Welcome
The history of Abbotsford is a mosaic. It starts with the Stó:lō people and goes on to tell the story of colonization. It includes conflicts between settlers and Stó:lō communities, and injustices faced by Indigenous and racialized communities in the history of British Columbia. It is also a story of immigration. People from many cultures came to the area, bringing their own ideas, traditions, and ways of life.
One of the main ways all these groups interacted with each other was through work. Incoming cultural groups would take up leading roles in certain industries, only for new groups to come in and take their place. Using the history of work, this project brings together these connected stories. By sharing them, we hope everyone can better understand Abbotsford’s past.
Please note: This exhibit is a living document. More stories from different cultural groups may be added over time. Check back to see how the story continues, or sign up for our newsletter to be notified of updates.
Timeline
Caption: Landscape around Fort Langley, 1858.
The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) built Fort Langley 30 kilometres up the Fraser River, where Derby Ranch is today. The company tried to convince the Stó:lō people to trap furs, but the Stó:lō chose to keep their traditional salmon trade. Because of this, Fort Langley became mainly a salmon trading post.
(Image 102278830 courtesy of U.S. National Archives)
Caption: Wagons on the Cariboo Road near Yale, circa 1870s.
More than 30,000 miners came to Stó:lō Temexw (Stó:lō territory) looking for gold. Tensions grew between the Stó:lō and the newcomers. Small acts of violence turned into organized attacks by American soldiers against the Stó:lō people. Fighting broke out in the Fraser Canyon. When fall and winter came, hundreds of miners became sick with malnutrition and scurvy, and the Stó:lō helped them by giving them food.
(Image C-008077 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Street scene in Victoria's Chinatown, 1886.
When gold was discovered in 1858, British Columbia experienced its first large wave of Chinese immigrants. Many Chinese workers had already been working in the California gold rush, and there was a need for workers in B.C. to help build roads, clear land, and develop new communities. Most Chinese immigrants travelled north from California and arrived in Victoria, where they established Canada’s first Chinatown that same year.
(Image D-04737 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Governor James Douglas, 1864.
So many American miners came to the area looking for gold that the British government decided to make British Columbia a crown colony. James Douglas, Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, became the first Governor.
(Image A-01229 courtesy of BC Archives)
In response to protests by the Stó:lō people over the actions of gold miners, Governor Douglas promised to protect certain lands as exclusively belonging to the Stó:lō people. He began the creation of the reserve system.
(Quote taken from Despatch to London CO 60:4, no. 4800, 212)
Caption: St. Mary's Mission, 1881.
Governor Douglas introduced a policy called “benevolent assimilation” for Indigenous people. Like many colonists at the time, he believed that Indigenous people would eventually become like Europeans. He thought that if they kept their traditional culture, they would become extinct. The first permanent Roman Catholic missionaries from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) arrived this year and tried to force the Stó:lō people to give up their way of life and spiritual practices. These missionaries went on to create St. Mary’s Residential School, and played a major role in the cultural genocide of the Stó:lō people.
(Image taken from PDP01616 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: British Marines camp in the Fraser Canyon, 1859.
More than 3/4 of the gold miners who came for the Gold Rush leave Stó:lō Temexw. They left behind a legacy of disease, alcohol use and violence.
(Image 1989-171-29 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Map of the central Fraser Valley showing the grid used by the pre-emption system, 1892.
At this time, pre-emption was the way for people to claim land in B.C. If someone wanted ownership over a parcel of Crown land, it could be granted to them if they “improved” it by farming or building businesses. This system started in 1859 and became official in 1870.
(Image taken from MAP 446 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Caption: Indigenous fishers pose with their dried salmon caches near the Fraser River, ca. 1870.
A new system of exchanging money for work, known as a wage economy, began to emerge in Stó:lō Temexw. With their specialized skills and knowledge, the Stó:lō people were favoured employees. They received high wages in exchange for their work and expertise.
(Image C-024288 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Sumas Prairie Surveyors, 1893.
Governor James Douglas led the Stó:lō people to believe that treaties would be signed to protect their lands. At the same time, settlers started arriving from Britain. Douglas had promised them good, cheap farmland in the Fraser Valley. The settlers chose the land they wanted and began building homes and clearing fields.
(Image D-01074 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Map of the original reserves in the lower Fraser Valley, 1864.
Governor Douglas did not get enough money together to pay for treaties with the Stó:lō, so he decided to delay the treaty process. He started setting up reserves under the guidance of Stó:lō leaders. However, before the reserves could be officially registered, Douglas retired.
(Image taken from 31T1LR courtesy of University of Victoria Library)
Caption: A group of Indigenous people meet with Governor Seymour's wife in 1867.
Unhappy with the situation, the Stó:lō people made a speech to the new governor, Frederick Seymour. They gave him a written petition asking that their reserve lands and rights be protected by the government. Seymour promised to respect the boundaries set during Governor Douglas’s time. But later, he gave in to pressure from settlers and land speculators and allowed more land to be opened for settlement.
(Image C-088942 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Map showing the reduction in reserves from 1864 to 1867.
Joseph Trutch, the Commissioner of Lands and Works, refused to recognize the original reserves created between Governor James Douglas and Stó:lō leaders. He denied the existence of Aboriginal Title, and had the reserves resurveyed. The boundaries were reduced by 91 percent without the consent of the Stó:lō people.
(Image taken from Seelkee, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Caption: Canadian Parliament buildings circa 1870.
The Canadian Government wanted more settlers in the west to stop the United States from expanding north. They created the Immigration Act, opening offices in the United Kingdom and promising safe travel to people who wanted to move to Canada. Immigrants from Europe were preferred, but people of all backgrounds could come.
