Chilliwack offers the benefits of doing business in British Columbia’s Vancouver region at a much lower cost. With a skilled workforce, lower taxes and lower start-up costs, Chilliwack enables business owners and employees to enjoy greater buying power.
Chilliwack remains in the top three Lower Mainland municipalities for streamlining industrial applications, including lower application fees and approval times, according to the NAIOP Regional Industrial Cost of Business Survey.
Chilliwack is a “top BC investment town” according to the Real Estate Investment Network. Recognized as one of the most business-friendly communities in the region, the City of Chilliwack, along with CEPCO, works with businesses and developers to fast-track permit approvals, provide flexible solutions and organize business support programs and services to help new and existing Chilliwack businesses achieve success.
Located along the Trans Canada Highway (Highway 1) and next to the CN Railway and Southern Railway of BC, Chilliwack provides easy road and rail access. No local tax on fuel has made Chilliwack a popular destination for transportation and distribution companies. A USA border crossing located within 34 km (21 miles), the Abbotsford International Airport within 42 km (26 miles) and an ocean port within 80 km (50 miles) provides easy access to new markets and supplies.
Chilliwack is home to a highly skilled workforce, which is complemented by the University of the Fraser Valley and Canada Education Park, providing local opportunities for training and education. While there are 42,065 people in Chilliwack’s labour force (63 percent participation rate), there is a workforce of 155,000 people within a 30-minute commute.
The Park showcases several major institutional facilities. Currently, the RCMP Pacific Region Training Centre (PRTC), Justice Institute of BC (JIBC), the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), the Food and Agriculture Institute at UFV, and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) are located at the Canada Education Park.
UFV is a fully accredited, public post-secondary institution that enrolls over 15,500 students per year. UFV offers 15 bachelor’s degrees, one applied master’s degree, and more than 80 certificate and diploma programs in applied and academic areas, including Trades.
Located next door to the new UFV building at Canada Education Park, UFV’s Trades and Technology Centre features several training opportunities including Agriculture and Horticulture, Aircraft Structures, Architectural Drafting, Auto body Collision and Service, Automation and Robotics, Carpentry, Culinary Arts, Electrician, Electronics, Heavy Mechanical Trades Foundation, Hospitality Event Planning, Joinery, Plumbing and Piping, Welding and more.
The Food and Agriculture Institute (FAI) at the University of the Fraser Valley is an interdisciplinary research centre that focuses on issues, challenges, and sustainability solutions related to food and farm systems. FAI partners with a diversity of researchers, industry leaders, and governments to build knowledge and tools for moving toward sustainable, resilient food systems for communities and regions in British Columbia, Canada, and across the globe.
FAI conducts research under two major themes:
AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION
FOOD SYSTEMS PLANNING AND POLICY
CEPCO acknowledges S’ólh Téméxw, the unceded traditional lands of the Stó:lō, the People of the River, where we live and work.
