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Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the greater metropolitan area.
About two-thirds of city land is protected as part of the Agricultural Land Reserve, and agriculture accounts for about 30 percent of the local economy. The city is bounded on the north side by the Fraser River, on the south side by the Vedder River and Canada–United States border, and is surrounded by tall mountain peaks, such as Cheam Peak and Slesse Mountain.
On April 26, 1873, the "Corporation of the Township of Chilliwhack" (note the variant spelling) became the third municipality incorporated by the Province of British Columbia. The town centre at the time was concentrated at Chilliwack Landing along the Fraser River. Steamboats were the main mode of transportation, carrying goods and passengers between Chilliwhack and New Westminster. After the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, many residents began to cross the Fraser River at Minto Landing to ride the train from Harrison Mills.
In 1881, with little room for expansion and the threat of floods constantly looming, the town centre was moved south to "Five Corners" at the junction of the New Westminster-Yale Wagon Road, Wellington Avenue and Young Road. This subdivision was initially named "Centreville", but later was renamed "Chilliwack", as it was more commonly referred to by locals in 1887. The area would experience catastrophic flooding in 1894, 1935, 1948 and 2021.
On April 20, 1891, Richard Plunkett Cooke, George de Wolf, and Walter E. Graveley established the Chilliwhack Railway Company.
On October 4, 1910, the British Columbia Electric Railway began operating regularly scheduled passenger service on the New Westminster–Chilliwack Interurban Line.
In 1941, CFB Chilliwack was established 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. It continued to be used as a permanent training facility and garrison during the Cold War. Following the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968, the base was renamed CFB Chilliwack. The base housed the following units:
In 1997, following the end of the Cold War a few years earlier, CFB Chilliwack closed. Its training facilities were converted into the Canada Education Park, a campus for multiple institutions, including the Justice Institute of British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the University of the Fraser Valley, and the Western Area Training Centre (WATC). Today it also houses supply depots for the 39 Canadian Brigade Group of the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Army Cadets. The old quartermaster warehouse became the Canadian Military Education Centre Museum.
Chilliwack is surrounded by tall mountain peaks, such as Cheam Peak and Slesse Mountain, and large rivers (the Fraser River and Vedder River).
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.
Chilliwack also has a thriving classical music community, featuring the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra and the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra.
The drumline from Sardis Secondary School played at several venues during the 2010 Winter Olympics 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.
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.
Murals by Canadian Artists Emmanuel Jarus, Jason Botkin and Chris Perez can be found along with other public art via the Chilliwack Public Art Trail.
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, beating the old mark of recorded on July 21, 2006. The lowest recorded temperature was on December 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 arctic 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, 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 (PM2.5), "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."
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.
The Agassiz-Rosedale Highway is a north–south route in the eastern part of Chilliwack that acts as the last connection between Highways 1 and 7 eastbound before Hope, and is the main access to the resort village of Harrison Hot Springs. The highway first opened in 1953, originally going between Yale Road in 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.
Chilliwack is served by Via Rail's The Canadian as a flag stop. The town is only served by westbound trains towards Vancouver. Eastbound trains call at Agassiz, British Columbia along the CPR tracks, on the other side of the Fraser River. This split in service between Vancouver and Ashcroft station is due to CN and CPR utilizing directional running through the Thompson River and Fraser Canyon.
In 2019, the South Fraser Community Rail Society was launched by former BC premier Bill Vander Zalm and former mayor of Langley Township Rick Green, to resurrect passenger service using the former BCER right-of-way. The proposed light-rail line would be long.
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 enrolment. 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.
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 January 22, 2015.
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 Fraser River, and on the south by the Canada-United States border.
Geology
The Chilliwack Batholith 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.
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 Fraser River, in the east by the Eastern Hillsides, in the south by the Canada–US border, and in the west by the Vedder River. 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 Fraser River in the north, and includes the communities of Camp River, Chilliwack Mountain, Downtown Chilliwack, East Chilliwack, Fairfield Island, Rosedale and Popkum. Downtown Chilliwack is the historical urban centre of the city. Several cultural attractions, such as the Chilliwack Coliseum, Chilliwack Cultural Centre, 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.