(Image Acc. No. 1970-190-4 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
The British Columbia colonial government passed a law that stopped Indigenous people from pre-empting land without special permission. It also prevented them from buying land from settlers. Indigenous families were given much less land per family than settler families received.
(Quote taken from the BC Land Ordinance of 1870)
Caption: Indigenous group at Boston Bar, 1863–1867.
As their reserve lands were shrunk and access to traditional resources restricted, the Stó:lō people adapted to the new colonial economy. Families started using settler farming methods, but they could not grow many cash crops because their lands were smaller and less fertile. Floods often ruined their harvests, so some people began raising cattle instead. Wage labour and activities like berry-picking helped families survive through the year.
(Image C-088948 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Meeting of the Fathers of Confederation in London, drawn in 1935.
The crown colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia combined and became the 6th province of Canada, with Victoria as the capital city. The federal government took over Britain's commitments to Indigenous peoples.
(Image D-05642 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Western Land Grant in the Name of John Maclure, 1889.
In 1872, the Dominion Lands Act launched the Dominion Lands Survey, a massive project which helped map out the western provinces. It allowed male settlers over the age of 21 to claim 65 hectares of land for $10. This encouraged more European settlers to move west.
(Image courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Mennonite farmhouse and stable in Winkler, Manitoba. Many Mennonite families started out on the Prairies before moving to communities in BC.
Feeling their way of life was being threatened under the Russian Empire, the first Mennonites began moving to Canada in the 1870s. At the same time, to prevent Americans from expanding into Canada, the Canadian government wanted more people to settle in the west. To encourage more Mennonites to move to Western Canada, the government promised them freedom of religion and exemption from military service. Most settled on the Prairies, but by 1901 some Mennonites had also moved to the Fraser Valley. By the 1911 census, 191 Mennonites were living here.
(Image PA-018151 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Excerpt from the 1876 Indian Act.
The Canadian government introduced the Indian Act into law. This law is still used today to manage First Nations and their reserves. It gave the government the power to determine who was or wasn’t Indigenous through the system of “Indian” status. The act stopped Indigenous people with this status from voting, took away the power of communities to govern themselves, and banned religious and cultural ceremonies. The law was meant to control Indigenous peoples by forcing them to adopt settler culture and forget their own.
(Image courtesy of National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation)
Caption: Chinese workers at camp, circa 1886.
Royal Engineer and early Abbotsford settler Alben Hawkins wrote in his diary of a “Chinemen [sic] Camp” just up the river, where he sold two of his pigs. This shows that there was already an established Chinese community in the area as early as 1878.
(Image D-04712 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Interior of a Salmon Cannery, 1890s.
Starting in the 1880s, settlers began opening canneries on the Fraser River. These canneries caught and packed fish to be sold around the world. Many Stó:lō families found work at the canneries, with men doing the fishing and women and older children processing the salmon. Japanese and Chinese labourers were also employed to process fish at the canneries. Work was segregated by race and supervised by white management.
(Image SGN 1453 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Caption: Chinese arch on Store Street in Victoria, 1882.
As the Chinese population grew, Chinatowns were built across British Columbia and became important centres for community life. Two developed in Chilliwack, and a large “Chinatown” also formed in Mission, although it was mostly made up of Japanese immigrants. In Abbotsford, there was no clear central Chinese neighbourhood. Only small pieces of evidence remain, such as a few Chinese farmers, a bunkhouse for Chinese workers at the Abbotsford Lumber Company, and a Chinese laundry in Clayburn that served local residents.
Many Chinese residents were not fully recorded in official documents like census records. Most Chinese labourers were paid workers rather than landowners, which means their history was often not well recorded or has been partly lost over time.
(Image A-02846 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: CPR labourers at camp in Kamloops, 1886.
Thousands of Chinese immigrants worked on building the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), which connected British Columbia to the rest of Canada. They were paid about half as much as white workers and were often given the most dangerous jobs. Their labour helped reduce construction costs by an estimated $3–5 million. Between 600 and 2,200 Chinese workers are believed to have died from accidents, explosions, rockslides, drowning, poor nutrition, and disease, although no official records were kept.
(Image D-04713 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Head tax certificate for Lee Sing Dok, 1913.
In 1885, the federal government introduced a “head tax” of $50 on all Chinese immigrants in an effort to discourage more Chinese people from coming to Canada. The tax was raised to $100 in 1900 and then to $500 in 1903, which was equal to more than two years of wages for the average Chinese labourer. Chinese immigrants were the only nationality ever required to pay a special entry tax to come to Canada.
(Record from Volume [RG76] 712 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Men laying railway ties through the Fraser Valley, circa 1881–1883.
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began running through the Fraser Valley. Travel became much easier, and many European settlers moved into Stó:lō Temexw. Many of the Chinese immigrants who had helped build it moved to cities and towns to find work. Some settled in growing communities along the railway. Many opened restaurants, stores, or laundry businesses, while others became farmers. Employers started hiring Chinese workers for low pay in jobs that Stó:lō people used to do. This was unfair because it took advantage of Chinese workers and lowered wages for Stó:lō workers.
(Image A-07021 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Mission as seen from the Matsqui side of the Fraser River, 1909.
After severe flooding in 1882 showed that the river dykes were not strong enough, the Matsqui Lands Company hired hundreds of Chinese immigrants to rebuild and strengthen the flood protection system. Many of these workers had recently arrived after helping build the newly completed Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).
(Image B-07889 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Stó:lō fishers catch salmon with nets, circa 1880s.
Because commercial overfishing was destroying salmon runs, the government banned the sale of fish caught in non-tidal waters without a license. Stó:lō fishers were not given these licenses, which meant they could not legally run their own commercial fishing businesses.
