President’s Message

As the voice of business in Abbotsford, we are here to serve your business needs and help you thrive/prosper.

Abbotsford has experienced tremendous growth and change in the last decade. Its diverse business community of entrepreneurs, producers, builders, and proprietors are the economic backbone of our city. With our aim to help build and sustain a thriving business community, the Abbotsford Chamber seeks to develop genuine relationships with businesses – to truly understand their perspective and support their business needs.

The Chamber’s mission is anchored by three pillars, also known as our ABC’s – Advocate, Benefit, Connect. Advocate: We are actively advocating on behalf of businesses by listening to their concerns and challenges and working with all levels of government to ensure they are aware of and responding to the obstacles and constraints they are facing. The Chamber’s respected voice amongst community leaders plays an active role with the City and we also advocate at the Provincial and Federal levels through the BC Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Benefit: We have a variety of unique benefits for our members, such as group insurance, opportunities to promote your business, and education on a range of business and leadership topics. We also offer member-to-member savings. https://abbotsfordchamber.com/for-members/

Connect: We host stimulating events with expert speakers and community leaders along with our municipal, provincial and federal elected officials. We also host regular Business After Business events where we celebrate and learn about a local (host) business and socialize over some food and drink with other members. Our goal is to curate a fun and stimulating experience where you can interact with other businesses and learn from each other, while developing new relationships to expand your network.

The past two years have been extremely hard on certain sectors – some barely surviving, and others thriving beyond expectation. As we transition out of the pandemic, the Chamber wants to help you build-back-better. Let’s take what we’ve learned and continue to create and innovate. Through networking and expert speaker panels, the Abbotsford Chamber is a place where you can hear from other entrepreneurs and share strategies to address common challenges such as shortages in labour and increased costs due to supply chain disruption. The Chamber is also aware that the current tax and cost structure in BC is problematic for many businesses, and we are actively advocating for change to ensure that government policies and supports are in place to help our business community prosper and grow.

With many networking opportunities and services to support businesses, the Chamber embraces a culture of vibrant engagement and proactive advocacy. As your President, I would be honored to connect with you to better understand your unique business needs and introduce you into our thriving business network.

Craig Toews, President