Surrey is a city in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada. It is located south of the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
on the
Canada–United States border
The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...
. It is a member municipality of the
Metro Vancouver
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...
regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surrey is the province's second-largest by population after
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and the third-largest by area after
Abbotsford and
Prince George. Seven neighbourhoods in Surrey are designated
town centre
A town centre is the commerce, commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train ...
s:
Cloverdale,
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
,
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
,
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
,
South Surrey
South Surrey is a community within the City of Surrey, British Columbia, located on the Semiahmoo peninsula in the southern portion of the city of Surrey, sharing a border with the city of White Rock. Neighbourhoods of South Surrey include Cresc ...
, and City Centre encompassed by
Whalley.
History
Surrey was incorporated in 1879, and encompasses land formerly occupied by a number of
Halqemeylem
Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...
-speaking indigenous groups. When Englishman H.J. Brewer looked across the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
from
New Westminster
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
and saw a land reminiscent of his native
County of Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
in England, the settlement of Surrey was placed on the map. The area then comprised forests of
douglas fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
,
fir
Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
,
red cedar,
hemlock,
blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
bushes, and
cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...
bogs. A portion of present-day Whalley (named after Harry Whalley, who owned and operated a gas bar at the bend in King George Blvd, (formerly King George Highway) at 108 Avenue, "Whalley's Corner") was used as a burial ground by the
Kwantlen (or Qw'ontl'en) Nation.
Settlers arrived first in Cloverdale and parts of South Surrey, mostly to farm, fish, harvest oysters, or set up small stores. Once the
Pattullo Bridge
The Pattullo Bridge is a through arch bridge that crosses the Fraser River and links the city of New Westminster to the city of Surrey in British Columbia. It was named in honour of Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, the 22nd Premier of British Columbia. A ...
was erected in 1937, the way was open for Surrey to expand. In the post-war 1950s, North Surrey's neighbourhoods filled with single-family homes and Surrey (not yet a city) became a bedroom community, absorbing commuters who worked in Burnaby or Vancouver.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the city witnessed unprecedented growth, as people from different parts of Canada and the world, particularly Asia, began to make the municipality their home. In 2013, it was projected to surpass the city of Vancouver as the most populous city in BC within the following 10 to 12 years.
Government and politics
Surrey is governed by the elected
Surrey City Council
The Surrey City Council is the governing body of the City of Surrey, British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a d ...
comprising the mayor and eight councillors. The current mayor is
Brenda Locke
Brenda Joy Locke is a Canadian politician, who served in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2001 to 2005 and is the current mayor of Surrey, British Columbia.
She represented the electoral district of Surrey-Green Timbers as a me ...
, who took office on October 15, 2022.
The last elections were held in October 2015. Current City Councillors are: Linda Annis, Doug Elford, Laurie Guerra, Jack Singh Hundial, Brenda Locke, Mandeep Nagra, Allison Patton, and Steven Pettigrew.
In the
2020 provincial election, the BC NDP kept at least their previously six elected MLAs (potentially seven), while the number of MLAs for the BC Liberals will have between two and three.
In 1997,
Gurmant Grewal
Gurmant Singh Grewal (born December 21, 1957) is an Indo-Canadian politician and former Conservative Member of Parliament. Gurmant and his wife, Nina Grewal, who represented Fleetwood—Port Kells from 2004 to 2015, were the first married co ...
became the first visible minority elected in Surrey. In 2004, when his wife,
Nina Nina may refer to:
* Nina (name), a feminine given name and surname
Acronyms
*National Iraqi News Agency, a news service in Iraq
* Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the campus of Norwegian University of Science and Technology
*No income, ...
was elected to parliament, they became the first married couple to serve Canadian parliament concurrently. Following the
2015 federal election, the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
won three of Surrey's four seats in the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
. Conservative MP
Dianne Watts
Dianne Lynn Watts (born October 30, 1959) is a former politician in British Columbia, Canada. She won her first federal election campaign in October 2015 to become a federal Member of Parliament for South Surrey—White Rock. In 2017 she resigned ...
resigned her South Surrey-White Rock seat in 2017 to compete for the leadership of the BC Liberal Party. In the subsequent 2017 by-election, the Liberal candidate
Gordie Hogg
Gordon "Gordie" Hogg (born August 24, 1946) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for South Surrey—White Rock in the House of Commons of Canada from December 11, 2017 until October 21, 2019, as a member of the Liber ...
defeated former Conservative MP and federal cabinet minister
Kerry-Lynne Findlay
Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay (born 12 January 1955) is a Canadian politician, who was elected as the MP for South Surrey—White Rock in the 2019 federal election. She previously sat in the House of Commons of Canada from the 2011 Canadian federal el ...
