ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - Abbotsford City Council has begun its 2026-2030 term, with Mayor Ross Siemens and eight councillors sworn in at an inaugural meeting on November 3 and the mayor setting out public safety, flood mitigation and housing as the term’s defining work.
The council took its oaths of office before Judge Perbeen Mann. Four councillors are new to the table: Carmen Hollett, Kristy Mills, Amrik Narang and Rick Thiessen, elected on October 17 alongside the returning members.
In his inaugural address, Siemens said public safety is the foundation of a strong community and stressed continued support for police and first responders, working with senior governments and service providers on practical solutions for Abbotsford neighbourhoods.
He also pledged to keep advocating for long-term flood mitigation for Sumas and Matsqui Prairie, to protect homes, jobs, farmland, transportation networks and food security, five years after the November 2021 floods devastated the prairie.
Housing was described as one of the term’s defining challenges, with the City promising to improve processes, support more housing choices and use the updated Official Community Plan to make sure development is sustainable and supported by infrastructure. The council will also implement the City’s infrastructure masterplans, improve roads and infrastructure, and manage pressure on taxpayers.
Recreation and good governance round out the agenda: advancing sports infrastructure and community amenities, pursuing partnerships and external funding, protecting core services, managing public dollars responsibly and reducing unnecessary delay.
The incoming council has spent the past two weeks meeting to set its strategic priorities for the term, and the City says it will share the plan once it is complete. The full inaugural ceremony, including the mayor’s address, is posted on the City of Abbotsford’s website.
For Surrey readers, Abbotsford is the Fraser Valley neighbour whose flood and housing decisions land directly on shared highways, farmland and the regional food supply, and whose council now sits for the same four-year term as Surrey’s own new council.
(Source: City of Abbotsford council blog, November 6, 2026)
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