capilano University, Thompson Rivers University, University of Victoria, UBC and Douglas College. As of 2021, the theatre is part of the Imagine High public high school. The Chilliwack School of Performing Arts provides pre-professional training in acting, singing and dancing to children ages 3–18 at their downtown location. The mainstage show performs a two-week run every January at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, and a Spring Festival featuring performances from many age groups in late May. Programs at the Chilliwack Performing Arts can be registered for at. Many different programs are available, including a Junior Musical Theatre and Summer Break Camps.

Public Art

Th
Chilliwack Mural Festival
occurs annually. Co-founded and Directed by Amber Price and Lise Oakley, their volunteer team has curated and directed the installation of over three dozen works of large scale original art in Historic Downtown Chilliwack. Murals by Canadian Artists Emmanuel Jarus, Jason Botkin and Chris Perez can be found along with other public art via th
Chilliwack Public Art Trail

Festivals

Annual events and festivals include: * Chilliwack Bluegrass Festival (ended in 2013) * Christmas Craft Market * Chilliwack Art of Wine Festival * Fraser Valley Culture and Craft Beer Festival * Fraser Valley Women's Expo * Party in the Park * Chilliwack Canada Day * Chilliwack Mural Festival

Museums

Chilliwack Sports Hall of Fame Chilliwack Coliseum (formerly known as Prospera Centre) is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, built in 2004 as a replacement of the former Chilliwack Coliseum. It is the home of the Chilliwack Chiefs of the B ...

* Canadian Military Education Centre * Chilliwack Museum and Archives, located in the 1912 former Chilliwack City Hall on Spadina Avenue, is a National Historic Site of Canada. The Chilliwack Museum and Archives are a non-profit organization operated by the

Chilliwack Museum and Historical Society The Chilliwack Museum and Historical Society is a registered non-profit society that operates the Chilliwack Museum and Archives located in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Location The Chilliwack Museum and Historical Society operates two ...

which began in 1958 by brothers Oliver and Casey Wells.

Notable people

;Academics: *

Rita Steblin Rita Katherine Steblin (April 22, 1951 – September 3, 2019)
obituary, ''Figures of Speech'' was a

Vancouver and Vienna, Austria *

Homer Thompson Homer Armstrong Thompson (September 7, 1906 – May 7, 2000) was a Canadian classical archaeologist of the twentieth century, specializing in ancient Greece. While studying for his doctorate at the University of Michigan, Benjamin Dean Mer ...

, Ph.D., classical archaeologist and excavator of the Ancient Agora of Athens * Wayne Smith, M.Econ, Chief Statistician of Canada *

Allan Brooks Allan Cyril Brooks (February 15, 1869 Etawah – January 3, 1946) was an ornithologist and bird artist who lived in Canada. His father William Edwin Brooks had been a keen ornithologist in India but growing up in a farming household in Canada ma ...

, Ornithologist and distinguished wildlife artist *

Charlotte Froese Fischer Charlotte Froese Fischer (born 1929) is a Canadian-American applied mathematician and computer scientist noted for the development and implementation of the Multi-Configurational Hartree–Fock (MCHF) approach to atomic-structure calculations an ...

, Ph.D., mathematician and computer scientist * Dr. Carin Bondar, Ph.D., biologist and celebrity Science Communicator ;Activists: *

Betty Fox Betty Lou Fox (née Wark; November 15, 1937 – June 17, 2011) was a Canadian cancer research activist, the mother of Terry Fox and founder of the Terry Fox Foundation. She was the most prominent figure in Terry Fox's legacy. Biography Fox w ...

, cancer research activist, mother of Terry Fox. * Tony Clarke, activist, who graduated from Chilliwack Senior Secondary. ; Arts and entertainment: * Patrick Gallagher, actor from ''Glee'', ''True Blood'' and ''Night At The Museum''. Graduated from Chilliwack Senior Secondary. * Tasha Tilberg, Covergirl model. Born in Chilliwack on July 23, 1979. Appeared on the covers of magazines such as ''Vogue'', ''Harper's Bazaar'' and ''Marie Claire''. * Jim Vallance, , musician, songwriter, composer, arranger and producer * Bernie Herms, Grammy Award-winning artist * Bria Skonberg, jazz musician, Juno Award winner for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year in 2017 ; Athletes: * Dave Archibald, a former professional hockey player with the Minnesota North Stars and Ottawa Senators. *

Rick Klassen Richard Danny "Rick" Klassen (July 25, 1959 – December 10, 2016) was a defensive lineman who played in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions from 1981 to 1987, 1989–1990 and Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1988. In 2003, Klassen was vote ...