.
Demographics
In the
2021 Canadian census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, Surrey had a population of 568,322 living in 185,671 of its 195,098 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 517,887. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Surrey is the 11th largest city in Canada, and is also the fifth-largest city in Western Canada (after
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
and
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
). Surrey forms an integral part of Metro Vancouver as it is the second largest city in the region, albeit while also serving as the secondary economic core of the metropolitan area. When combined with the City of Vancouver, both cities account for nearly 50% of the region's population. In recent years, a rapidly expanding urban core in
Downtown Surrey, located in
Whalley has transformed the area into the secondary downtown core in
Metro Vancouver
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...
.
Ethnicity
Within the City of Surrey itself feature many neighbourhoods including City Centre, Whalley,
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
,
Guildford
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
,
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
,
Cloverdale and
South Surrey
South Surrey is a community within the City of Surrey, British Columbia, located on the Semiahmoo peninsula in the southern portion of the city of Surrey, sharing a border with the city of White Rock. Neighbourhoods of South Surrey include Cresc ...
. Each neighbourhood is unique and includes ethnically diverse populations. While Europeans and South Asians can be found in large numbers across the city, areas which house a large proportion of the former include South Surrey (72%) and Cloverdale (69%), with Newton (58%) and Whalley (51%) being home to large numbers of the latter.
Immigration to Surrey has drastically increased since the 1980s; this has created a more ethnically and linguistically diverse city. 52% do not speak English as their first language, while approximately 38% of the city's inhabitants are of
South Asian
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...
heritage. Beginning in the 1990s, an influx of South Asians began moving to the city from neighbouring Vancouver due to rising housing costs and rapidly increasing rent costs for businesses. The outflow of these residents combined with increased immigration from the
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
therefore established in Surrey one of the largest concentrations of South Asian residents in North America.
Other significant groups which reside in the city include
East Asians
East Asian people (East Asians) are the people from East Asia, which consists of China, Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, and South Korea. The total population of all countries within this region is estimated to be 1.677 billion and 21% of the ...
(10.9%) and Southeast Asians (9.7%).
Forming nearly 2.3% of the total population, the
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
community of Surrey is small however the city is home to the largest Black population in British Columbia; roughly 21% of the entire Black community in the province resides in Surrey.
Similar to most cities across Canada, a large majority (64%) of Surrey residents of
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
heritage can trace their roots to the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
.
Religion
Proportionally, Surrey has the largest Sikh population (27.4%) out of all subdivisions in Canada.
As of 2021, the top five most reported religious affiliations in Surrey were
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
(170,115 or 30.2%),
Irreligion
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and a ...
(161,860 or 28.6%),
Sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
(154,415 or 27.4%),
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
(31,095 or 5.5%), and
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
(30,455 or 5.4%).
Language
Economic indicators
As of 2010, Surrey had the highest median family income of , while the BC provincial median was $71,660, and the national median was $74,540. The average family income was $85,765.
South Surrey area had the highest average household income of all six town centres in Surrey, with an average of $86,824 as of 2010. Median household income was also high at $62,960. South Surrey's neighbourhood of Rosemary Heights is the richest in Surrey and throughout the Metro Vancouver area, with a median income more than twice the regional average.
As of 2010, the median household income of Surrey was $67,702 (versus the national median of $76,437), where 29.4 percent of households in Surrey earned a household total income of $100,000 or more, which is above the national average of 25.9 percent.
