Monday - March 24, 2025 - Sts'ailes elects new chief, council

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Good morning!

Well folks, it’s that time of year again. Election time. Some journalists love it. Live for it. Drool over it. I … do not.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate it. I believe the work we do during an election campaign is really important in helping people make good voting decisions. And election night pizza is always nice, even if I’m not in a physical newsroom to share it.

But with a team this small, elections inevitably push our other journalism endeavours to the side. Instead of working on fun features or juicy investigations, I am triple-checking whether an internal link in our election hubs really goes where it is supposed to. It’s not exactly exciting stuff. But I hope you find it useful as we kick off this fast-paced election lead up.

– Grace

P.S. Are you an Abbotsford resident who had a baby in 2023 or 2024? Tyler would love to talk to you for a story. Reply back with your contact info and we'll be in touch.

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope 

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

Do you know your federal election riding?

Fraser Valley residents will be voting in a half-dozen newly reconfigured ridings when they and fellow Canadians head to the polls next month to choose a new federal government.

Election Day will be April 28 and we will have more coverage over the coming days and weeks. For now, we’re going to start with helping you figure out exactly what riding you’ll be voting in.

Because if you’re unsure of your local riding, you’re probably not alone. Electoral boundaries have changed since the 2021 federal election, meaning many Fraser Valley residents may be voting in a different riding than they did last time.

Find your riding

You can find a full breakdown of every Fraser Valley riding, including a searchable map and list of neighbourhoods, below. We will launch our election hubs with more details on key election dates and confirmed candidates tomorrow.

If you are in the following Fraser Valley communities, you’ll want to double check at the link above whether you are in a new riding for the upcoming election.

Langley

Instead of a single Langley riding, the township has now been divided into two electoral districts: Langley Township-Fraser Heights to the north, and Abbotsford-Langley South. Cloverdale-Langley City has remained largely the same, but residents living west of 200th Street may be in a new riding. The borders have shifted slightly.

Abbotsford

Abbotsford was divided in two during the last federal election, and still is for 2025. However, residents near Highway 11 south of the Trans Canada will want to doublecheck their riding, as the area is now divided between Mission-Matsqui-Abbotsford and Abbotsford-Langley South.

Mission

Mission residents west of Wren Street are now in the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge riding. (We won’t be covering that riding, but will provide links in our Need To Know section.)

Eastern Fraser Valley

Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs are now divided between two different ridings. Although Harrison Hot Springs is in the Mission-Matsqui-Abbotsford riding, the District of Kent is now in Chilliwack-Hope, as are Fraser Canyon communities on both sides of the Fraser.

Need to Know

🗳 Elections Canada has details on key dates for advance voting here [Elections Canada]

🗳 Liberal leader Mark Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre both promised tax cuts on the first day of the federal election campaign [CBC] / The leaders of the five main federal parties all made their respective pitches Sunday [CBC]

🏒 The Western Hockey League is reportedly looking to return to Chilliwack, with a team expected to start play in 2026; an announcement is expected this week [The Province]

👉 The ownership of the Chilliwack Coliseum is reverting to the City of Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

🚑 A man was seriously injured in an early morning shooting in Chilliwack last week [CTV]

👉 Protesters in Langley picketed a Tesla dealership [Langley Advance Times]

💭 Abbotsford officials are still unsure whether they will join a Canada-US alliance of border communities [Abbotsford News]

🚁 A Mission boy who went missing last week was playing hide-and-seek and only found after police used a helicopter to track him down [Castanet]

🚗 A vehicle was hit by a rockslide on Chilliwack Lake Road last week; police say no one was injured [Chilliwack Progress] / Tyler is working on a story on the landslide threat in the Chilliwack River Valley; if you’re a resident who is reconsidering where you live, email Tyler

🗳 Stó:lō artist Bonny Graham is the third person to announce a run for the vacant Hope council seat [Hope Standard]

🥌 Three Langley teams are competing in the BC Masters curling championships; the competition begins today [Langley Advance Times]

⚠ A culvert under Agassiz’s Tuttyens Road collapsed Thursday [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

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The Agenda

Sts’ailes elects new chief, council

Chadley Paul is the newest chief of the Sts’ailes First Nation, after sweeping the first nation’s election this week.

Paul won by a landslide, with more than half the 400 votes cast in his favour. He had previously been a band councillor and the nation’s capital project manager. He was involved in the creation of Éyameth, the First Nations Primary Care Centre in Harrison Mills.

Boyd Peters, the nation’s rights and title manager and former councillor, was runner up. Former chief Ralph Leon Jr. finished third.

Leon was removed from office in August of last year by council members. They alleged he had committed misconduct including unauthorized spending, excessive technology purchases, and failing to attend important meetings. In 2023, he was charged with public mischief in an alleged incident involving his spouse.

The nation held its election for the 2025-2028 term on March 20 under rules laid out by the band’s custom election code. The full election results are available online.

The Sts’ailes First Nation’s youth council has also been selected for the 2025-2028 term. Those results are available here.

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🗓 Things to do

Live music: Miss Emily performs at Chilliwack's Bozzini's Restaurant on tonight at 7:30pm. Details online.

Golf registration: The Fraserglen Golf Course in Abbotsford is accepting registrations for its Tuesday morning ladies league on Tuesday from 10am to noon. The first day of play is on Tuesday, April 15. Sign up details online.

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Catch up

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