(Image A-06077 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Train travels through Matsqui Prairie, circa 1912.
In 1889, an additional Canadian Pacific Railway line from Mission to the U.S. border was built. John Cunningham Maclure, a former Royal Engineer, pre-empted the land that would become downtown Abbotsford because he knew it was the best spot to build the railway. The station built there was named “Abbotsford” after Harry Abbot, a CPR superintendent.
(Image E-00487 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Hop field on Sumas Prairie, 1926.
Farmers in the Fraser Valley began growing hops, which provided seasonal work for Stó:lō workers. Both white and Stó:lō workers were hired to pick hops, but groups worked on different fields and didn’t mix very much. All pickers were paid the same, no matter what race, age, or gender they were. Hops-picking continued to be important to the Stó:lō economy until machines replaced human workers in the 1950s.
(Image PA-020110 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Excerpt from the Provincial Voter's Act of 1895.
Japanese and Chinese Canadians were no longer allowed to vote in local, provincial, or federal elections. This rule lasted into the 1940s. Only a small number of Japanese Canadian soldiers from the First World War were allowed limited voting rights. The 1895 amendment to the Provincial Voters' Act also banned Indigenous people from voting in Provincial elections (in addition to the federal voting ban introduced by the Indian Act in 1876).
(Image courtesy of BC Laws at gov.bc.ca)
Caption: Swedish Canadian Poignant family on their homestead, circa 1917.
In the 1890s, life in Scandinavia was becoming harder. In Sweden and Norway, mandatory military service became longer. There was an economic slump, and workers felt growing pressure. Many families started looking for a better life. At the same time, more people were moving to North America. Canada had jobs and land available for settlers, which, gave Scandinavian families a reason to leave their homelands.
Caption: Red cedar in the Fraser Valley.
A small lumber mill opened on Railway Street in what is now downtown Abbotsford. In 1903 it became the Abbotsford Lumber Company.
(Image PA-040962 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Village of Abbotsford circa 1905.
On July 9, 1891, the townsite plan for the Village of Abbotsford was officially filed. Abbotsford was one of many small villages—like Matsqui, Sumas, and Mt. Lehman—that later joined to form the city we know today.
(Image Out P754 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Caption: First train to cross the Mission Bridge in 1891.
In 1891 the Mission Railway Bridge opened between Mission and Matsqui. This was only the second bridge over the Fraser River and the only railway connection to the US at the time. Because travel was easier, Matsqui Prairie became more attractive place for European settlers to live.
(Image Out P45 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Caption: Fishing fleet on the Fraser River, 1903.
Salmon runs continued to shrink, and work dried up at the canneries. Alarmed, Stó:lō leaders wrote a letter to the leader of the Department of Indian Affairs with their concerns about overfishing. Concerns about the fisheries would continue to be brought up by the Stó:lō for decades.
(Image CVA 137-91 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Caption: Sikh soldiers in London, 1887.
A group of Sikh soldiers in the British Army travelled across Canada on their way to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. They arrived in Vancouver by ship from Hong Kong and then crossed Canada by train before sailing to London. Canada’s forests and farmland reminded them of Punjab, and many became interested in Canada as a place to work and build a future.
(Image via Wikimedia Commons)
Caption: 1907 pamphlet from the Government of Canada advertising "The Last Best West".
In 1898 the Canadian government began actively promoting the western provinces as “The Last Best West”. Agents travelled to Scandinavia, while ads placed in Scandinavian-language newspapers in the United States encouraged people to move north. Magic lantern shows, newspaper stories, and letters home painted a picture of a promising new life in Western Canada. By this time, most good homesteading land in the United States had already been claimed, so many Scandinavian families crossed the border in search of a new beginning.
(Image C-030621 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Map of the Matsqui Dykes along the Fraser River.
As settlers moved to Stó:lō Temexw, they wanted to shape the land to suit their needs. Matsqui Prairie was a desirable place to settle, but it had a problem: despite previous efforts, it continued to flood every year. Alexander Cruikshank was hired by the Matsqui Lands Company. He began recruiting Scandinavian families to help rebuild the dykes needed to make the land farmable.
(Map courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Riverside Road in Matsqui Village circa 1910.
Changes to the Dominion Lands Act allowed settlers to form cooperative communities. Groups of settlers could now live close together. This helped Scandinavian families support each other and build close communities. They created Matsqui Village, which became the commercial centre of Matsqui Prairie.
Caption: Interior of Matsqui's blacksmith shop circa 1903-1905.
Between 1899 and 1904, Cruikshank helped bring at least eighteen Swedish families to the area. New farms and homes were quickly built. He offered people jobs, land, and a chance to start fresh. Abbotsford received many Scandinavian settlers from places like Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota and Washington State. Most of them settled in Matsqui Village, Ridgedale, and Gifford. Within just five years, Matsqui Village had two churches, a school, a post office, a general store, and a blacksmith shop.
(Image 2012.6.3b from Heritage Abbotsford Society)
Caption: Sikh immigrants at the CPR pier in Vancouver, 1910.
Sikh immigration to Canada began in 1902 when five men arrived in Vancouver and five in Victoria. By 1904, about 30 South Asian men had arrived. Most were Sikhs who travelled through Hong Kong or other British colonies. Many came to earn money to support their families and improve their lives back in India.
(Image 2021_08_01_030 courtesy of the South Asian Canadian Digital Archive)
Caption: Yard of Emma Carlson's house, Matsqui Village.
By 1904, Scandinavian merchants were supplying goods to local farmers and workers, and Matsqui Village had become the bustling heart of prairie life. Many settlers moved from place to place to find the best land. Most of the first arrivals were men, alone or with a friend. They found work, built small homes or rented rooms until they felt secure enough to send for their families. A few women came on their own and worked by sewing clothes, running small photography studios, or working as hired help on farms. Some settlers, like the Olund and Flodin brothers, became known for their excellent building skills. They helped build many of Abbotsford’s first homes and businesses while also working on their own farms, shaping the physical landscape.
