Page 26 - FDI Alliance International Magazine. Winter 2020 Digital Interactive Issue.

The Katzie First Nation & Kwantlen First Nations have lived in and The City’s agricultural history was fueled by a large Japanese
around the lands that constitute the City of Maple Ridge for at least community that was, at one point, fully one-third of the population.
10,000 years based on archeological evidence. Their culture was The internment of Japanese citizens in WWII scattered these founding
shaped by this place. families across Canada, but their contributions to our community
are honoured at Haney Nokai Park in our downtown.
Chief Marilyn Gabriel, from the Kwantlen First Nation, eloquently
expresses how connected her people are to this special place. In In the 1950s, a wave of Dutch Immigration was part of the transformation
this time of reconciliation, she is also generous and wise in noting of lands in and around our community and the second generation
that the newest inhabitants of this place, people from all over the of those families is still very active in all aspects of commerce and
globe, are now connected by living here and raising their families community building in Maple Ridge.
on this land. The flora and fauna, the seasons and the incredible
In the new millennia, Maple Ridge has embraced a new vision for
beauty are some of the reasons we are proud to call this place home.
our community. We are building an urban core, surrounded by
Beginning with the the earliest settlers, the City of Maple Ridge has suburban and rural housing that’s part of a broader vision for the
been shaped by people who came here with a dream of prosperity region with ‘City Centre’ nodes where high capacity transit can
for their families. In 1874, a Scottish immigrant, John McIver, held allow for quick movement from node to node.
the meeting that resulted in the incorporation of Maple Ridge.
The execution of this vision has resulted in the City’s population
There is a beloved regional park that covers much of Kanaka Creek increasing by 50% since 2000 and we are on progress to hit the
where people can walk and connect with our natural beauty. People 100,000 threshold in the next few years. This isn’t the result of a
assume that the creek draws its name from our First Nations, but the baby boom in the community; it’s the result of people moving to
creek actually draws its name from a Hawaiian family that worked this community to raise families, start businesses and live in this
for the original Hudson’s Bay post across the river in Fort Langley. extraordinary, natural setting.

26. FDI ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL