Matsqui is a former district municipality in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. It was incorporated in 1892 and merged with the district municipality of Abbotsford in 1995 to create the new City of Abbotsford. Matsqui used to be the western part of what is now Abbotsford. It had commercial growth in the Clearbrook area which then spilled over to Abbotsford. The name Matsqui can also be used to refer to a small historic village located on Matsqui Prairie, known as Matsqui Village, which was also formerly part of the District Municipality of Matsqui. It can be found to the immediate northwest of the present-day junction of Harris Road and

British Columbia Highway 11 Highway 11, known locally as the Abbotsford-Mission Highway, is a long at-grade expressway (With the southernmost part of the highway two lanes) that figuratively cuts the Fraser Valley in half. The highway was first given the '11' designatio ...

(just south of the Fraser River) in what is now the City of Abbotsford. A branch line of the Canadian Pacific Railway also runs from

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, British Columbia, to the US border through the eastern boundary of the village. The Matsqui station of the Canadian National Railway line is northeast of the village, on the far side of Highway 11. The word Matsqui derives from the local First Nation language

Halkomelem Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...

, spelt Máthxwi and means a "stretch of higher ground". The Matsqui people, who are part of the Stó꞉lō group historically known as the Fraser River Salish, remain resident in the area to the west of Matsqui Village, to the south of Matsqui Island (which is included in their reserve and is one of the larger islands in the lower Fraser River). Their government is the Matsqui First Nation, which is a member band of the Sto:lo Nation, one of two Sto:lo tribal councils. Matsqui Prairie refers to the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

surrounding the village, which lies between the bulk of

Sumas Mountain Sumas Mountain is a mountain located in Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County, Washington (state), Washington, 15 miles northeast of Bellingham, Washington, Bellingham and southwest of Vedder Mountain. Located in the Skagit Range, the moun ...

to the east, the Mount Lehman– Bradner upland to the west, and the upland containing Clearbrook and downtown Abbotsford to the south. Matsqui Prairie was inundated in both of the great Fraser River Floods of 1894 and 1948, with Matsqui Village and surrounding farms devastated by flooding. A communications station of the Canadian Forces, Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Detachment Matsqui, is located on the northeastern edge of Matsqui Prairie adjacent to the foot of Sumas Mountain.

Regional district

Matsqui municipality, the original Village of Abbotsford and the former District of Sumas and adjoining unincorporated areas, mostly Sumas Mountain, formed the Central Fraser Valley Regional District prior to the expansion of

Greater Vancouver Regional District The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

, and now are part of the Fraser Valley Regional District which includes

Mission, British Columbia Mission is a city in the Lower Mainland of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was originally incorporated as a district municipality in 1892, growing to include additional villages and rural areas over the years, adding the original To ...

, and unincorporated areas to its east on the north side of the Fraser; these formerly had been part of the Dewdney-Alouette Regional District with Maple Ridge and

Pitt Meadows Pitt Meadows is a municipality of Metro Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Incorporated in 1914, it has a land area of and a population of 19,146 as of 2021. The municipality received its name from the Pitt River and Pitt Lake ...

, which are now in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Prior to 1995, Matsqui encompassed McCallum Road west to Station Road (276 Street) and from the border with the United States to the Fraser River. Abbotsford, after its amalgamation with the District of

Sumas Sumas () is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 1,307 as of the 2010 census. Sumas is located adjacent to the Canada–U.S. border and borders the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Sumas-Huntingd ...

, encompassed McCallum Road east to the Vedder River and also from the US border to the Fraser River, including the Canadian side of the

Sumas Border Crossing Sumas () is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 1,307 as of the 2010 census. Sumas is located adjacent to the Canada–U.S. border and borders the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Sumas-Huntingd ...

References

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"Matsqui" entry in the Canadian Encyclopedia
{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Abbotsford, British Columbia Populated places on the Fraser River

Matsqui Matsqui is a former district municipality in British Columbia, Canada. It was incorporated in 1892 and merged with the district municipality of Abbotsford in 1995 to create the new City of Abbotsford. Matsqui used to be the western part of what is ...

Populated places disestablished in 1995

Regional district

See also

References