MISSION

MISSION
Is a large district municipality, located on the north side of the Fraser River and on the Lougheed Highway (Highway #7) about 70 kilometers east of Vancouver. Named after St. Mary’s Mission, once the largest and first mission in the Pacific Northwest, established in 1862 on the banks of Fraser River by oblate missionary Leon Fouquet. Operated from 1863 to 1984, the mission was the first school for aboriginals, and it had everything from a gristmill for local farmers and even had its own church. The mission was moved in 1885 further north uphill to make way for the Canadian Pacific Railway to lay and construct tracks. The building and constructing of the new site of the mission was a difficult chore that took over 2 years to complete, however it was eventually finally built in 1885. The remains, of the site, including its cement foundations are still seen today and or on display at the Fraser River Heritage Park, northeast of downtown, but most of the exterior of the building was razed and demolished in 1965 due to years of deterioration. It was 4 years prior students of the mission were moved next-door to a residential school when it became a federally-mandated residential school, where it continued to operate until 1984 making it one of the last residential schools to close in British Columbia. Nestled between the Coast Mountains in the north and the Fraser River in the south, Mission was also chosen as a site in 1954 by Benedictine monks for their new Monastic Retreat Center, the Westminster Abbey seminary of Christ the King, which is a remarkable church with a tower of 10 bells, and 64 stained-glass windows, the Abbey is located on a hillside above town and provides people who seek solitude, prayer and comfort. Once inhabited by the Sto:lo First Nations, Mission was an important stopping place and junction point for trappers, loggers and settlers where it remains to this very day. Economies in Mission which is known for its fertile soil and mild and pleasant climate year-round include dairy farming, agriculture, as well as logging. Many residents work in Vancouver as well as the surround area do so by commuting and using the West Coast Express, a public transit train which takes approximately 45 minutes to Vancouver. Mission was incorporated as a district on November 1969, after being previously and municipally known as a town, village and was even an original district in its early days and due to its massive increase in population and that many residential complexes are being developed over the past few decades, it has been rumored in the future that Mission will eventually be known officially as a city. Highway #11 is a highway that connects Mission and the Lougheed Highway and travels south via the Mission Bridge, 12 kilometers to Abbotsford and 5 more kilometers south towards the Canada/United States border crossing at the tiny Washington State hamlet of Sumas. The district is served by 2 main communities, Mission City (where most of the downtown is located in, as well as a historic post office that dates back to 1935), and Hatzic in addition to 4 smaller neighborhoods, Steelhead, Ruskin, Stave Falls and Silverdale. Mission is a proud sister city to that of Oyama, a town of about 20,000 residents, located in Shizuoka, a prefecture in Japan.


MISSION’S POPULATION: 30,519