Neighbourhoods on the south side
The south side includes the communities of Atchelitz, 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
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, Mystery Machine, and The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.
Performing arts
The Chilliwack Cultural Centre 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.
Public Art
The 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.
Festivals
Annual events and festivals include:
Museums
Notable people
Media
Newspapers
Chilliwack Times published its final edition on December 28, 2016.
Radio
Television
Sports
+ Chilliwack Chiefs BCHL Ice hockey Chilliwack Coliseum 2011 Chilliwack Jets PJHL Ice hockey Sardis Sports Complex 2020 Valley Huskers CJFL Football Exhibition Stadium 1999 Chilliwack Crusaders RFC Third Division Rugby union Yarrow Sports Field 2012 + Sports clubs in Chilliwack
Ice hockey
Chilliwack is home to two Junior ice hockey clubs. The Chilliwack Chiefs of the independent British Columbia Hockey League plays its home games at the Chilliwack Coliseum. The Chilliwack Jets of the Pacific Junior Hockey League plays its home games at the Sardis Ice Complex. The Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association was founded in 1958 with the opening of the original Chilliwack Coliseum. Goalline, Canada The Western Hockey League announced that it planned to establish an expansion franchise in Chilliwack in 2026.
Football
The Canadian Junior Football League club the Valley Huskers plays its home games at Exhibition Stadium in Chilliwack.
Trivia
Climate
The climate is typical Oceanic climate (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.
Demographics
Metropolitan Area
According to the 2021 census, the Chilliwack Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) has a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it has a population density of .
City of Chilliwack
According to the 2021 census, the City of Chilliwack has 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 has a population density of .
Ethnicity
+ Panethnicity groups in the City of Chilliwack (2001–2021)
! rowspan="2" Panethnicity
group
! colspan="2"2021
! colspan="2" 2016
! colspan="2" 2011
! colspan="2" 2006
! colspan="2" 2001 European 73,865 69,810 67,210 62,205 57,020 Indigenous 7,255 6,585 6,030 3,400 2,550 South Asian 3,025 1,260 715 555 465 Southeast Asian 2,425 1,250 855 340 580 East Asian 2,215 1,580 1,100 1,070 910 Latin American 1,015 500 370 475 295 African-Canadian 1,005 685 325 250 270 Middle Eastern 510 200 75 110 65 Other 675 345 245 260 150
Religion
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Chilliwack included:
Economy
Chilliwack is part of the Lower Mainland economic region. Chilliwack's service and retail sectors account for approximately 50% of GDP. Other growing industries include manufacturing accounting for 13%, construction at 8% and agriculture and forestry at 5% of Chilliwack's GDP.
Agriculture & Forestry 5% Construction 8% Education 6% Finance, Insurance & Housing industry 11% Health 6% Manufacturing 13% Public Administration 9% Retail/Wholesale 12% Technology 6% Tourism 9% Other 15%
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.
Active transportation
There are of active transportation throughout the city, the most per capita of any municipality in the Lower Mainland.
Highways
A four-lane to six-lane expressway from Horseshoe Bay to Hope runs through Chilliwack on the Lower Mainland section of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Mass transit
Chilliwack Transit System consists of a fleet of 9 buses that operate along regularly scheduled routes throughout the metropolitan area.
Passenger rail
Chilliwack historically was served by the British Columbia Electric Railway New Westminster–Chilliwack interurban line. The company announced its "Rails-to-Rubber" conversion programme in 1944, and the Chilliwack line ceased service in 1950.
Education
Post-secondary
Canada Education Park 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 Pacific Region Training Centre, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
Private
+ Independent schools in Chilliwack Saint Mary's Elementary K-7 Unity Christian School Elementary-Secondary K-12 John Calvin School Elementary K-7 Timothy Christian School Elementary-Secondary K-12 Highroad Academy Elementary-Secondary K-12 Mount Cheam Christian School Elementary-Secondary K-12 Chilliwack Adventist Christian School Elementary-Junior secondary K-7 Cascade Christian School Elementary-Junior secondary K-12
Public
See also
Further reading
External links
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