Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce

The recognized community leader that facilitates and advocates for all business in the Mission Region. The Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce fosters a networkfor entrepreneurial leaders to partner in representation, communication andeducation. The Mission City and District Board of Trade was created in 1893 and operated under that name until 1961. The name was then changed to the Mission City and District Chamber of Commerce until 1970 and the Mission and District Chamber of Commerce until around 1979. In 1979 the name was changed one more time to the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce. Harry Brown French created the Board of Trade, the first in British Columbia and was elected its first president. The Board immediately took out advertisements in all newspapers within a 300 mile radius, offering a package of free land, free water, free power, property tax exemptions and, most extraordinary of all, the Board also offered to construct factories, mills or other commercial buildings for potential industrialists at no cost whatsoever! Today's Chamber of Commerce is housed in an attractive cedar shake building just east of Mission on Highway 7. The Chamber continues to serve the businesses of Mission but also houses a Visitor Centre that offers tourist information to visitors and local residents alike.