City of Abbotsford

26 curling teams with members representing roughly 40 BC communities have swept into Abbotsford this week for the 2025 BC Seniors Curling Championships. 🥌🏆 Thank you to Curl BC and the Abbotsford Curling Club for bringing this event to our community! Mayor Siemens attended the opening ceremony to welcome the competitors to Abbotsford. Have a great tournament!

It's great to see our farming community come together for farmers in need around the world! This year's Make a Difference Sale for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank has raised nearly $400,000 to help farmers across East Africa. Mayor Siemens and MP Vis attended the event to show their support.

The City of Abbotsford is calling for Provincial funding to address infrastructure strains caused by legislation that allows increased residential density. As many residents are likely aware, provincial legislation now requires the City of Abbotsford, along with other communities like Vancouver, City of Langley and Mission, to allow increased residential density. That doesn’t just mean more people living closer together, it also means more people using City infrastructure, such as water, sewer, roads and much more. As one of the provincially “specified” municipalities under the Government of BC’s 2023 Housing Supply Act, Abbotsford is required to review and update its zoning bylaws by the end of this year to permit increased density in line with government-mandated housing targets. However, having more density puts undue financial pressure on Abbotsford and the other affected local governments due to the infrastructure upscaling needed to meet the rise in demand. To help ease this strain, the City is seeking support from other municipalities in the form of a Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) resolution. The resolution will ask for the UBCM and the Province to work together to address these density challenges by establishing and providing long-term, stable and predictable infrastructure funding for the affected municipalities. The resolution will first be submitted at the annual Lower Mainland Local Government Association conference in April. If approved, it will then go before the UBCM for adoption at their annual conference in September. Last year Abbotsford was successful in getting the UBCM to endorse a resolution calling on the Province to increase access to detox and treatment options for British Columbians. As this is another issue with a broad impact, we are hopeful that other local governments will be supportive. Abbotsford City Council For more Council Blog posts, visit https://lnkd.in/g2SnE4Aj. Subscribe: https://lnkd.in/gEwaK6Jj

Investing in Abbotsford’s future! 🚧 Thanks to renewed funding from the Government of Canada's Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF), administered by the Union of BC Municipalities, the City of Abbotsford is advancing seven key infrastructure projects in 2025! From rail crossing upgrades and drainage improvements to new sidewalks, sport courts renewals, and trail rehabilitations, this year’s $12.4M contribution helps us enhance safety, connectivity and quality of live for Abbotsford residents. Read the release here: https://lnkd.in/g5wN2VW4

Today the annual Golden Tree farm workers memorial ceremony was held to honour and remember Sukhvinder Kaur Punia, Amarjit Kaur Bal, Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu, and all other farm workers who have died or been injured while on the job. Mayor Siemens and Councillor Chahal (not pictured) joined family members, dignitaries and the public to pay their respects and support safe working conditions for farm workers.

Mayor and Council recently met with the Abbotsford Youth Commission Youth Council to learn about issues that matter to young people in our community. As your City Council, we may be the leaders of today, but we’re also playing a role in nurturing the leaders of tomorrow. Three to four times a year we meet with the participants of the Abbotsford Youth Commission’s (AYC) Youth Council, a leadership program that gives local high school students the opportunity to work together and get involved in their community. This year’s Youth Council includes 18 Grade 10 to 12 students from 11 schools from across Abbotsford. Through this collaboration, we can help the students gain a better understanding of how our city works and how to advocate for positive change. By having the opportunity to hold an open dialogue with us, the youths benefit from having their voices heard, while we benefit from hearing what they have to say. Last month, the Youth Council met with us to discuss the findings of a survey of 138 of their fellow students they conducted on the subject of cultural events, infrastructure and recreation. They shared their results with Mayor and Council, identified areas for improvement and outlined possible solutions. As your City Council it is our mission to continually improve the quality of life of all residents regardless of age, and the insights we gain from the Youth Council help us to better understand the concerns that are on the minds of young people in our community. It also gives us another perspective to consider when we’re seated around the Council table. It also means a lot to us to see young people who care strongly about our community and want to help make it an even better place to live, work and play. The leadership skills and civic-mindedness they develop in the Youth Council program are not just for personal gain. As these young people grow and become leaders in our community, all of Abbotsford stands to benefit. City Council and the Youth Council will next meet for a collaboration event in May for BC Youth Week. To learn more about the AYC and the Youth Council and how to get involved, please visit https://lnkd.in/gQtpSfjS. Abbotsford City Council For more Council Blog posts, visit https://lnkd.in/g2SnE4Aj. Subscribe: https://lnkd.in/gEwaK6Jj

Special Olympics British Columbia made a splash in Abbotsford yesterday with their coolest (or coldest) fundraiser – Polar Plunge! ❄️ Mayor Siemens joined Chief Watson and AbbyPD members, Special Olympics athletes and the public for an icy dip in Albert Dyck Lake. 🥶 Thanks to everyone for coming out to support such a great cause! 🙌 #Plunge4SOBC

Yesterday members of the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada – BC Division were in Abbotsford for their Annual General Meeting. Mayor Siemens was there to give an update on flood resiliency and took questions from the audience. Thank you for all you do to support BC’s thriving agri-food industry!

By donating blood, you can change a person’s life by helping them get the life-saving medical care they need. Canadian Blood Services is aiming to recruit 450 new donors every day with their #450Challenge campaign. This morning, Mayor Siemens, Councillor Sidhu and Mission Mayor Horn stopped by the CBS Abbotsford Plasma Centre and rolled up their sleeves to help CBS reach today’s 450-donor goal.

📅Save the Date: The Mayor's Luncheon is happening on May 14th at the Cascade Aerospace from 11:30am - 1:30pm. Join Mayor Ross Siemens and Abbotsford business leaders for an update on the community and to discuss our soaring aerospace industry. Tickets are on sale April 7th, more details to come! 👀