Abbotsford

Abbotsford occupies a vast swath of the eastern Fraser Valley in British Columbia, stretching 375 square kilometres from the Canada–United States border northward to the Fraser River. It is the largest city by area in British Columbia and anchors the Abbotsford–Mission census metropolitan area. With a 2021 population of approximately 153,500, the city sits roughly 70 kilometres east of Vancouver and is bordered by the Township of Langley to the west, the City of Mission to the north, and the City of Chilliwack to the east. The riding encompasses urban neighbourhoods, sprawling suburbs, and some of the most intensely farmed land in North America.

Abbotsford's demographic profile is distinctive. According to the 2021 census, approximately 55% of residents identify as European in origin, while 30.2% are South Asian—one of the highest concentrations outside of Surrey. The Sikh community accounts for roughly 25.5% of the city's total population, and the city's western neighbourhoods of Clearbrook and Townline Hill are more than 60% South Asian. The riding also claims the highest proportion of residents with Dutch ancestry of any federal riding in Canada, at 12.2%, and the lowest proportion of Catholics at just 10.6%.

Candidates

Ed Fast (Conservative) Born in Winnipeg in 1955, Fast grew up in Vancouver and graduated from the University of British Columbia's law school in 1982, co-founding the Abbotsford law firm now known as Linley Welwood. He served two terms as a school board trustee beginning in 1985, then won election to Abbotsford City Council in 1996, where he served three terms as Deputy Mayor. First elected to Parliament in 2006, Fast served as Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia–Pacific Gateway from 2011 to 2015 under Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He and his wife Annette have lived in Abbotsford for over four decades.

Navreen Gill (Liberal) Born and raised in Abbotsford, Gill graduated from the University of British Columbia's Family Medicine Program in Prince George and returned to practise as a family physician. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she expanded her practice to include hospital medicine and served on Abbotsford's public health front lines within the Fraser Health Authority. Her campaign emphasized the need for increased federal funding, more physicians, and additional nurses to address growing gaps in care at Abbotsford Regional Hospital.

dharmasena yakandawela (NDP) Yakandawela stood as the New Democratic Party candidate in the riding, offering voters an alternative voice on social policy and affordability issues in the Fraser Valley.

Kevin Sinclair (PPC) Sinclair ran under the People's Party of Canada banner, advocating the party's platform on reduced immigration, opposition to pandemic-era public health restrictions, and fiscal conservatism.

About the Riding

Agriculture is the defining economic force in Abbotsford. The city's 1,254 farms sit on over 61,500 acres of some of the most productive farmland in Canada, generating nearly $1 billion in annual farm-gate sales and supporting roughly $3.8 billion in total economic activity. These operations account for over 16,000 full-time jobs—approximately 23% of all employment in the city. Abbotsford produces roughly half of British Columbia's dairy, chicken, turkey, and eggs, and the top crops by acreage include hay and fodder (34%), fruits, berries, and nuts (30%), and corn (18%). The agricultural sector has grown at twice the rate of the city's population, reflecting significant gains in efficiency and productivity.

Beyond farming, Abbotsford's economy benefits from its position along the Trans-Canada Highway corridor and its proximity to the U.S. border. The Abbotsford International Airport serves as a regional hub for both passenger travel and freight. The University of the Fraser Valley, with its main campus in the city, is a significant institutional employer and educational anchor. Manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics operations have expanded as the city absorbs growth from the Lower Mainland's rising land costs.

The riding's cultural fabric reflects its Mennonite and Dutch Reformed heritage alongside a rapidly growing South Asian community that has transformed the commercial landscape of the city's west side. Gurdwaras, Punjabi-language media, and Indo-Canadian businesses are prominent features of daily life. The November 2021 flooding of the Sumas Prairie—a reclaimed lakebed that forms the heart of the city's farmland—devastated hundreds of farms, displaced thousands of residents, and caused over $1 billion in damage across the region, underscoring the riding's vulnerability to climate-related flooding and the ongoing debate over dike infrastructure and floodplain management.