(Image 2019.1.975 from Heritage Abbotsford Society)
Caption: Clay mines on Sumas Mountain, 1910s.
After finding clay on Sumas Mountain that was good for heat-resistant bricks, Charles Maclure (Son of John Cunningham Maclure) started the Clayburn Company. A small company town called Clayburn Village was built beside the factory, where the workers who made bricks, tiles, pipes, and other items lived.
(Image D-08503 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Yamamoto family and their house at Mt. Lehman, circa 1925.
The first Japanese settler to arrive in Abbotsford, Kiyu Ogata, moved to Mount Lehman. Over the next 30 years, more than seventy Issei (first generation Japanese immigrants) families followed. They were drawn to Stó:lō territory by the prospect of independent farming. They cleared land, grew crops, and helped build the Fraser Valley’s early berry farming industry.
Caption: Damage done by rioters to a Japanese Canadian business in Vancouver, 1907.
Anti-Asian riots broke out in Vancouver because some people claimed that Chinese and Japanese workers, especially men, were taking jobs from white workers. To get away from the violence many Japanese Canadians moved east to the Fraser Valley. Because of public pressure, the federal government made a deal with Japan called the “Gentlemen’s Agreement.” It limited immigration to only 400 adult men per year, which stopped most Japanese people from coming to Canada. However, women and children were still allowed to immigrate.
(Image C-014118 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: The RMS Empress of Japan at dock.
Canada passed the Continuous Journey Regulation, which said immigrants had to travel to Canada in one trip without stopping. This made it very hard for Asian immigrants, whose ships needed to stop along the way.
(Image 2014.14.2.2.104 courtesy of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre)
Caption: Indigenous family of cannery workers inspects a merchant's stall, 1913.
Stó:lō families continued to farm, starting kitchen gardens and producing beef and milk for market. Most continued a seasonal way of life by fishing and berry-picking in the spring and summer and picking hops and harvesting crops in the fall. Wage labour was increasingly important, but Stó:lō workers were paid less than white settlers for their work.
(Image E-05071 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Early mill on Mill Lake with Mt. Baker in the background, circa 1901–1905.
The Abbotsford Lumber Company was sold to a group of businessmen, including brothers Richard Arthur and Joseph Ogle Trethewey. The mill moved from Railway Street to a much bigger site at Abbotsford Lake, now called Mill Lake.
Caption: BCER Train on the Chilliwack-Vancouver line, 1910s.
Many new railways were built in Abbotsford, such as the Great Northern Railway, the Canadian National Railway, and the B.C. Electric Railway. These railways helped the lumber and dairy industries grow because they could now ship products quickly to cities like Vancouver. The Mill Lake lumber mill became one of the area’s most important businesses.
(Image E-00487 courtesy of BC Archives)
Caption: Kilgard brick factory circa 1930.
In 1909 Charles Maclure left the Clayburn Company after a disagreement and started the Kilgard Fireclay Company on Sumas Mountain. Clayburn bought Kilgard in 1918, and by 1920 they had updated the factory and moved their operations there.
Caption: Anti-Asian cartoon from the BC Saturday Sunset, August 10, 1907.
Because the First World War sent many working-aged men to fight in the military, employers in British Columbia and other provinces suggested bringing in more Chinese workers to fill job shortages. At the same time, hostility toward Chinese workers increased in the years that followed. Racist articles often appeared in newspapers such as the ASMN (Abbotsford, Matsqui, Sumas News) and the Abbotsford Post. Many people feared that Chinese workers, who were paid less and seen as very efficient, would take jobs away from white European workers.
(Image 39047 courtesy of the Vancouver Public Library)
Caption: Matsqui Baptist Church circa 1910s.
In the 1910s, the Scandinavian community in Abbotsford continued to grow. A second general store opened in Matsqui Village, followed by telephone offices, a community hall, a hotel, a Baptist church, and a bank. Many of these places would later grow into successful companies and organizations.
Caption: Gur Sikh Temple circa 1940.
Sikh mill workers in Abbotsford began building a Gurdwara, or Sikh temple. After long workdays, they carried building materials from Mill Lake up a hill to the site on South Fraser Way. When the temple opened in 1912, it became an important place for worship and community. It also helped support men who were separated from their families because of discriminatory immigration rules.
Caption: Millworkers from the Abbotsford Lumber, Mining, & Development Company, circa 1920s.
The lumber mill on Mill Lake upgraded by adding new machines. By this time about 150 workers of South Asian, Japanese, Chinese, and European backgrounds worked at the mill.
Caption: Men on board the Komagata Maru, 1914.
In 1913, the ship Panama Maru arrived in Victoria with 56 South Asian passengers. Only 17 people who could prove previous residency were allowed to enter Canada, and the rest were deported. In 1914, the Komagata Maru arrived in Vancouver with 376 passengers from India. The ship was kept in the harbour for months and then forced to leave. These events happened because of the discriminatory Continuous Journey Regulation which stopped many South Asian people from entering Canada.
(Image 2021_05_063 courtesy of the South Asian Canadian Digital Archive)
Caption: Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association advertisement, circa 1926.
In 1913, dairy farmers in the Fraser Valley created the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association (FVMA). When it began operating in 1917, the co-op helped farmers collect and transport milk to markets and processing plants. This made it easier for farms to focus on dairy. The FVMA’s legacy continues today, including through companies like Dairyland.
(Image CVA 99-2283 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Caption: Chinese sawmill workers in New Westminster, circa 1920.
The Chinese Labour Association was formed in 1916 in British Columbia. Within just two years, it had more than 500 members. Together, they worked to push for better working conditions, fair treatment, and equal pay. At the time, the average Chinese worker still earned about half as much as white workers doing similar jobs.
(Image IHP8536 courtesy of New Westminster Archives)
Caption: A Mennonite collective farm in the Soviet Union after the Russian Revolution.
The hardship of the First World War led to the collapse of the Russian monarchy, followed by the Bolshevik Revolution and the Russian Civil War. As violence and instability grew, many Mennonite families decided to leave. Many moved to Canada, where they joined Mennonite communities on the Prairies and the Fraser Valley in search of safety and a better future.
(Image CA MHC 715-39.0 courtesy of Mennonite Heritage Archives, via the Mennonite Archival Information Database)
Caption: Abbotsford's Giani Naranjan Singh Thauli with three of his children.
The Canadian government changed the rules so Asian immigrants could apply to bring their wives and children to Canada. Before this, many men in Abbotsford worked for years without seeing their families. Even after the rule change, it often took a long time for families to reunite.
(Image 2005-033-001 courtesy of Delta Museum and Archives)
Caption: Municipal Act Amendment Act text, 1919.
A new law was introduced in 1919, prohibiting Chinese-owned or run businesses from employing white women and girls, under the guise of protecting their safety. The law, which was justified by racist beliefs that Chinese men posed a moral and sexual danger to white women, stated: "No person shall in any municipality employ in any capacity any white woman or girl or permit any white woman or girl to reside or lodge in or to work in or […] to frequent any restaurant, laundry, or place of business or amusement owned, kept, or managed by any Chinese person.”
(Image courtesy of BC Laws)
Caption: Japanese Canadian fishermen work on a fishing trawler.
After many years of low salmon returns, the Government banned all fishing on the Fraser River. Many Stó:lō people had to get other work picking berries, fruit, and other cash crops in Mission.
(Image 2001.04.138 courtesy of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre)
Caption: Pickers harvest berries at the Saito family farm.
Living mostly on his own in the Clayburn area, Riichi Sasaki built up his farm without the support that other Japanese Canadian communities had. In 1920, he returned from Japan with his new wife, Misako. He cleared several acres of land and built their home. Together, they became the first family to grow strawberries in Clayburn. Strawberries later became an important crop for many Japanese Canadian farmers in the Fraser Valley. The Sasakis brought their early berry harvests to Mission by horse and cart along rough, bumpy trails.
Caption: Tominosuke Saito picks strawberries in Matsqui.
Farming was already an appealing choice for Japanese Canadians, but more people turned to it because racist government rules pushed them out of other jobs. In the 1920s, the government gave far fewer fishing licences to Japanese Canadian fishermen, and many lost their jobs. Many of these workers moved to the Fraser Valley, where Japanese Canadian farming communities were already established and helped them get started as berry farmers.
Caption: Newspaper clipping from the Chilliwack Progress, November 29, 1921.
Between 1921 and 1934, several fires, believed to be arson, destroyed much of Chilliwack’s two Chinatowns and led to the deaths of some residents. During the same time, the Ku Klux Klan held demonstrations in Abbotsford and spread fear about Chinese immigrants, claiming they were a threat to white workers. These events helped force many Chinese residents to leave and led to the decline of the local Chinese community.
(Article from the Chilliwack Progress courtesy of Chilliwack's Chinatowns: A Story of Diversity, Racism, and Arson)
Caption: Text of the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act.
The Chinese head tax was finally removed, but it was quickly replaced by an even stricter law. The new law, called the Chinese Immigration Act, effectively stopped Chinese immigration to Canada. At the same time, all people of Chinese descent living in Canada, including those born in the country, had to register with the government or face fines, jail, or deportation. This law stopped families from reuniting, slowed the growth of communities, and increased social and economic inequality.
(Image courtesy of the Museum of Canadian Immigration at Pier 21 and Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Article about Mennonite migration in the Abbotsford, Sumas and Matsqui News from 1943.
In 1927, Fraser Valley settlers Eckert and Crain began advertising 10-acre farms in Yarrow to Mennonite families in Winnipeg. This led to the first two families arriving in December 1927, with larger groups following in 1928. Many Mennonites worked picking hops on Sumas Prairie to earn money while they started their own farms.
While many British settlers viewed Mennonites as hardworking and honest, there was still some tension. The Abbotsford Sumas Matsqui newspaper published negative articles about large numbers of Mennonites moving to the area, which created fears that British settlers might be pushed out or replaced.
(Image courtesy of the Abbotsford, Sumas and Matsqui News Archive)
Caption: Boys in Mission BC proudly display their pickings, circa 1926.
In Mission, Issei farmer Bunjiro Sakon created new types of crops, like autumn strawberries and winter rhubarb. These crops could grow for much longer than usual, so farmers in the Fraser Valley, including Abbotsford, could keep harvesting and earning money for more months of the year. Local farming associations called Nokai worked together, taking turns growing different crops. This helped make sure there were enough crops for everyone to sell and that all families could earn a steady living.
(Image 2010.23.2.4.700 courtesy of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre)
Caption: Sign for G. Kemprud's Shoe Repairs, a Matsqui business from the early 1900s.
The 1920s brought new businesses and forms of entertainment to the community. Scandinavians opened the first restaurant and an ice cream shop in Matsqui. The Matsqui Hotel also became an important place where different services were located, including a dressmaking shop, a pool hall, and public baths.
Caption: Men grading the road outside Hotel Matsqui, circa 1935.