, former professional football player with the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders. *

Amber Allen Amber Allen (born October 21, 1975) is a professional Canadian soccer player. She led the Vancouver Whitecaps team in goals (23) and points (48) in the 2005. This earned her the W-League All-Conference honours. She was named for the national s ...

, a former professional soccer player with the Vancouver Whitecaps. *

Jordyn Huitema Jordyn Pamela Huitema ( ; born May 8, 2001) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club OL Reign and the Canada national team. She scored her first national team goal at the age of 16 ...

, a soccer player for Paris Saint-Germain. ; Canadian Military: * Piper James C. Richardson, recipient of the Victoria Cross ; Journalists: * Jack McGaw, journalist and radio operator. * Diana Swain, television journalist. Graduated from Chilliwack High School in 1983. ; Justices: *

William H. Davies William H. Davies Bill Davies, was a Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia (BCSC), Canada, from 1982 until his retirement in 1999. In 2007 he was appointed Commissioner of the Davies Commission Inquiry which investigated circumstances a ...

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justice and Chair of the Davies Commission Inquiry ;Politicians: *

Barry Penner Barry Penner, is a Canadian licensed lawyer and former politician in the province of British Columbia. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) for Chilliwack-Hope for 16 years. He also served as Attorney Gener ...

, former

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

* Chuck Strahl, former member of Parliament and cabinet minister *

Dorothy Kostrzewa Dorothy Nan Kostrzewa (née Chung; August 17, 1928 – January 11, 2013) was a Canadian politician. She is the first Chinese-Canadian woman to hold political office in Canada when she was elected to Chilliwack City Council in 1970. She served on ...

, first

Chinese-Canadian , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...

woman elected to political office in Canada *

Steven Point Steven Lewis Point, (''Xwĕ lī qwĕl tĕl'') (born July 28, 1951) is a Canadian jurist and current chancellor of the University of British Columbia. He served as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 2007 to 2012. He also served ...

, , first aboriginal Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. ;Writers: * Allan Fotheringham, columnist. Worked for ''The Chilliwack Progress'' as a student. * W.P. Kinsella, , author of ''Shoeless Joe (novel), Shoeless Joe'', lived in Chilliwack. * Gayle Friesen, novelist ; Others: * Prest Family - One of the pioneer Chilliwack families * Keith Hunter Jesperson, serial killer who committed crimes in Canada and the U.S

Media

Newspapers

*Chilliwack Progress - British Columbia's oldest community newspaper, published continuously with the same name in the same community since April 1891 Chilliwack Times published its final edition on December 28, 2016.

Radio

*FM 89.5 - CHWK-FM *FM 91.7 - CBU (AM), CBYF-FM *FM 98.3 - CKSR-FM *FM 99.9 - CBU-FM, CBU-FM-7 *FM 102.1 - CBUF-FM, CBUF-FM-1 *FM 107.5 - CKKS-FM

Television

*Channel 11 CHAN-DT, CHAN-TV-1 Global Television Network, Global

Sports

The British Columbia Hockey League's Chilliwack Chiefs (2011-), Chilliwack Chiefs, play at the

. The team used to be the Quesnel Millionaires. The franchise was purchased and moved to Chilliwack by the Chiefs Development group. They started in the BCHL's Interior Conference for the 2011/2012 BCHL Season. While the original Junior "A" team, the Chilliwack Chiefs, plays in Langley, British Columbia (city), Langley, British Columbia, as the Langley Rivermen (the Chiefs Development Group sold their interest in the Langley Chiefs but retained the 'Chiefs' name and history). The Western Hockey League's Chilliwack Bruins used to play at the Prospera Centre. The expansion franchise began to play in 2006 and ended when the team was sold at the end of the 2011 season. It became the Victoria Royals WHL hockey team in 2011. Community sports include hockey, lacrosse, softball, soccer, football, baseball, field hockey and swimming. The Canadian Junior Football League's Chilliwack Huskers play at Exhibition Stadium (Chilliwack), Exhibition Stadium. Chilliwack Turbo Fastball club won the 1997 Canadian Jr. Men's National Championships. In 2013 the team was an inaugural induction into the

. Chilliwack's minor baseball Cougars were the 2003 Midget AAA Provincial champions as well as the 2006 Western Canadian tier 2 champions. Chilliwack Cougars College Prep Baseball Team won the Provincial Championship in 2016,2017 and 2019. Most recent title against the Ridge Meadows Royals Chilliwack hosted the 2007-2008 Synchronized Skating Canadian Championships at the Prospera Centre.
Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association
was organized in 1958 with the opening of the Chilliwack Coliseum.

