The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is a regional district in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. Its headquarters are in the city of

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...

. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km² (5,159 sq mi). It was created in 1995 by an amalgamation of the Fraser-Cheam Regional District and

Central Fraser Valley Regional District The Central Fraser Valley Regional District was a regional district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region, south of the Fraser River and west of Chilliwack. It comprised the Township and City of Langley ...

and the portion of the

Dewdney-Alouette Regional District The Dewdney-Alouette Regional District was a regional district in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, comprising the district municipalities of Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and Mission and unincorporated areas east to the Harrison River ...

from and including the District of Mission eastwards. The FVRD is the third most populous Regional District in British Columbia, incorporating roughly the eastern half of the

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...

of southwestern BC, and is bordered by

Whatcom County, Washington Whatcom County (, ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland (the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley Regional Districts) of the ...

to the south,

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

to the west, the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District to the east, the

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) is a local government federation, consisting of four municipalities in British Columbia, Canada: Lillooet, Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish. It stretches from Britannia Beach in the south to Pa ...

to the northwest, and the

Thompson-Nicola Regional District The Thompson–Nicola Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Canada 2021 Census population was 143,680 and the area covers 44,449.49 square kilometres. The administrative offices are in the ma ...

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 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 2 ...

(MVRD) when it expanded to include Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

in the

2021 Census of Population 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 sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the Fraser Valley Regional District 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.

Population by census subdivision

Ethnicity

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

Language

According to the 2011 Census, 76.47% of Fraser Valley's population have English as

mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

;

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

is the

of 10.02% of the population, followed by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(3.49%),

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

(1.39%),

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

(1.07%),

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

(0.69%),

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

(0.66%), Tagalog (0.35%), Chinese, n.o.s. (0.33%), and

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

(0.30%).

Services

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,

enhanced 911 Enhanced 911 (E-911 or E911) is a system used in North America to automatically provide the caller's location to 911 dispatchers. 911 is the universal emergency telephone number in the region. In the European Union, a similar system exists known ...

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

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

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 British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is a collection of land where agriculture is designated as the priority use. Farming is encouraged and non-agricultural uses are restricted. The ALR was established by the British Columbia New De ...

(ALR). The balance, not privately owned is in

Crown Lands Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

. 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

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

Electoral area "A"

Boston Bar Boston Bar is an unincorporated community in the Fraser Canyon of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Name The name dates from the time of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush (1858–1861). A "bar" is a gold-bearing sandbar or sandy riverbank, an ...

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 The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Ca ...

Electoral area "B"

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 Choate may refer to: Places Canada * Choate, British Columbia, a locality in the Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, Canada United States * Choate Mental Health and Development Center, a psychiatric hospital in Anna, Illinois * Choate Rosemary Hal ...

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 Laidlaw (), organized as Laidlaw International, Inc. (with corporate headquarters in Naperville, Illinois) was the largest provider of intercity bus services, contract public transit and paratransit, and contract school bus service in both t ...

, west of Hope, and Spuzzum, north of

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

Electoral area "C"

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 Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada, being about 250 square kilometres (95 mi2) in area. It is about 60 km (37 mi) in length and at its widest almost 9 km (5.6 mi) across. Its sou ...

Electoral area "D"

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"

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 The Columbia Valley is the name used for a region in the Rocky Mountain Trench near the headwaters of the Columbia River between the town of Golden and Canal Flats. The main hub of the valley is the town of Invermere. Other towns include Rad ...

, south of Cultus Lake, bordering Washington state.

Electoral area "F"

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 Stave Lake is a lake and reservoir for the production of hydroelectricity in the Stave River system, located on the northern edge of Mission City, about east of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The main arm of the lake is about long from ...

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"

This small but populous (~1,800 pop.) Electoral Area lies mainly north of the

Fraser River 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 V ...

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 Abbotsford is a city in British Columbia next to the Canada–United States border, Greater Vancouver, and the Fraser River. With a census population of 153,569 people (2021), it is the most populous municipality in the province outside metropol ...

to the south. It includes the communities of

Hatzic Island Hatzic Island is an island located in the centre of Hatzic Lake, an oxbow lake formation north of the Fraser River, on the east side of Mission, British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, provi ...

, Dewdney,

Nicomen Island Nicomen Island is an island in the Fraser Valley region of southwestern British Columbia. Nicomen Mountain in the Douglas Ranges lies to the north across Nicomen Slough. Chilliwack Mountain lies to the south across the Fraser River. Adjacent to ...

, 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.

Electoral Area "H"

This new Electoral Area H was re-established in 2014 to include Cultus Lake and Columbia Valley. 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". The previous area consisted of the majority of

Sumas Mountain Sumas Mountain is a mountain located in Whatcom County, Washington, 15 miles northeast of Bellingham and southwest of Vedder Mountain. Located in the Skagit Range, the mountain is notable for its high biodiversity and year-round hiking tra ...

Notes

References

Sources

Community Profile: Fraser Valley Regional District, British Columbia; Statistics Canada
*

External links

* {{coord, 49, 35, 00, N, 121, 50, 00, W, display=title Politics of Abbotsford, British Columbia Politics of Chilliwack Regional districts of British Columbia