By the 1930s the children of Scandinavian settlers felt Canadian, but they were still proud of their family background. Even if they were born in Canada, many still called themselves Swedish or Norwegian. During the Great Depression, many Scandinavian men worked paving roads in Abbotsford, which helped support their families with important income. Immigration from Scandinavia also slowed down during this time.
Caption: Advertisement for the Abbotsford Lumber Mining & Development Company, circa 1919 to 1928.
The lumber mill on Mill Lake expanded, and business was strong. In 1924, the mill closed for six weeks to upgrade its machines so it could process even more lumber. That year was a record year, with 275 workers and millions of feet of lumber produced.
(Image 85.41.1099 from Heritage Abbotsford Society)
Caption: Sumas lake before it was drained, circa 1913.
In 1922, the provincial government formally decided to drain Sumas Lake, giving the contract to the Marsh Construction Company. By 1926 the work was completed, allowing farmers to settle the new Sumas prairie. The loss of the lake was devastating to the Semá:th people, whose original reserve was largely the lake itself. It was a source of food and a way of life, and it was a habitat for many birds, animals, and fish. The Stó:lō people were not consulted on the project, and the Semá:th were not compensated.
(Image LGN 1144 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Caption: Millworker with a horse and cart at the Fraser Mills Lumberyard.
By 1924, most South Asian people living in B.C. worked in lumber mills. Out of about 680 South Asians in the province, around 609 were mill workers.
(Image MH.2011.3.21 courtesy of City of Coquitlam Archives)
![Cartoon showing a ship in the background with two gates, one labelled "White Immigration", which is open to the people behind it, and another labelled "Oriental [sic] Exclusion", which is closed.](https://hasexhibit.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/tl-img-93-anti-asian-cartoon.jpg)
Caption: Anti-Asian immigration cartoon printed in the Saturday Sunset, August 24, 1907.
Under pressure from B.C. politicians and anti-Asian racists, Canada asked Japan to limit immigration even further. The new agreement allowed only 150 people per year, including women and children. In order to bring in skilled workers under these strict rules, Japanese Canadian communities together chose candidates, often from their home villages, and asked the Japanese consulate to approve them. Sponsored workers had to stay on the farms that sponsored them for at least three years.
(Image 39046 courtesy of the Vancouver Public Library)
Caption: Article about the Abbotsford Lumber Company from the ASM News, circa 1930.
By 1928, the Abbotsford Lumber Company was in decline. Most of the nearby trees had already been cut, and the Great Depression made lumber less in demand. Because of pressure from locals and fewer jobs, the company fired 40–50 workers who were of South Asian, Chinese, and Japanese backgrounds—a racist layoff meant to keep jobs for white European workers. By the mid-1930s, the Abbotsford mill closed, logging stopped, and the company switched to selling products in stores instead.
(Image courtesy of the Abbotsford, Sumas and Matsqui News Archive)
Caption: Out of work men protest during the Great Depression.
During the Great Depression, the Fraser Valley was protected from the worst effects of the Dust Bowl because of its climate. However, the collapse of the lumber industry and rising unemployment caused anxiety among British settlers. Many felt threatened by new migrants who they believed would compete for jobs and land.
(Image C-029397 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Dueck Building Supplies Ltd. in Clearbrook, 1961.
Mennonite settlement in the Fraser Valley continued to grow. Most Mennonites were farmers who settled in close-knit Mennonite villages, such as Yarrow. They took part in important farming industries like dairy, tobacco, and hops, and they also became well known for growing raspberries. Clearbrook was cleared for farming and developed into a centre for Mennonite-owned businesses, including farm supply stores, grocery stores, and credit unions.
(Image CA MAO XV-19.3-1992-14-3117 courtesy of Mennonite Archives of Ontario, via the Mennonite Archival Information Database)
Caption: Jassa and Munsha Singh tend a potato crop on Sunder Singh Thandi's farm, 1953.
During the 1930s, many South Asian immigrants arrived in Canada seeking work after facing hardship and limited opportunities in Punjab. Many immigrants worked in lumber mills for very low pay. As mills closed and jobs became scarce during the Great Depression, some families used their earnings to buy land. They became farmers, helping their communities settle permanently in the Fraser Valley.
Caption: Aerial view from Sumas Mountain showing the Interprovincial highway running east to west over the Vedder Canal, circa 1940s.
In 1931, the first part of the Trans-Canada Highway in the Fraser Valley opened on Sumas Prairie. By 1941, the route from Clearbrook to Vancouver was complete. Trucking companies—mostly owned by white settlers at first—began moving goods by road. This made the railways less important to the local economy.
Caption: The Haraga Family's Strawberry Farm in Abbotsford prior to 1927.
By 1934, Japanese Canadian farmers owned 63% of the Fraser Valley’s farmland. Their careful and hardworking way of farming made them very successful in growing small fruits. At the time, a government inspector estimated that over 85% of the berries in the Fraser Valley came from their farms. This number probably grew even more in the years before the war.
(Image 2001.28.2.8.3 courtesy of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre)
Caption: South Abbotsford Church, 1943.
The outbreak of World War II led to a rise in anti-German feelings, which affected local Mennonites who spoke German. They also faced hostility because, due to their religious belief in pacifism, they refused to fight as soldiers.
Even so, Mennonite migration continued during the war because of the disruption caused in Europe. The Village of Arnold was founded as another Mennonite farming community, giving settlers a place where they could live and farm together and feel somewhat protected from local prejudice. Mennonite churches began to be built across the region, and the community founded schools such as the Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) and Bethel Bible Institute (now Columbia Bible Institute) to educate their children.
(Image CVA 1184-212 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Because they were treated unfairly and did not have full rights as citizens, South Asian workers in the Fraser Valley worked together and raised money to support the fight for equality on a national level. South Asian workers were also on the front lines of the local International Woodworkers of America-Canada unionization effort, and fought successfully for better living conditions and equal pay for all lumber workers in the early 1940s.
