Matsqui is a former district municipality 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. 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' design ...

(just south 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 ...

) in what is now the City of Abbotsford. A branch line of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

also runs from Mission, British Columbia, to the US border through the eastern boundary of the village. The Matsqui station of the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

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 The Stó꞉lō (), alternately written as Sto꞉lo, Stó꞉lô, or Stó꞉lõ, historically as Staulo, Stalo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, ...

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. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

surrounding the village, which lies between the bulk 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 ...

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 2 ...

, 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 T ...

, 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, 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, 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.

Arms

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 Populated places disestablished in 1995

Regional district

Arms

See also

References