'Going out on my terms': Chilliwack mayor plans to bid farewell to the job

'Going out on my terms': Chilliwack mayor plans to bid farewell to the job

After 15 years on council, Ken Popove set to exit mayor's office this fall

Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove sits in an office lined with colourful renderings of major projects as he reflects on how the city has changed over his 15 years on council.

This fall, Popove says he will be exiting the office’s bright purple door for the last time as mayor to make way for someone new to take the helm.

“It's just time to get on a white horse and ride into the sunset,” he said. “I'm going to go out on my terms.”

Popove has overseen the peaks and valleys of the city since being elected as a councillor in 2011 and then as mayor in 2018.

His tenure saw the city become Canada's second fastest growing census metropolitan area after Kelowna, with 12.1 per cent growth from 2016 to 2021, according to Statistics Canada.

Chilliwack has seen new business and industry and a surge of people, including those who traded bigger cities for a quieter, more affordable life in recent years — a shift in the community that also gave rise to new issues.

“We got our challenges like every other community does," said Popove. “Chilliwack has a lot to offer and it's going to continue to grow.”

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Looking back, Popove says one of the most challenging times of his term was the flooding during the atmospheric river in 2021.

“The hardest signature I ever made is, I had to sign an evacuation notice to the folks in Yarrow because the water was coming,” said Popove. “It was necessary to do and I thank my team that was there to make that decision.”

Flood protection remains a priority for the city.

In recent years, one of the largest flood protection investment projects in Chilliwack was the $1.5-million West Dike Upgrade in 2022. A 1.1-kilometre section of the dike was raised by approximately one metre along the Vedder River.

Popove is also among the Fraser Valley mayors teaming up for the West Coast Corridor Resiliency Partnership to push Ottawa to view flood mitigation along Highway 1 and B.C.'s west coast corridor as a nation-building project.

After major flooding in recent years cut off Highway 1, the mayors want to see long-term investments to protect trade, transportation and agriculture.

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Beyond flood response, Popove says he’s also especially proud to have chaired the Chilliwack Healthier Community partnership, where community organizations meet monthly to address homelessness, seniors housing, poverty and addiction, among other issues.

But Popove says homelessness continues to be a key challenge.

Chilliwack’s unhoused population increased from 642 people in 2024 to 738 people in 2025, according to the most recent Point-in-Time homelessness count numbers.

“Our service providers are run off their feet. It's a challenge, you know, to be in that type of work … and to have to turn people away,” said Popove.

Popove says a key accomplishment during his time was the revitalization of the city’s downtown. The neighbourhood District 1881 has a historic European village feel and is buzzing with restaurants, shops, offices and apartments.

“From a downtown that was virtually dead … now we have a parking problem,” said Popove. “Our downtown is now rocking and rolling.”

The revived downtown has become an epicentre for new businesses and enticed people to move to Chilliwack, said Leanna Kemp, CEO of the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce.

“I would say it's definitely a big boom," she said.

The city has also welcomed major business players including Molson Coors, Red Bull, Puratos and Berry Hill Foods, which have increased the tax base and allowed new opportunities in the farming community, said Kemp.

Spending her evening in downtown, longtime resident Janet Pohl says she appreciates the growth.

"It's great. People are coming from Vancouver to see our new downtown area and we're getting known for the positive," said Pohl, adding she hopes more can be done to address homelessness in the city, such as providing more jobs and make-work opportunities.

Longtime resident Carmen Forde, who has lived in Chilliwack for 30 years, says the city feels far more metropolitan.

“I would say generally I have appreciated how Chilliwack has grown. I really appreciate the extra shopping options that we have here," she said.

But, she added, more can be done with the city's infrastructure to keep pace.

“Of course, I think there are challenges where schools are concerned, having enough spots for kids," she said.

Overcrowding and staff shortages have been an ongoing issue at Chilliwack schools. In May, for instance, Chilliwack Middle School was at 122 per cent capacity, while Cheam Elementary was at 217 per cent capacity, the school district told CBC News.

Forde also noted public transit can be intermittent and unreliable at times.

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Popove acknowledges schools have been "bursting at the seams." He says the challenge for the city is balancing infrastructure needs with the limits Chilliwack has on land use.

“We are surrounded by farmland ... 67 per cent of our land base is farms. So we can't go out. We have to go up."

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Finding that balance has always had "tension points," says Cherie Enns, an urban planner and associate professor at the University of the Fraser Valley.

She says future leaders could explore more innovative approaches to accommodate growth such as housing that uses less land.

That could mean co-housing where residents hold individual title to their private units but share common areas, Enns says, or further prioritizing rowhomes and townhomes.

“You can still have growth while you also protect your agricultural land,” she said.

'Bittersweet' months ahead, says mayor

The politician Popove has tapped as his potential successor, Coun. Jason Lum, says Popove's leadership style has made him accessible and easy to connect with.

“He was a guy you could bring your challenges to and he would be more than happy to talk to you about it,” said Lum, who has served on council with Popove since 2011.

Popove says his last months working out of the mayor’s office will be filled with mixed emotions.

“It's going to be bittersweet, you know, not coming here anymore,” he said. “But like I say, I've had a good run and it's just time for me to exit.”

Baneet Braich is a journalist with CBC News. Connect with her at baneet.braich@cbc.ca or on Twitter at @Baneet_Braich