Happy New Year, Abbotsford!
It’s hard to believe that 2025 is here. We have accomplished a lot over the past 12 months, and we have a lot to be proud of, but we also have so much to look forward to in 2025.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the City of Abbotsford. On this day 30 years ago, the districts of Matsqui and Abbotsford amalgamated to create the City of Abbotsford. This was our second amalgamation after 1972, when the Village of Abbotsford and District of Sumas were combined to make the District of Abbotsford.
This is a significant milestone and all of us on City Council, particularly those of us who were there 30 years ago, are excited and honoured to lead the city into its fourth decade.
A lot has changed in those 30 years. For starters, in 1995 there was no George Ferguson Way – only George Ferguson the Mayor. He along with 10 councillors embarked on a journey with new city of 100,000 people.
That was also back when gas wars brought price at the pump to just 25 cents a litre, the George Foreman Grill was the hot new appliance on the market and people didn’t “Google” anything – the only browsing they did took place in the aisles of the local Blockbuster Video.
At that time, you could also buy an airport for the low, low price of $10. That’s how much the City of Abbotsford paid the federal government to transfer ownership of Abbotsford International Airport to the City on Jan. 1, 1997. YXX went from serving 2,800 airport passengers a year to soaring to new heights and now serving 1 million annually.
Abbotsford was known as the “City in the Country,” and it was a place where farming, open spaces and community values were the key attractions. While so much has changed over the last 30 years, with the vision and support of former Mayors George Ferguson, Mary Reeves, George Peary, Bruce Banman and Henry Braun, our values have remained the same.
You’ll still find thousands of dedicated farmers and ag producers out in their fields every single day, providing us with the food that feeds our growing province. You’ll still find community spirit alive and well. Our values of entrepreneurship, hard work, innovation and collaboration still define us.
We are still a community that cares about one another, and Abbotsford is still known as the most charitable and giving community per capita in the entire country.
And you'll still find a Council, to quote the 1994 Annual Report of the Corporation and the District of Matsqui and the District of Abbotsford, "with a focus on excellence in service in the community."
Mayor Ferguson and his Council, and all those who followed, certainly built a solid foundation for our community, one that continues to support us to this day. We are grateful, as Mayor and Council, for their dedication, hard work and early vision that has taken us from the City in the Country to the cultural and economic hub of the Fraser Valley.
Abbotsford City Council