Climate

The climate is typical Oceanic climate, oceanic (Köppen climate classification, Köppen: ''Cfb'') but with some influence of the land mass being some distance from the sea, similar to Orléans, France (although the former has a precipitation more than twice as long and with a tendency towards the Mediterranean pattern). Chilliwack's mild climate with limited extremes provides excellent growing conditions for a wide variety of crops and agricultural products. In fact, when averaged from 1981 to 2010, Chilliwack had one of the warmest mean temperatures for any city in Canada. Jozina Slegh said The highest temperature recorded within the city of Chilliwack is on June 28, 2021, which was set during the 2021 Western North America heat wave, 2021 Western North America Heat wave, beating the old mark of recorded on July 21, 2006. The lowest recorded temperature was on Dec 27, 1968. Precipitation falls mostly as rain, with snow limited to the surrounding mountains, except for two or three weeks per year generally in December or January when Squamish (wind), artic outflow occurs. In 2013, Maclean's wrongly reported that with an average annual temperature of , Chilliwack is the warmest city in Canada. The actual warmest city in Canada is Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, with an average annual temperature of . Chilliwack enjoys some of the warmest average high temperatures in Canada, with 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) being the yearly average high. Chilliwack receives nearly the same number of days of precipitation (184.6 days at greater than 0.2 mm) as comparable local communities nearer Vancouver such as Maple Ridge (185.8 days) and the City of Mission (186.0 days) (Environment Canada Statistics). Summers in Chilliwack are usually sunny and warm, with long days (light out until well after 10 pm in June with dusk that lasts for hours) and with occasional stretches of heat where temperatures rise above . Due to its location at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley, there has been some debate about preserving Chilliwack's air quality. However, the 2011 World Health Organization's study of air quality shows that Chilliwack enjoys air quality among the best in the world. For PM₁₀ (10 µm) size particulates, Canada averaged third best in the world (along with Australia) at an average of 13 micrograms per cubic metre. The City of Chilliwack and the Greater Vancouver Regional District were tied at a low 8.0 MPCM. For smaller particulate of 2.5 µm size (PM_2.5), "the City of Chilliwack averaged 4.9 micrograms per cubic metre. Vancouver also had 4.9, Calgary had 5.6, Winnipeg had 5.6, Toronto had 7.9, Montreal had 11.2 and Sarnia had 12.7."

Demographics

City of Chilliwack

In the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Chilliwack had a population of 93,203 living in 35,758 of its 37,124 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 83,788. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Ethnicity

*Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses.

Religion

According to the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 census, religious groups in Chilliwack included: *Irreligion in Canada, Irreligion (45,475 persons or 49.4%) *Christianity in Canada, Christianity (41,875 persons or 45.5%) *Sikhism in Canada, Sikhism (1,570 persons or 1.7%) *Islam in Canada, Islam (750 persons or 0.8%) *Buddhism in Canada, Buddhism (575 persons or 0.6%) *Hinduism in Canada, Hinduism (575 persons or 0.6%) *Judaism in Canada, Judaism (120 persons or 0.1%) *Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous Spirituality (105 persons or 0.1%)

Chilliwack CMA

At the census metropolitan area (CMA) level in the 2021 census, the Chilliwack 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.

Economy

Chilliwack is part of the Lower Mainland, Lower Mainland-Southwest economic region. Chilliwack's service and retail sectors account for approximately 50% of Gross Domestic Product, GDP. Other growing industries include manufacturing accounting for 13%, construction at 8% and agriculture and forestry at 5% of Chilliwack's GDP.

Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack

Second World War

CFB Chilliwack was established in 1941 as Camp Chilliwack following Canada's entry into the Second World War in 1939. After the outbreak of the Pacific War the camp was expanded to garrison Canadian Army units for the defence of Canada's West Coast. The base was also a training facility: 112 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre and A6 Canadian Engineering Training Centre were housed at Chilliwack until the war's end in 1945.

