Part 3 – Fraser Valley Focus: Why Do People Keep Coming?

Newcomers, Metro Vancouver movers, and a younger population keep the Fraser Valley growing, even as B.C. loses residents to other provinces.

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Why do newcomers keep choosing Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Mission even as British Columbia loses residents to Alberta on paper? Because departures tell only part of the story. International immigration, households moving east from Metro Vancouver, and a younger local population keep adding housing demand. The Valley draws people through several overlapping streams, so weakness in one does not stop the others. The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is home to about 337,000 residents. Planners expect roughly 500,000 by 2050—a 50-plus-percent leap in a single generation. The question behind that projection is where the extra people will come from. The changes along Highway 1 make that question visible: towers beside the Vedder Canal, townhouse rows toward Sumas Mountain, and traffic counts at Lickman Road that would have seemed absurd ten years ago. ## 1. International immigration: why newcomers choose the Valley 68,010 permanent immigrants already call the Valley home. Another 6,750 non-permanent residents include international students, work-permit holders, and refugees. Together, they represent just over one-fifth of the population. (Stats Can) One in four immigrants arrived a