Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon

Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon was a new riding created through the 2012 redistribution, stretching from the suburban neighbourhoods of northern Abbotsford and the District of Mission northward through the Fraser Canyon to Cache Creek and Ashcroft. The riding takes in Harrison Hot Springs, Agassiz, Boston Bar, Yale, Lillooet, and Lytton, combining Lower Mainland suburbs with some of British Columbia’s most rugged canyon terrain.

Candidates

Jati Sidhu (Liberal) — A farmer in the Mission and Abbotsford area for more than three decades, Sidhu had served on the Abbotsford Police Board, the University of the Fraser Valley Board of Governors, the BC Vegetable Marketing Commission, the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce, and the Abbotsford Rotary Club.

Brad Vis (Conservative) — Vis entered the race as a late replacement after the original Conservative nominee withdrew. He mounted a competitive campaign in the newly created riding, finishing narrowly behind Sidhu.

Dennis Adamson (NDP) — Adamson had served for seven years as the Fraser Valley Regional District’s Area B director before seeking the federal seat. He campaigned on job creation, healthcare access, and environmental protection.

Arthur Alexander Green (Green Party) also ran. Wyatt Scott (Independent) attracted national media attention for a campaign video that went viral online. Elaine Wismer (Marxist-Leninist) rounded out the ballot.

About the Riding

The riding combined sharply different communities: the agricultural suburbs of northern Abbotsford and Mission, connected to Metro Vancouver’s commuter economy, and the sparsely populated Fraser Canyon towns that depend on forestry, ranching, and highway services. Mission, the riding’s largest community with a population of roughly 38,000, sits on the north bank of the Fraser River and serves as a bedroom community for commuters travelling to Vancouver and Surrey. The Fraser Canyon, one of British Columbia’s most important transportation corridors, carries both the Trans-Canada Highway and the CP and CN rail mainlines through narrow gorges between Kamloops and the Lower Mainland. Several First Nations communities line the canyon, and Indigenous issues including land claims and resource management were significant local concerns. Agriculture, particularly berry farming and poultry operations, is a major economic driver in the Matsqui portion of the riding.