Geography
The city is characterized by low population density
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
, typical of North American cities, which includes areas of residential housing, light industry and commercial centres and is prone to strip development and malls. Approximately or 27 percent of the land area is designated as part of the
Agricultural Land Reserve
The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is a collection of agricultural land in British Columbia in which agriculture is recognized as the priority. In total, the ALR covers approximately and includes private and public lands that may be farmed, fores ...
and can only be used for farming. The city is mostly hills and flatland, with most of the flatland in Tynehead, Hazelmere, the south of Cloverdale, and Colebrook.
Climate
Surrey has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(
Cfb) typical of the inter-coastal
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
: rainy, wet winters, often with heavy rainfall lasting into early spring. Winters are chilly but not frigid, summers are mild and sunny, and autumns are cool and cloudy.
Economy
![Sfusurrey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Sfusurrey.jpg)
Surrey is one of the largest industrial centres within British Columbia, with a burgeoning high technology, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, health, education, agriculture, and arts sector.
Increase in filming activity in Surrey resulted in 189 productions, including 15 at the city hall plaza, in 2017.
In 2018, Surrey opened a $68 million biofuel facility, the first in North America.
There were six employers in Surrey in 2017 each with more than 1,000 staff across BC: Fraser Health with 25,000; School District 36 with 10,560; City of Surrey with 3,400; Coast Capital Savings with 1,738; Starline Windows Group with 1,400; Kwantlen Polytechnic University with 1,332.
Agriculture
Farming has strongly been attached to the economic well-being of Surrey, as the city of Surrey itself fostered and cemented a robust culture of farming. Approximately a third of Surrey's land is preserved and designated as farmland that is utilized for the local production of food to cater the city's growing population as well as increasing employment opportunities via the creation of local jobs. Agriculture continues to invigorate Surrey's economy employing 3300 people or 1.6 percent of Surrey's overall labour force. Manufacturing is also a highly diversified sector where products are produced for developed and emerging industries that range from the cutting of lumber for various BC logging firms to constructing wind turbines as many Surrey-based environmental firms are capitalizing on the city's initiatives for the clean energy sector.
Health care
The health sector makes a significant contribution to Surrey's economy. Surrey is home to almost 900 health-related businesses where major focuses in several life science sub-sectors that include infectious diseases, marine bio-science, neuroscience, oncology and regenerative medicine.
Surrey Memorial Hospital
Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) is a publicly funded hospital owned and operated by Fraser Health in the city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada adjacent to King George Boulevard.
Overview
Surrey Memorial Hospital began operations in early 1959, ...
is the second largest employer in the City of Surrey with an annual operating budget of $149.2million while the health care organization,
Fraser Health
The Fraser Health Authority (FHA) is one of five publicly funded health authorities into which the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is divided. It is governed by the provincial ''Health Authorities Ac ...
employs more than 4,100 people and an additional 350 active physicians at SMH. Due to population growth in the region, a new hospital in Surrey is planned to be built in Cloverdale; it is projected to be completed in 2026.
Technology
Although not as large as Vancouver's technology sector, Surrey also has an emerging tech sector with a highly anticipated incubator that will potentially act as a base to jump-start ideas into various start-up companies from local innovators, inventors, investors and entrepreneurs.
Education
![Surrey center library](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Surrey_center_library.jpg)
Of the city's population over the age of 25, 23.7% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, slightly below the national average of 25.8% and 47.2% work in professional and managerial jobs, compared with the national average of 52.7%.
Schools
School District 36 Surrey
School District 36 Surrey operates schools in Surrey, White Rock, and Barnston Island, British Columbia. It is the largest school district in British Columbia with 71,838 students during the 2016/2017 school year. District 36 includes 101 ele ...
oversees 100 public elementary and 21 public secondary schools, making it the largest public school district in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. The ''
Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique
The ''Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique'' (also known as Francophone Education Authority or School District No 93) is the French-language school board for all French schools located in British Columbia. Its headquarters are ...
'' operates one Francophone school in that city: ''
École Gabrielle-Roy'', which includes primary and secondary levels.
Private schools in Surrey include Calvary Christian Academy,
Holy Cross Regional High School
Holy Cross Regional High School, or "HCRHS", is a Catholic school, under the administration of CISVA (Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese) school board located in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Robert Dejulius (March 12, ...
,
Pacific Academy
Pacific Academy is a private Christian school in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada that spans from preschool to Grade 12. The school has 4 classes per grade, and has over 200 staff members as well as 1500 students. It was started by Jim Pattison, a ...
, Regent Christian Academy,
White Rock Christian Academy
White Rock Christian Academy (WRCA) is a Pre-K to Grade 12 Christian private school in South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. WRCA states its core purpose is to "inspire and cultivate citizens of Godly character who transform their world for Chri ...
, Surrey Christian School, Khalsa School Surrey and
Southridge School
Southridge School is a K-12 independent school in South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. It is a regional school, serving from as far away as Richmond and Ladner, though most students are from the White Rock, South Surrey area.
Facilities
The ...
. There are no public middle schools in Surrey, so a typical elementary school includes kindergarten through grade 7, and secondary school starts at grade 8 and continues through grade 12. There are around 65,000 students enrolled in public and private schools.
Higher education
Surrey is home to the third campus of
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
, the SFU Surrey Campus, which opened its doors in Surrey in 2002, acting as a satellite campus operating as a public research university as well as providing further impetus for shaping the city. SFU took over the space and programming that was initially built for
TechBC, a technical university proposed for south of the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
by the
NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National Deve ...
provincial government of the 1990s. SFU Surrey offers a number of programs, including TechOne and Explorations; first-year cohort options; and studies in Health Science, Applied Sciences, Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts, Business Administration, and Interactive Arts and Technology.
Surrey is also the home of
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public degree-granting undergraduate polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions by ...
, a polytechnic university that opened its doors in the
Newton Town Centre
Newton is a town centre of the city in Surrey, British Columbia. It is the location for the previous Surrey City Hall and Courthouse, a local Surrey Public Library branch, and a Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus. The studios of radio stati ...
of Surrey in 1981 as a response to the growing need for expanded vocational training across the Fraser Valley. Kwantlen Polytechnic University was granted a university designation from the BC provincial government, upgrading itself from a community college to an official academic teaching institution that has become renowned in applied research. Since then, it has expanded to provide satellite campuses in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
, and a trades and technology centre in the
Cloverdale Town Centre. The Surrey campus offers university transfer, career-training and academic-upgrading programs with focuses on science, business, arts, and health, including a publicly accessible wellness centre, while the Cloverdale campus offers vocational training through apprenticeships, citations, certificates, and diplomas for skilled trades and technical careers.
In November 2021, the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
announced plans to establish a location in Surrey just north of
Surrey Memorial Hospital
Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) is a publicly funded hospital owned and operated by Fraser Health in the city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada adjacent to King George Boulevard.
Overview
Surrey Memorial Hospital began operations in early 1959, ...
.
Surrey also has many private post-secondary institutions offering vocational training including
Brighton College
Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
,
Sprott Shaw College
Sprott Shaw College is a private Canadian college, headquartered in British Columbia. Sprott Shaw offers programs in areas such as Healthcare and Nursing, Business, Administration, Trades, Design, Human and Social Services, and Early Childho ...
,
CDI College
CDI College is a private, for-profit career college in Canada. It offers programs in the business, technology and health care fields. The college has 23 campus locations in five Canadian provinces: six in British Columbia, eight in Alberta, one i ...
, Western Community College, Sterling College, Stenberg College, Academy of Learning, Surrey Community College, Discovery Community College and
Vancouver Career College
Vancouver Career College is a private for-profit post-secondary career college with seven campuses in British Columbia, Canada. It specializes in training students for careers in health care, business, legal administration, education and various ...
.
Culture
Attractions
![City of Surrey Museum 2010a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/City_of_Surrey_Museum_2010a.jpg)
The Museum of Surrey is affiliated with
CMA,
CHIN
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a we ...
, and
Virtual Museum of Canada
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity.
Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...
. It reopened as the Museum of Surrey on September 29, 2018, after a renovation which added to the previous building.
Surrey Art Gallery is the second largest public art museum in the Metro Vancouver region. It opened on September 13, 1975.
The historic Surrey Municipal Hall complex includes the Cenotaph in Heritage Square, the Surrey Museum, and Cloverdale Library. The
Surrey City Centre Public Library located at Whalley / City Centre is the second largest library in terms of size in Metro Vancouver.
