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Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Maple Ridge, North of the Fraser River
Motto: "Rivers of bounty, Peaks of gold"
Location of Maple Ridge within the Greater Vancouver Regional District in British Columbia, Canada
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional District	Greater Vancouver
Incorporated	1874
Government
- Mayor	Gord Robson
Area
- Total	265.79 km² (102.6 sq mi)
Population (2006)
- Total	68,949
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
Postal code span	V2X,V2W,V3Z,V4R
Area code(s)	604, 778
Website: District of Maple Ridge

Maple Ridge is a District Municipality in British Columbia, located east of Vancouver on the Fraser River. It is a member of the Greater Vancouver Regional District and has a population of approximately 73,000.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Recent growth 2 Industry 3 Demographics 4 Education 5 Sports 6 Theatre 7 Notable people from Maple Ridge 8 Surrounding municipalities 9 External links

The District of Maple Ridge was incorporated September 12, 1874, it covered an area of 33,000 acres (130 km²) yet only had approximately 50 families living in the town. Maple Ridge is British Columbia's sixth-oldest municipality (after New Westminster, Victoria, Langley, Lake Cowichan, and Chilliwack.) Maple Ridge is made up of several different historical areas, including Haney, Albion, Port Hammond, Whonnock, and Webster's Corner. These areas are represented by a cultural group. For instance, Webster's Corner and Albion are represented by the many Finnish families that settled in the area. While Port Hammond is known for its small cottage like mill houses originally built by the local mill to house its workers.

In the past 20 years, Maple Ridge has grown very rapidly, with a 12.5% population increase between the 1996 and 2001 censuses. The construction of new residential subdivisions has threatened many sensitive wildlife habitats as well as the District's limited agricultural land. About two-thirds of those who work outside the home commute into other suburbs or downtown Vancouver. Highlighting the trend towards a more urban attitude, Maple Ridge joined the GVRD in 1995, having historically been a member of the largely rural FVRD. The recently-started construction of the Golden Ears Bridge and the announced new high level Pitt River bridge span also signals growth. The prices of housing in Maple Ridge is expected to rise significantly when the Golden Ears Bridge is completed.

The early settlers in Maple Ridge engaged in forestry and agriculture. Forestry companies continue to be the largest private-sector employers in the district. They include Interfor and companies that manufacture building materials, yachts and poles. The soil and climate are not well-suited to the production of traditional food crops, but the Maple Ridge agriculture sector generates upwards of $40 million annually (2001), largely from berry crops, nurseries and horse breeding.^{[citation needed]} The biggest challenge for the district is to attract commercial and industrial investment while trying to preserve the "close to nature" feel that is Maple Ridge's biggest asset.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics according to Statistics Canada 2006 census.

• Population: 68,949
• 2001 to 2006 population change (%) : 9.2%
• Area: 265.79 km² (102.62 sq mi).
• Density: 259.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (671.8/sq mi).
• Location: 49°13′12.0″N 122°35′56.1″W / 49.22, -122.598917

Public schools are administered by School District 42 Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows. Meadowridge School, a K-12 independent school, is located in Maple Ridge. A public technological school called Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary School opened in 2005. Samuel Robertson offers more technical courses than any other school in the district. Thomas Haney Secondary School, home of the Thomas Haney Thunder, is also one of Canada's only Self Directed Schools. Maple Ridge is also home to Kanaka Creek Elementary School, a year round modelled school.

Maple Ridge has five secondary schools, including the aforementioned Thomas Haney Secondary and Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary. The other high schools in Maple Ridge are Westview Secondary School, Maple Ridge Secondary, and Garibaldi Secondary School. Maple Ridge is also home to District 42 Alternative Secondary School.

Maple Ridge is known for being the hometown of several high-profile athletes, such as baseball player Larry Walker, deceased race-car driver Greg Moore, and hockey players Cam Neely, Brendan Morrison and Andrew Ladd. These professional athletes are the product of very well organized youth sports programs, including a baseball program which has produced three Midget AAA Western Canadian Championship teams since 2001, including back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002.

The ACT Theatre is located in the downtown core of Maple Ridge, and is home to such groups as The Millennium Players and Emerald Pig. It is a non-profit public resource serving the artistic and cultural needs of the diverse audiences in the communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Offering a wide range of activities including live music, theatre, classes, workshops and events, The ACT houses the Maple Ridge Art Gallery.

• Brent Hayden, swimmer, won gold medal at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships
• Andrew Ladd, NHL hockey player for the Carolina Hurricanes, won the Stanley Cup in 2006
• Greg Moore, race-winning Champ Car driver, formerly of Forsythe Racing
• Brendan Morrison, NHL hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks, won the gold medal at the 2004 Hockey World Championships
• Robert Mundell, Nobel Prize-winning economist
• Helen Mussallem, nurse, awarded Companion of the Order of Canada
• Cam Neely, NHL hockey player for the Boston Bruins, elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005
• Christopher Paul Neil, accused pedophile, subject of a worldwide manhunt in October 2007
• Molly Parker, Genie Award-winning actress
• Aaron Pritchett, CCMA award-winning country music artist
• Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, domestic murder victim, subject of documentaries and a made-for-television movie
• Larry Walker, All-Star Major League Baseball player, formerly of the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Montreal Expos

	Pinecone Burke Provincial Park	Golden Ears Provincial Park	Fraser Valley Electoral District F
	Pitt Meadows		Mission
		Maple Ridge
	Barnston Island, Surrey	Langley Township	Abbotsford

• District of Maple Ridge Local government home page
• History of Maple Ridge A variety of information on the history of Maple Ridge, including historical images, information on heritage buildings, and more.
• History of Maple Ridge on the towns website.

v • d • e Municipalities of Metro Vancouver
Population over 100,000	Burnaby • Coquitlam • Delta • Langley Township • Richmond • Surrey • Vancouver
Population over 50,000	Maple Ridge • New Westminster • North Vancouver District • Port Coquitlam
Population under 50,000	Anmore • Belcarra • Bowen Island • Langley City • Lions Bay • North Vancouver City • Pitt Meadows • Port Moody • West Vancouver • White Rock
Unincorporated areas	Barnston Island • Passage Island • Bowyer Island • University Endowment Lands

v • d • e Subdivisions of British Columbia
Subdivisions	Electoral Areas · Regional districts · School districts
Settlements	Communities · First Nations · Ghost towns · Municipalities
Urban centres	Abbotsford · Kamloops · Kelowna · Nanaimo · Prince George · Vancouver · Victoria
Districts	100 Mile House · Central Saanich · Chetwynd · Coldstream · Delta · Elkford · Esquimalt · Fort St. James · Highlands · Hope · Houston · Hudson's Hope · Invermere · Kent · Lake Country · Langley · Lantzville · Lillooet · Logan Lake · Mackenzie · Maple Ridge · Metchosin · Mission · New Hazelton · North Cowichan · North Saanich · North Vancouver · Oak Bay · Peachland · Port Edward · Port Hardy · Saanich · Sechelt · Sicamous · Sooke · Spallumcheen · Sparwood · Squamish · Stewart · Summerland · Taylor · Tofino · Tumbler Ridge · Ucluelet · Vanderhoof · Wells · West Vancouver

v • d • e Neighbourhoods in Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Main neighbourhoods	Port Hammond · Haney · Websters Corners · Silver Valley · Yennadon · Whonnock · Ruskin · Iron Mountain · Thornhill · Albion · Kanaka Creek
First Nations	Katzie · Whonnock
Other areas	Maple Meadows Industrial Park