1945–1997

During the Cold War, the base was used as a permanent training facility and the garrison for the Canadian Army units of British Columbia. The base housed the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering, formerly A6 Canadian Engineering Training Centre and 58 Field Engineer Squadron which was transferred from CFB Esquimalt on Vancouver Island. Following the unification of the Canadian forces in 1968, the base was renamed Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack (CFB Chilliwack). The base housed the following units: * Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering (CFSME—formerly Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering) * Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School (CFOCS) (transferred in 1971 to CFB Chilliwack) * First Combat Engineer Regiment (1CER—formerly 58 Field Engineer Squadron) In 1994, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry 3rd Battalion (3PPCLI) was transferred from CFB Esquimalt to CFB Chilliwack, the last unit to be transferred to the base. Due to Department of National Defence cutbacks at the end of the Cold War, the base was closed in 1997. CFOCS was transferred to Area Support Unit St-Jean in Quebec (ASU St-Jean), CFSME transferred to CFB Gagetown, 3PPCLI and 1CER were transferred to CFB Edmonton.

Legacy

Part of CFB Chilliwack became a residential subdivision known as Garrison Crossing, and its training facilities became the Canada Education Park, a campus for a number of post-secondary schools. The Chilcotin Training Area, better known as Area C, is still operational and is part of the Western Area Training Centre (WATC). Area C is used by the Primary Reserves units of British Columbia for field training and for the use of its firing ranges. The ASU is also used by Cadets Canada, Cadets for field training. The ASU also houses supply depots for the Canadian Army units of 39 Canadian Brigade Group and the cadet units of BC. The old quartermaster warehouse is now the Canadian Military Education Centre Museum.

Transportation

Airports

Vancouver International Airport is located about from downtown Chilliwack and has non-stop flights daily to Asia, Europe, Oceania, the United States, and Mexico, and other airports within Canada. Abbotsford International Airport is located about west of Downtown Chilliwack and offers scheduled service to Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Victoria, where passengers can connect to anywhere.

Chilliwack Airport is a small regional airport located in Downtown Chilliwack. It has of paved and lit runway that includes a parallel taxiway. Approximately 70% of the estimated 60,000 annual air traffic movements are itinerant traffic that consists of both pilot training and recreational flights from all around BC and south of the border.

Bicycle lanes

There are about of bike lanes throughout the city with additional lanes being added every year.

Highways

A British Columbia Highway 1, four-lane to six-lane expressway from Horseshoe Bay, British Columbia, Horseshoe Bay to Hope, British Columbia, Hope runs through Chilliwack on the Lower Mainland section of the Trans-Canada Highway. The British Columbia Highway 9, Agassiz-Rosedale Highway is a north–south route in the eastern part of Chilliwack that acts as the last connection between Highways British Columbia Highway 1, 1 and British Columbia Highway 7, 7 eastbound before Hope, British Columbia, Hope, and is the main access to the resort village of Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, Harrison Hot Springs. The highway first opened in 1953, originally going between Yale Road in Rosedale, British Columbia, Rosedale and Highway 7, with a ferry across the Fraser River. A bridge replaced the ferry in 1956. When the section of Highway 1 east of Chilliwack opened in 1961, Highway 9 was extended south to a junction with the new Highway 1 alignment, which replaced Yale Road as the main route between Chilliwack and Hope.

Mass transit

Paddlewheelers at Chilliwack Landing near the present day end of Wellington Street

Chilliwack Transit System consists of a fleet of 9 buses that operate along regularly scheduled routes throughout the metropolitan area.

Rail

Chilliwack Railway Station

Education

Post-secondary

Canada Education Park (CEP) is an campus in the Vedder Crossing neighbourhood on the south side of Chilliwack that houses several post-secondary institutions, including the University of the Fraser Valley, the RCMP "E" Division, RCMP Pacific Region Training Centre, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia. The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) is the largest post-secondary school in Chilliwack, and the seventh largest in British Columbia in terms of full-time enrollment. It offers master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates and citations across a range of programs in fine arts, humanities, science, social sciences, applied communication, business, nursing, as well as technical and trade programs. Its campuses are located in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope and Mission.

Private

Public

The ''Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique'' operates one Francophone school: ''école La Vérendrye'' primary school.Carte des écoles
." ''Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britanique''. Retrieved on 22 January 2015.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{authority control Chilliwack, Cities in British Columbia Populated places on the Fraser River