"REMEMBRANCE" by
André Gauthier (sculptor)
Colonel André D. Gauthier OMM, CD (1935 – October 26, 2017), was a Canadian army officer, monument sculptor and designer in various materials including bronze casting. He was also an artist in oil painting, charcoal, and watercolours. Many of ...
in Heritage Square, is an oversized bronze statue depicting a World War I kneeling soldier, helmet in hand, in remembrance of his fallen comrades.
Events
![2022 Surrey Fusion Festival](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/2022_Surrey_Fusion_Festival.jpg)
Attracting 15,000 people every February since 2004, WinterFest is a day of live music, sporting activities, food, and fireworks, held at the
Central City Plaza.
Since 1888, the town centre of
Cloverdale has hosted the annual
Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair is an annual rodeo and fair located in the town of Cloverdale in Surrey, British Columbia. It is held annually at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds during the Victoria Day holiday weekend, from the Friday to Monday.
Att ...
at the
Cloverdale Fairgrounds The Cloverdale Fairgrounds (also known as the Cloverdale Exhibition Grounds) are located in the town of Cloverdale in Surrey, British Columbia. Since 1938, it has been the host site of Canada's second largest rodeo, the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country ...
every
May long weekend. The Fair is Canada's second largest
rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
, and it features of family-oriented entertainment including agricultural/horticultural exhibits, a western tradeshow, parade, community stages, and the Pacific Northwest Firefighter Combat Challenge.
Every year on April 13, the Sikh community celebrates
Vaisakhi
Vaisakhi ( Punjabi: ), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, o ...
, which often includes a ''nagar kirtan'', or parade, and free food is often handed out. It is the largest Vaiskahi parade outside India, growing from 100,000 attendees in 2008 to over 500,000 in 2019.
Every October since 1991, Surrey has hosted the
Surrey International Writers' Conference. This event brings established writers, agents, editors and publishers from all over the world to the Comfort Inn & Suites Surrey Hotel and Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in
Guildford Town Centre
Guildford Town Centre is a shopping mall located in Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. It opened on November 8, 1966, and is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge, a Quebec-based real estate company. It is the largest mall in the Low ...
.
There are presently three live theatre venues in the City of Surrey in British Columbia as of January 2013: the Bell Centre for Performing Arts, the
Chandos Pattison Auditorium and the Surrey Arts Centre.
One of the lesser-known events in Surrey is the annual Nicomekl River Race. Every year, in early June, teams of four meet at Nicomekl Park in
Langley, British Columbia to begin the race. Unlike most traditional boat races, the Nicomekl River Race requires that all boats be made by the participants. The racecourse extends from Nicomekl Park to Blackie Spit Park at Crescent Beach. The first team to reach the mouth of the river is awarded a prize of $1,000. Additional prizes are awarded to the most creative boat and costume. All proceeds go towards the BC Cancer society.
News media
In addition to news media from
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, the community is served by ''
The Surrey Now-Leader'' newspaper, and the ''
Peace Arch News
The ''Peace Arch News'' is a weekly newspaper serving the White Rock / South Surrey area in British Columbia. It publishes Thursday and is owned by Black Press.
History
The newspaper was founded in 1976 and has been owned by the Black Press Gr ...
'' newspaper (for South Surrey). The city is also home to South Asian Broadcasting's ethnic radio station
ReD-FM and the ''Asian Journal'' newspaper.
The first Surrey-based English-language radio station,
My Surrey FM 107.7 FM, was licensed by the CRTC in 2014 and is now Pulse FM 107.7 reporting about South of the Fraser news.
Radio India, another Indo-Canadian radio station, has its offices in Surrey.
Sports and recreation
Every summer, Surrey hosts the
Canada Cup
The Canada Cup (french: Coupe Canada) was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world ...
International Women's Fastpitch Tournament. It began in 1993 as an international women's
fastpitch
Fastpitch softball, also known as fastpitch or fastball, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist.
Fast pitch is considered the most competitive for ...
developmental softball
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
to help teams prepare for the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
by facing top-calibre competition. The event continues to be a fan favourite with gate attendance reaching 93,000 for the nine-day tournament in 2004.
The
BCHL
The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams.
From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Can ...
