Abbotsford

Abbotsford's colonial development began 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 Yale Road (today Old Yale Road), the first transportation route to link the Fraser Valley. The settlement grew and the production of butter, milk and tobacco began by the late 1860s. In 1889, former Royal Engineer John Cunningham Maclure applied for a Crown grant to obtain the 160 acres (0.65 km²) that would become Abbotsford.

There is some controversy over the origin of the Abbotsford name. The most commonly cited origin is that Maclure named the land "Abbotsford" after family friend Henry Braithwaite Abbott, the western superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Until 1922 the name was spelled Abottsford. Maclure's sons later stated that the property had been named for Sir Walter Scott's home, Abbotsford, and pronounced it with the accent on ford, while in his later years Maclure claimed that the naming had been "a combination of two ideas".

The title passed hands to Robert Ward, who filed a townsite subdivision on July 9, 1891. Also in 1891, the CPR built a railway line through the area that connected Mission with the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway at Sumas, Washington. This route was the only rail connection between Vancouver and Seattle until 1904. In 1892, Robert Ward sold many of the lots to private investors, and sold a significant portion to the Great Northern Railway’s subsidiary company the Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway. The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) arrived in 1910. The Interurban, as the BCER tram linking Abbotsford with Vancouver and Chilliwack was called, was discontinued in 1950.

• 🌍 Abbotsford International Airport (YXX  ^IATA), 30440 Liberator Ave, ☏ +1 604-855-1001. Abbotsford is served by the second largest airport in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. YXX's motto is "a good hassle free alternative" to Vancouver International (YVR ^IATA). (updated May 2022)

Daily, non-stop flights to Abbotsford from Edmonton (1.5 hours), Calgary (1.25 hours), and Hamilton (5 hours), plus connections and stop over flights to other domestic and international destinations. Weekly winter charter flights are offered to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Canadian airlines operating to Abbotsford:

• Flair Airlines, toll-free: +1-833-711-2333. A low-cost airline with flights across much of Canada. (updated Apr 2022)
• WestJet, toll-free: +1-877-952-0100. Canada's second largest airline services with hubs in Calgary and Toronto. It operates across Canada and services international destinations. (updated Apr 2022)

In-terminal auto rentals include Avis, Budget and National.

Taxi service is available, but there is no shuttle service nor is there any public transit serving the airport. Two inter-city bus operators stop at the airport, see "By bus" below.

Abbotsford International Airport is approximately 80 minutes drive away from Vancouver International Airport, 60 minutes from downtown Vancouver, 10 minutes from the city centre of Abbotsford, 2 1/2 hours from Whistler, 45 minutes from Harrison Hot Springs, and 40 minutes from Bellingham Airport (BLI ^IATA) in Washington state.

The city is on Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) , roughly 90 km east of Vancouver (a 60-75 min drive). BC Highway 11 heads south to the U.S. border, where it becomes Washington state highway 9. The drive to Seattle is about 2½-hours.

• 🌍 Huntingdon - Sumas (Abbotsford, BC (Highway 11) - Sumas, WA (WA-9)). 24/7. Open to all vehicles. (updated Aug 2023)

• Ebus (Stops at Abbotsford International Airport), toll-free: +1 877-769-3287. Travels daily between Kamloops and Vancouver, and Kelowna and Vancouver on two separate routes. Both routes have stops in Merritt, Hope, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Surrey. Travel time to Abbotsford from Kamloops is 3.5 hours, from Kelowna is 4.25 hours, from Hope is 1.25-1.5 hours, and from Vancouver is 1.25-1.5 hours. Same day transfers at Kamloops to and from Prince George are available on three days per week per direction. (updated Mar 2022)
• Mountain Man Mike's Bus Service, ☏ +1-778-382-7729, info@mountainmanmikes.ca. Twice per week service between Kaslo and Vancouver with stops in Balfour, Nelson, Castlegar, Christina Lake, Grand Forks, Greenwood, Rock Creek, Osoyoos, Keremeos, Princeton, Manning Provincial Park, Hope, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Langley, and New Westminster. Travel time to Abbotsford from Kaslo is 9.25 hours, from Nelson is 8.25 hours, from Castlegar is 7.5 hours, from Grand Forks is 6.25 hours, from Osoyoos is 4.5 hours, form Princeton is 2.75 hours, from Hope is 50 minutes, and from Vancouver is 1.25 hours. This service provider also offers a weekly route between Kalso and Calgary via Nelson. (updated Mar 2022)
• Rider Express (Stops at Abbotsford International Airport), toll-free: +1-833-583-3636. Multiple days per week service along the Trans-Canada Highway from between Calgary and Vancouver with stops in Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise, Golden, Revelstoke, Sicamous, Salmon Arm, Sorrento, Chase, Kamloops, Merritt, Hope, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and Surrey. Travel time to Abbotsford from Calgary is 12.5 hours, from Banff is 11 hours, from Lake Louise is 10.25 hours, from Golden is 8.75 hours, from Revelstoke is 7 hours, from Salmon Arm is 5.5 hours, from Kamloops is 3.5 hours, from Hope is 1 hour, and from Vancouver is 1.5 hours. From Calgary, this service provider offers routes that enable passengers to reach Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon. (updated Mar 2022)

