Local Communities. Local Voices. Local News.
Upper Fraser Valley News is an independent digital news platform focused on the communities, people, businesses and stories shaping British Columbia’s Upper Fraser Valley.
Our coverage reaches across Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Agassiz, Harrison Hot Springs, Hope, Cultus Lake and the surrounding communities of the Upper Fraser Valley.
We believe strong communities need strong local information — and there are a lot more stories happening around us than ever make the news.
We want to help change that.
Our Communities Are Our Newsroom
The Upper Fraser Valley isn't one community. It is a collection of cities, towns, neighbourhoods, rural areas and First Nations communities, each with its own identity, opportunities and challenges.
People live in one community, work in another, shop somewhere else and build relationships throughout the Valley. Decisions involving transportation, housing, employment, healthcare, agriculture, development and infrastructure rarely stop at a municipal boundary.
Our coverage reflects that reality.
We report on community news, local business, economic development, local government, housing and development, agriculture, education, transportation, arts and culture, events, interesting people and the issues affecting the region.
But some of the most interesting stories aren't about institutions or governments.
They're about people.
The entrepreneur starting something new. The volunteer quietly making a difference. The farmer adapting to change. The teacher with an interesting idea. The local business that's been around for 40 years. The young person doing something remarkable. The neighbour with a story almost nobody knows.
Those stories are news too.
We Report the News
We all have opinions. Our contributors have opinions. Our readers have opinions.
But Upper Fraser Valley News is a place to report the news and tell the stories of our communities.
Our job is to find out what happened, talk to the people involved, gather the facts, provide context and present what we know as clearly and fairly as we can.
When an issue has different sides, we want readers to understand those perspectives. When facts are disputed, we'll say so. When we get something wrong, we'll correct it.
We're not asking people to have no opinions. We're asking everyone contributing to Upper Fraser Valley News to understand the difference between having an opinion and reporting a story.
There are plenty of other platforms for arguing, campaigning and telling the world what you think.
Here, we report what's happening and let our readers make up their own minds.
You Don't Have to Be a Journalist
This is important.
We believe there are thousands of people throughout the Upper Fraser Valley who know things, see things and experience things that the rest of their community would find interesting.
Most have never written a news story.
That's exactly why we want to hear from them.
You might own a business. Work in agriculture. Coach a team. Volunteer with a community organization. Attend local events. Know your neighbourhood inside out. Understand a particular industry. Or simply keep noticing interesting things happening around you.
You don't need a journalism degree.
You don't need a portfolio.
You don't even need to consider yourself a writer.
Bring us what you know. We can help with the writing.
Experienced journalists, writers and photographers are absolutely welcome too. If you know the Valley and want to contribute, we'd be pleased to hear from you.
Our goal is to bring more local eyes, more local knowledge and more local stories into the newsroom.
Local Business Is Local News
The businesses, farms, entrepreneurs and employers of the Upper Fraser Valley aren't separate from the community — they're part of it.
We want to tell their stories.
Who's opening? Who's expanding? Who's hiring? Who's building something interesting? What industries are changing? What opportunities are emerging? What challenges are local businesses facing?
Understanding the local economy helps us understand our communities.
Help Us Tell the Story
Have a story we should know about?
Know an interesting person we should meet?
Something happening in your neighbourhood that deserves attention?
A business doing something unusual?
An issue people should understand better?
Tell us.
Upper Fraser Valley News is about the people who live, work, build businesses, raise families and create communities throughout this remarkable part of British Columbia.
And increasingly, we want those stories to be reported with the community, not simply about the community.
Upper Fraser Valley News
The People. The Places. The Stories.
We report what's happening. You make up your own mind