(Quote taken from Page 5 of The B.C. Lumber Worker, Vol. XI, No. 13, July 11, 1942)
Caption: Sailor attaches a British flag to a seized Japanese Canadian fishing boat, 1941.
On December 7, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Canada quickly declared war on Japan, which made long-standing racism against Japanese Canadians in British Columbia worse. People became even angrier after Hong Kong fell and news spread about Japanese attacks on Canadian soldiers. Fears grew as Japan advanced quickly across the Pacific. The morning after the attack, the Canadian government began targeting Japanese Canadians. They took away fishing boats, closed Japanese-language newspapers, and told the police to arrest people they believed to be a threat.
(Image PA-170513 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Japanese Canadians taken from the coast of BC arrive at an internment camp in Slocan, 1942.
The War Measures Act was put into effect, making coastal British Columbia a “protected area.” The government forcibly removed Japanese Canadians from the Fraser Valley, even those who were born in Canada. Families were separated—some were sent to internment camps, while others were sent to farms in the B.C. interior, Alberta, or Manitoba. The Japanese Canadian communities in Abbotsford were destroyed in just a few weeks, and by 1944, the local berry farming industry had completely collapsed.
(Image C-047396 courtesy of Library and Archives Canada)
Caption: Picker hauls hops on Sumas Prairie, circa 1940.
Mennonites went on strike in the hop fields, hoping to raise the wage to 5 cents per pound for picking hops. However, the strike was not successful. Hop farmers were able to take advantage of divisions between different groups of workers and continued hiring other settlers and Indigenous workers for 3 cents per pound. This marked the beginning of the decline of Mennonite involvement in hop farming.
Caption: Entrance to the Abbotsford International Airport.
During World War II, an airport was built in Abbotsford to help defend the west coast. It opened on July 14, 1943, and became Canada’s biggest military airport, with more than forty buildings. The Royal Canadian Air Force Station closed in 1945, and the airport became civilian-run in 1958. In 1997, the City of Abbotsford bought it from the federal government, and it still operates today as Abbotsford International Airport.
(Image by YXXOps, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Caption: A farmhouse in Bradner in 1949, a neighbourhood where many Japanese Canadian families lived prior to internment.
In 1943, the Canadian government sold property that had been taken from Japanese Canadians at the start of internment in an effort to help cover the cost of their mass incarceration. Mennonites, who in many cases had more working-age men remaining at home during the war, were often among the buyers of these farms in the Lower Mainland. The advantage in buying well-established farms helped some Mennonite families benefit from the post-war economic boom, since there was less competition for land and farming opportunities.
(Image CA CMBS NP198-2-2 courtesy of Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, via the Mennonite Archival Information Database)
Caption: Large group of young Mennonite women who participated in the Mädchenheim system in Vancouver, 1940s.
During the post-war economic boom, young Mennonite men usually worked on their family farms, but also took on additional work as truckers, construction workers, and sawmill workers. Young unmarried women also helped at home, but many moved to Vancouver through the Mädchenheim system to work as maids for wealthy European families. They also did seasonal farm work, such as picking berries. These young workers used their savings to start their own farms and businesses once they were ready to get married and have children of their own.
(Image CA CMBS NP045-01-44 courtesy of Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, via the Mennonite Archival Information Database)
Caption: Mahinder S. Beadall, believed to be the first South Asian man to vote in Canada, casts his ballot.
After decades of advocacy and work in forestry and agriculture without full rights, South Asian labourers finally gained the right to vote, own land, and become Canadian citizens.
(Image 2021_05_002 courtesy of the South Asian Canadian Digital Archive)
Caption: Quote from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's speech apologizing for the Exclusion Act on behalf of the Canadian Government in 2006.
The Chinese Exclusion Act (officially the Chinese Immigration Act, 1923) was repealed by the Canadian government on May 14, 1947. This gave Chinese Canadians the right to vote and allowed some immigration to begin again. However, other unfair laws against Asian immigrants were still in place.
Caption: Aron and Olga Rempel pick raspberries on their farm in Yarrow.
The Abbotsford Growers Co-operative Union was founded by Mennonite farmers based on the model of the Japanese Canadian Cooperative in Mission. This allowed raspberry growers to pool resources for washing and processing. The union has continues to operate today and has expanded beyond it's original Mennonite roots to include farmers from other backgrounds, and is now largely made up of South Asian growers.
(Image CA MHSBC 199-5-2021.106.006 courtesy of Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia, via Mennonite Archival Information Database)
Caption: Couple wades through floodwaters at the intersection of Riverside and Clayburn Roads, 1948.
The Fraser River overflowed its banks, causing major flooding on Matsqui Prairie. Mennonite farmers lost their berry crops,and problems with pests and low European imports made the local berry industry temporarily collapse. In response, many Mennonite farmers switched to dairy or poultry farming, or started local businesses to make up for their losses. Some also sold their farms to South Asian families, who are now the majority of berry farmers in Abbotsford today.
Caption: List of Kaichi Hikida's property put up for public auction after being seized by the Government during internment.
After the war, restrictions on Japanese Canadians were lifted, but very few came back to the Fraser Valley. Almost 4,000 had been sent to Japan, even though many had never lived there. Those who stayed in Canada had nothing to return to. Their belongings had been sold at auctions, and their homes and land had been sold, mostly to returning war veterans through the Veteran Lands Act.
(Image 2018.16.1.40.45 courtesy of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre)
Canada signed on to the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following this, the B.C. government finally allowed Indigenous people the right to vote. In 1951 the Indian Act was amended so that Indigenous people could vote federally without giving up their Indigenous status.