Surrey Eagles
The Surrey Eagles are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Mainland Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at South Surrey Arena.
History
New ...
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
team plays at the South Surrey Arena in Surrey. The Eagles won the BCHL championship, the
Fred Page Cup
The Fred Page Cup is a championship ice hockey trophy, won by a tournament conducted by the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The award is given to the winner of a round-robin and playoff between the Bogart Cup champions of the Central Canada Hoc ...
, in 1997, 1998, 2005 and 2013; the western championship, the
Doyle Cup
The Doyle Cup is an ice hockey trophy won through a best-of-7 series conducted annually by the Canadian Junior Hockey League to determine the Pacific region berth in the Centennial Cup, the national Junior A championship. From 1971 to 2021, the se ...
, in 1997 and 1998; and the national championship, the
Royal Bank Cup
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
, in 1998.
Surrey hosted the Canadian national qualifying tournament in 2006, and sends a local team to compete for a spot in the
Little League World Series
The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...
in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...
.
Surrey is also home to Canada's first
kabaddi
Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...
-specific stadium.
Although not considered a sport, the globally acclaimed dance company known as "Brotherhood" won gold trophies at the
World Hip Hop Dance Championships
The World Hip Hop Dance Championship is an international hip-hop dance competition created in 2002 by Hip Hop International. Countries that have participated in the past include Dominican Republic, India, Greece, Cyprus, Chile, Italy, Mexico, Franc ...
in 2013 and 2014 for the varsity and adult divisions. The affiliated dance production team known as "PraiseTEAM" had taken home the silver trophy at the world finals in 2013 as well. Both dance companies are from Surrey.
Cricket is also played in Surrey. There are more than 85 teams registered with British Columbia Mainland Cricket League. There are more than 20 cricket pitches across Surrey, though the only turf pitch is in West Newton.
Transportation
History
The first non-Indigenous settlement of Surrey was founded near
Crescent Beach, located in
South Surrey
South Surrey is a community within the City of Surrey, British Columbia, located on the Semiahmoo peninsula in the southern portion of the city of Surrey, sharing a border with the city of White Rock. Neighbourhoods of South Surrey include Cresc ...
; another was founded near Bridgeview/
Brownsville, located in North Surrey. Early trails and roads helped to encourage the settlement of Surrey. The first trail built by a settler was the 1861 the
Kennedy Trail
The Kennedy Trail was the first settler built trail in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada.
James Kennedy first proposed "a trail from some point opposite New Westminster, across to some other point near to Semiahmoo Bay" in a letter wri ...
. James Kennedy built the trail to provide a route between New Westminster and the natural pasture land on the Mud Bay Flats next to the Serpentine River. The Semiahmoo Wagon Road was built in 1873 between Brownsville (opposite New Westminster) and Semiahmoo (Blaine). The first regular ferry service across the Fraser River started in 1882 on the steam ferry ''K de K'', with the point of departure at Brownsville. The ferry landed on the Surrey side at the start of Old Yale Road, which connected directly inland to Yale and was a major gold rush trail.
The
New Westminster Rail Bridge was opened in 1904, allowing personal vehicles to cross the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
on the upper deck. The lower deck, for rail, enabled
BC Electric Railway
The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic Rail transport, railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company (now BC Hydro), the BCE ...
to finally construct the Interurban line, an electric suburb commuter rail route connecting Chilliwack to Vancouver. It opened for service in 1910, and ran through Kennedy,
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
, Sullivan, and
Cloverdale. Currently, two of the BCER cars (1225 & 1304) are nearly finished being restored for operation on the mainline between Cloverdale and Sullivan. New car barns and museum currently under construction in Cloverdale (as of 2012).
In 1937, the then two-lane
Pattullo Bridge
The Pattullo Bridge is a through arch bridge that crosses the Fraser River and links the city of New Westminster to the city of Surrey in British Columbia. It was named in honour of Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, the 22nd Premier of British Columbia. A ...
linking
New Westminster
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
and Surrey was opened.
In the early 1950s, BC Electric Railways ceased operating its interurban line, thus increasing the number of vehicles on Surrey roads.
