The Township of Langley is a large municipality in the eastern part of Metro Vancouver, surrounding but governed separately from the City of Langley at its centre. It covers a broad area of fertile farmland, newer residential subdivisions, and small commercial nodes, stretching from the Fraser River to the south to the US border at Aldergrove and north into the hills above the valley floor. It is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Metro Vancouver, driven largely by residential development in its western neighbourhoods.
Willoughby, Walnut Grove, and Growth Areas
Willoughby, in the northwest corner of the Township adjacent to Surrey and the City of Langley, has been the centre of intensive residential development over the past two decades, with thousands of townhouses and single-family homes built on former farmland and transforming the area into a dense suburban neighbourhood. Walnut Grove, to the north along the Fraser Highway corridor, is an established suburb with shopping centres, schools, and residential streets built largely in the 1980s and 1990s. The Carvolth Exchange bus terminal near the Highway 1 interchange serves as a regional transit hub connecting the Township to the rest of Metro Vancouver.
Fort Langley, Aldergrove, and Agricultural Land
Fort Langley, on the south bank of the Fraser River, is the historic core of the Langley area and the site of the Fort Langley National Historic Site, the former Hudson’s Bay Company trading post where the Colony of British Columbia was proclaimed in 1858. The village has a heritage commercial strip along Glover Road with boutiques, antique shops, and restaurants, and draws visitors for its historic character and river views. Aldergrove, near the Canada-US border crossing in the southeast, is a small rural service community. A significant portion of the Township’s land base remains in the Agricultural Land Reserve, with horse farms, blueberry fields, and nurseries visible throughout the rural areas, giving the municipality an agricultural character that coexists with its rapid residential growth.