(Quote taken from Article 21 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Caption: Matsqui Lutheran Church.
By the mid-20th century, Scandinavian settlers had become an important part of Abbotsford’s identity. Their farms, businesses, buildings, and traditions helped shape the growth of early Abbotsford. Their legacy continued not only in the buildings and the community organizations they created, but also in the families who remained in the area for generations.
Caption: Mennonite students attend South Poplar school, 1943.
As Mennonites built up their economic life in Abbotsford, many encouraged their children to pursue higher education and attend university. Over time, these educated children became more integrated into wider society, began speaking English as their first language, and moved into professional careers such as pastors, nurses, doctors, and teachers.
Most Mennonites in Abbotsford became less separated from the wider English-speaking community, although strong cultural and religious connections have continued to keep them closely linked into the 21st century. Many local farm businesses are still operated by well-known Mennonite families today.
(Image CVA 1184-214 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
Caption: Order in Council amending immigration policy, 1967.
In 1962, Canada ended its system that set limits based on a person’s country of origin. In 1967, a new point system was created to decide who could immigrate, attempting to make Canada’s immigration rules fairer and less racist. However, the points system gave preference to workers with skills and education, instead of farmers and labourers who came from less privileged backgrounds.
("Immigration Act, Immigration Regulations, Part 1, Amended" courtesy of Library and Archives Canada via the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21)
Caption: Grain field in Abbotsford, 1949.
In 1966, 264 Jamaican men were allowed into Canada to work seasonally on fruit and vegetable farms in southwestern Ontario. This was the start of what became the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). This program, which was later brought to British Columbia, allowed farms to bring in workers for short periods to fill labour shortages, even if those workers wouldn’t be allowed come to Canada permanently under the new immigration laws.
(Image CVA 586-106 courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)
On April 6, 1980, South Asian immigrants in B.C. helped start the Canadian Farmworkers Union (CFU). Many farm workers faced long hours, dangerous work, and little protection under the law. By organizing together, CFU members fought for fair pay, safer workplaces, and basic rights.
(Quote taken from Raj Chouhan's Speech at BC Conference of the United Church of Canada in Victoria)
Caption: Farmer runs milking machines on a dairy farm.
As local farm workers became harder to find, Canadian farms used programs to bring in migrant workers. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program began in 2002, and the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program expanded to British Columbia in 2004. Workers were hired on short-term contracts and could only work for one employer, which made it hard for them to refuse unsafe or unfair work conditions. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) argued that this system created a workforce that is vulnerable to exploitation.
(Image by Nick Chipchase, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Caption: Migrant workers pick strawberries.
For the first time, more workers came to Canada as temporary foreign workers than as permanent residents. This shift showed that Canada was becoming more dependent on migrant labour as global trade and supply chains became more connected. While programs like the TFWP and SAWP have serious problems, they continue to grow because of the economic demand.
Caption: UCFW representative stands outside a local office.
In 2008, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) was approved to represent 35 migrant workers at a farm in Surrey. This would have been the first union agreement for migrant farm workers in British Columbia. However, the next year only 12 of those workers were asked back to work. The union argued this was punishing the workers for organizing, and the B.C. Labour Relations Board later cancelled the agreement after the employer challenged it. Because migrant workers rely on being invited back each season, many are afraid to join unions in case they are not rehired.
(Image courtesy of Peter Haden via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)
Caption: The BC government announces the recruiter licensing program aimed at protecting Temporary Foreign Workers, 2019.
Researchers and advocacy groups began reporting how migrant farm workers in Canada face growing health and safety risks. Farm work can be dangerous, and workers risk physical injury or illness from exposure to pesticides and fertilizers. Studies show that language barriers, limited transportation, fear of job loss, and a lack of information about health and insurance systems can stop workers from getting medical help or reporting unsafe work.
(Image courtesy of the Province of British Columbia via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Caption: Fraser Valley farm with Mt. Baker in the background.
In 2012, the federal government changed Employment Insurance (EI) rules, which limits migrant workers’ equal access to benefits most Canadians enjoy, such as medical leave, unemployment insurance, or parental and maternity leave. Although temporary foreign workers pay EI premiums from every paycheque they earn in Canada, many cannot claim these benefits because their eligibility ends when their work contracts finish. Despite calls to reverse the policy, the government has not changed these rules.
(Image courtesy of the Province of British Columbia via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Caption: Workers pick crops during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020, Canada launched the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot, a program connected to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The program allowed a small number of agricultural and food industry workers a way to gain permanent residency. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the program’s rollout. Originally planned to end in 2023, it was extended to 2025 to allow more time to evaluate its results.
(Image courtesy of the Province of British Columbia via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Caption: Flooding on Sumas Prairie during the floods of 2021.
In November 2021, extreme rainfall caused flooding across the Fraser Valley. Farms, roads, and other infrastructure were badly damaged, with losses in the billions of dollars. Five people and nearly 700,000 farm animals were killed. Many migrant farm workers suddenly lost both their jobs and their housing. Because their work permits tied them to specific employers they couldn’t find other work and had to wait to find out if they would be sent home. Hundreds of workers already struggling under the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic were displaced and relied on limited help from local charities, community organizations, and faith groups.
(Image courtesy of the Province of British Columbia via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Caption: Canadian agricultural workers by origin as of 2017.
In 2017, foreign workers made up 16% of agricultural workers, a percentage which only continues to grow. A report from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) predicts that by 2033, about 40% of Canadian farmers will have retired, leading to a shortage of about 24,000 farm workers across the country. As fewer young people enter farming and many family farms are sold to larger operations, Canada’s farming industry is becoming more dependent on vulnerable migrant workers to keep farms running.