Highway 10
Route 10, or Highway 10, can refer to routes in the following countries:
International
* European route E10
* European route E010
Argentina
* La Pampa Provincial Route 10
Australia Queensland
* Smith Street Motorway (Queensland)
* Scenic ...
was built in 1953, and
Highway 15 in 1957. In 1964, the provincial government completed Highway 401 and the
Port Mann Bridge
The Port Mann Bridge is a 10-lane cable-stayed bridge in British Columbia, Canada that opened to traffic in 2012. Carrying 10 lanes of traffic with space reserved for a light rail line, it is the second widest bridge, after the San Francisco-O ...
; that section of roadway would later be renamed
Highway 1
The following highways are numbered 1.
For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads.
For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads.
For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads.
For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads.
For roads numbered ...
. In 1959, the
George Massey Tunnel
The George Massey Tunnel (often referred to as the Massey Tunnel) is a highway traffic tunnel in the Metro Vancouver region of southwestern British Columbia. It is located approximately south of the city centre of Vancouver, British Columbia, ...
was opened, along with what is known as
Highway 99. With the completion of the new Highways 1 and 99, the Fraser Highway and King George Boulevard became major arteries.
In the early 1990s, Surrey saw the return of rail transit with the
SkyTrain Expo Line expansion into Surrey. The four stations added were
Scott Road,
Gateway,
Surrey Central
Surrey Central was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, used in the 1997 and 2000 elections to elect a Member of Parliament for the 36th and 37th Parliaments, respectively. The electoral district was created, in 1996, as pa ...
and
King George.
Current transportation network
![King George platform level, March 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/King_George_platform_level%2C_March_2019.jpg)
Public transit in Surrey, as with the rest of Metro Vancouver, is operated by
TransLink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to:
* TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada
* Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...
, which provides frequent bus service throughout Surrey, and to other Metro Vancouver municipalities. Metro Vancouver's metropolitan rail system, SkyTrain, provides Surrey with an Expo Line service to
Downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...
via four stations: Scott Road, Gateway, Surrey Central, and King George.
The
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
,
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
,
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
, and
Southern Railway of British Columbia
The Southern Railway of British Columbia, branded as SRY Rail Link is a Canadian short line railway operating in southwestern British Columbia. The main facility is the port at Annacis Island with major import of cars, export of forestry produc ...
have trackage running through Surrey.
Vancouver International Airport
Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busiest ...
is located west of Surrey. Vancouver International Airport offers direct daily service to destinations in Canada, North America, Europe, and Asia.
Bellingham International Airport
Bellingham International Airport is three miles (5 km) northwest of Bellingham, in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. BLI covers 2,190 acres (886 ha) of land, and is the third-largest commercial airport in Washington.
Bellingham ...
is located south of Surrey, and offers connections to Seattle, Las Vegas, and Hawaii.
Abbotsford International Airport
Abbotsford International Airport is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, southwest of the city centre. It is the second largest airport in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, after Vancouver International Airport (YVR), ...
is located east of Surrey, and offers daily flights to Calgary and Edmonton.
Seaport
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
facilities are available at the Fraser River Docks.
Future transportation
Funding a
light rail transit (LRT) line linking both
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
and Guildford with
Surrey City Centre
Whalley is the most densely populated and urban of the six town centres in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. It encompasses City Centre, the city's central business district, and is home to the Surrey City Hall, the main branch of Surrey Lib ...
was agreed to by both BC's provincial government and the federal government. The project was unpopular, and after electing a new mayor and council in October 2018, who had run on a platform to cancel the LRT line in favour of extending the existing SkyTrain line to Langley, made it their first order of business. TransLink's Mayors' Council, who has the ultimate authority over the project, responded to this decision by indefinitely suspending work on the light rail project. In July 2019, a Expo Line extension from King George station to 166 Street and
Fraser Highway
Fraser Highway is a major arterial road in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Connecting the cities of Surrey and Abbotsford, the highway formerly constituted a major portion of British Columbia Highway 1A until the latter was decommission ...
in
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
was approved and is estimated to be completed by 2025. However, the plan is now to take the SkyTrain the entire way to Langley in one phase by 2028.
