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Abbotsford is a Canadian city in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the 5th largest municipality in British Columbia and the 37th largest in Canada, home to 128,940 people (2006). Its Census Metropolitan Area numbers 159,020 people (23rd largest in Canada in 2006).

Abbotsford is the third most ethnically diverse city in Canada, after Toronto and Vancouver. It is also home to Abbotsford International Airport, which serves as a reliever airport to Vancouver International Airport.

The municipality shares its southern boundary with the Canada-US border, across from Sumas, Washington. In Canada, it is bordered by Langley to the west, Mission to the north, and Chilliwack to the east. Most of Abbotsford has dramatic views of Mount Baker, which is less than 100km from the city.

The first stage in Abbotsford's colonial development occurred when the Royal Engineers surveyed the area in response to the Gold Rush along the Fraser River in 1858. This led to the building of Old Yale Road, the first transportation route to link the Fraser Valley. Settlement continued and tobacco, milk and butter was produced by the late 1860s. In 1891 the Canadian Pacific Railway built a line through the area that connected Mission with Sumas. BC Electric Railway arrived soon after in 1910, ensuring a rapid rate of growth that has continued to this day.

The most notable natural disaster to ever hit Abbotsford was a major flood in 1948.

The City of Abbotsford uses a Council-Manager system of local government. The current Mayor and Council were elected on November 19, 2005. The current mayor is George Ferguson.

The Abbotsford flag and coat of arms are the same, featuring straight, diagonal crosses representing Abbotsford as at a "crossroads". At the centre is a strawberry blossom, symbolizing the local berry industry, and the Fraser River.

The flag of Abbotsford was originally blue in colour. The change to green was initiated in 1995 when the District of Abbotsford and the District of Matsqui amalgamated to create the City of Abbotsford.

Abbotsford is the third most ethnically diverse city in Canada, after Toronto and Vancouver. Abbotsford now leads the country with the highest proportion of people of South Asian origin per capita, according to results from the 2001 census.

Abbotsford's largest religious group is Christian at 61.4%, with most belonging to Protestant and Anabaptist denominations. The second largest religious group is Sikh, comprising 13.4% of the population. The city contains the first Sikh temple built in Canada, which is also one of the oldest in North America.

The largest ethnic group is Caucasian, comprising approximately 79.6% of the population. The largest ethnic minority group in Abbotsford is South Asian (countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) comprising 14.9% of the population. In third place are Aboriginals, at 2.2% of the population.

English is the primary language spoken, with 71.2% of the population having it as their first language. Punjabi is the second most spoken language.

23.8% of the city's population was born outside of Canada. Of that percentage, a majority is from South Asia, followed by groups from Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Latin America. Immigrants from Europe include those of English, German, Dutch, Scottish, Irish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish backgrounds.

Housing prices in Abbotsford are some of the highest in the Fraser Valley. In 2007, the average price of a single-family house was $416,958 CAD, a townhouse was $292,046 CAD, and an apartment was $185,246 CAD. There are 45,286 dwellings in the city (2006).

Approximately 92% of employed residents work in the city or in neighbouring communities. Agriculture is Abbotsford's main industry, followed closely by transportation, manufacturing and retail. There is also a small, but growing aerospace industry led by Conair Group Inc., and Cascade Aerospace. Abbotsford also is home to three federal prisons, each of which employs between 200 and 500 officers and support staff.

Public elementary, middle, and secondary schools are administered by School District 34 Abbotsford. Post Secondary institutions in the city include the University College of the Fraser Valley and two religious institutions: Columbia Bible College and Summit Pacific College, as well as career colleges such as Sprott Shaw Community College, Vancouver Community College, and CDI College of Business, Technology and Health Care.

There is also a virtual school called "Abbotsford Virtual School" that offers more than 30 semestered online courses. This school offers a unique Animation and Modeling program that teaches students aspects of the video gaming industry.

The City of Abbotsford has its own municipal police force. The Abbotsford Police Department is one of eleven other municipal police forces in British Columbia. It was officially formed in 1995 when Matsqui and Abbotsford amalgamated to become the City of Abbotsford. Prior to the amalgamation, Matsqui was patrolled by the Matsqui Police and Abbotsford by the RCMP. During the referendum citizens elected to keep a municipal police force.

As of 2006, the Abbotsford Police Department employs nearly 200 officers and 80 civilian employees. It is the third largest municipal police force in British Columbia (behind Vancouver and Victoria).

As of July 20, 2006, the Abbotsford metropolitan area (which includes Mission) has the highest property crime rate and the sixth highest violent crime rate for cities with a population of 100,000 to 500,000 in Canada. [1].

Abbotsford is served by a regional transit system (ValleyMAX) operated by Township Transit Inc., with funding from the City of Abbotsford and the District of Mission. Major transportation routes leading into Abbotsford are the Trans-Canada Highway (#1), Abbotsford-Mission Highway (#11), and the Fraser Highway (#1A). Access to the United States is via the Huntington border crossing.

Abbotsford is served by the Abbotsford International Airport, located in the southern part of the municipality. It is one of the fastest growing commercial airports in western Canada[citation needed], and acts as a reliever airport for Vancouver International Airport. WestJet provides regular scheduled service from the airport, due to its close proximity to Vancouver's eastern suburbs. The airport is also the home of the annual Abbotsford International Airshow.