If you're coming from Seattle or elsewhere along the US West Coast, don't waste your time and money taking transit north to Vancouver and then east to Abbotsford. Instead, save several hours and $50-100 by taking a local bus from Bellingham, WA to the Sumas-Hungtingdon border crossing, crossing on foot, then taking an Abbostford local bus into town. Bus 71x leaves Bellingham's Cordata Station for Sumas four times a day Monday through Friday, twice a day on Saturday (make sure to check the schedules online or with Google Maps before you go). As of July 2019 it costs US$1.00 and takes about 1 hour. From the stop at 1st and Cherry St. in Sumas, walk a few blocks to the border. After passing through, just a couple blocks on the other side you can catch Bus 3 into downtown Abbotsford for C$2.50. It leaves almost every hour, and the fare includes free transfers. The whole process takes less than three hours and costs only a few dollars.

See also: Rail travel in Canada

• TransLink, ☏ +1-604-953-3333. The main public transit network in the Vancouver area, including: Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley, Lions Bay, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, West Vancouver, and White Rock. Its network includes buses, SkyTrain (rail rapid transit), SeaBus (ferries), West Coast Express (commuter rail), and HandyDART (door-to-door shared-ride service for those who cannot ride public transit without assistance). (updated Mar 2022)
  • West Coast Express commuter trains travel between 🌍 Mission City station in Mission (located north of Abbotsford, across the Fraser River) and Waterfront station in Vancouver. Trips operate Monday to Friday. Trains travel from Mission to Vancouver during the morning rush hour and travel from Vancouver to Mission during the afternoon rush hour. Fare prices for travel from Vancouver's Waterfront Station are: $10.25 one-way, $19.00 return (adult).

• VIA Rail Canada, toll-free: +1-888-842-7245. Operates The Canadian up to three trips per week between Toronto and Vancouver with stops in both directions in medium to large cities and tourist destinations such as Sudbury, Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper, and Kamloops. This route can offer a scenic view of the Canadian Rockies, depending on the train schedule, as the train operates day and night. This service connects with another route that travels between Jasper and Prince Rupert. (updated Mar 2022)
  • For westbound trips from Toronto to Vancouver, the train stops at 🌍 Abbotsford station
  • For eastbound trips from Vancouver to Toronto, the nearest station where train stops is north of the Fraser River at 🌍 Mission Harbour station station in Mission.

BC Transit (Central Valley Transit System), ☏ +1- 604-854-3232. Operates a bus network in Abbotsford and Mission. Riders can transfer between routes up to 90 minutes after paying the fare. (updated Mar 2022)

• Operates bus route 21 between Abbotsford and the Aldergrove (central east) area of Langley. Stops in those cities allow riders to transfer to the TransLink public transit network serving those cities. Operates multiple times daily.
• Operates bus route 31 between Abbotsford and Mission. Operates multiple times daily.
• Operates bus route 66 between Burnaby and Chilliwack with stops in north Langley and Abbotsford. Operates multiple times daily.

• Abbotsford Mission Taxi, ☏ +1 604-855-1111. (updated Jul 2022)
• Central Valley Taxi, ☏ +1 604-859-1111. (updated Jul 2022)

• Uber. (updated Jul 2022)

• 🌍 Tradex, 1190 Cornell St. (updated Jan 2023)
  • The Dog Show at Tradex. One of the biggest in Canada. (updated May 2020)
  • Vancouver Motor Cycle Show. One of the largest of its kind in Canada held annually in February at Tradex. (updated May 2020)

• The Abbotsford News, ☏ +1 604-853-1144. (updated May 2023)

• 🌍 Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, 32900 Marshall Rd, ☏ +1 604-851-4700. Has an emergency department that operates 24/7. (updated Apr 2023)