Sustainable development
In 2008, Surrey city council created and adopted the Surrey Sustainability Charter: a comprehensive document spanning 72 pages that takes a comprehensive look at all facets of society and creates an overarching document to guide the urban development of the city for the next 50 years. In 2011, the city council released the second update to the 2008 document indicating the progress made in the three years since the inception of the report.
Problems
Being an all-inclusive plan requires an interplay of many complex and sometimes
wicked problems
In planning and policy, a wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. It refers to an idea or problem that cannot be fi ...
. Trying to account for all problems is ambitious, and as the report admits, being at the municipal level reduces the funding, power and resources to implement the vision. The report acknowledges the political hurdle and notes that the city needs to influence players with more power such as the provincial or federal government in order for the vision to be successful.
Some other hurdles that have arisen since the inception of the charter include the following:
Suburban sprawl and the Gateway Program
![Holland Park, Surrey BC2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Holland_Park%2C_Surrey_BC2.jpg)
Surrey currently faces the problem of urban sprawl, the phenomenon that is characterized by the low density residential, with almost no commercial or industrial zoning. This results in a heavy outflow of traffic in the morning, and inflow in the evening.
The announcement of the Gateway Program in 2005 by the
British Columbia Ministry of Transportation
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is the British Columbia government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is currently led by Rob Fleming.
The ministry is resp ...
meant a large expenditure in transportation infrastructure. Despite the oppositions by the
Metro Vancouver
The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...
and several mayoral councils, the project went ahead to create the
South Fraser Perimeter Road
Highway 17 is a provincial highway in British Columbia, Canada. It comprises two separate sections connected by a ferry link. The Vancouver Island section is known as the Patricia Bay Highway and connects Victoria to the Swartz Bay ferry termi ...
and the Port Mann Bridge, both which pass through major portions of Surrey. It has been criticized to be contradictory to not only Metro Vancouver's Sustainable Region Initiative, but also Surrey's Sustainability Charter. Studies have shown that with an increase in road capacity, ''generated traffic'' increases, that is traffic that is diverted (shifted in time and route) and induced travel (increased total motor vehicle travel). With the construction of the 10 lane Port Mann Bridge, the problem of suburban sprawl is exacerbated not only with the additional capacity, but
RapidBus service was also cancelled despite expectations of a stop in Surrey.
Transportation and land use
The Sustainability Charter hinges on a large reduction on
automobile dependency
Car dependency is the concept that some city layouts cause cars to be favoured over alternate forms of transportation, such as bicycles, public transit, and walking.
Overview
In many modern cities, automobiles are convenient and sometimes nec ...
requiring a well established transit infrastructure to the multiple districts of Surrey. In 2008,
Gordon Campbell
Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011.
He was the leader of the British Co ...
announced the extension of the
Expo Line beyond the current terminus to as far as Langley. However, financial shortfall came upon Translink shortly after, and many of the announced plans came to a halt. Plans to expand northward via the
Evergreen extension
The Evergreen Extension (previously known as the Evergreen Line) is a extension of the Millennium Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The extension runs from Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby to Lafarge Lake–Douglas in Co ...
came to fruition prior to the vision of extending
light rail out to Guildford, Newton and Langley. Mayor Watts attempted impose equal tolling across the region to assist with funding transit to reduce car reliance.
Protecting agricultural land reserves also play an important part in the charter of sustainability. The idea behind the agricultural land reserves is to encourage and increase the role of urban agriculture, thus reducing the reliance of food transport and increasing the quality and availability of food to local people. The Charter takes the idea one step further by encouraging food processing agribusiness to complete the supply chain circle.
In a case study of Toronto completed by Pierre Filion, he claims that while transit and natural area conservation are successful at achieving their respective immediate objectives, they "do not modify metropolitan-wide relations between transportation and land use...in a fashion that is consistent with smart growth". Filion identifies that the largest obstacles are
NIMBY
NIMBY (or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land use regulations. It carries the connotation that ...
reactions from the public and the limited finances from the public sector.
Notable people
*
Carolyn Arends
Carolyn Arends is a Canadian contemporary Christian musician, songwriter, and author. She is based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Musical career
Arends began her career as a songwriter at Benson Music Publishing. In 1995, Carolyn began tou ...
, singer-songwriter and author
*
Karan Aujla
Jaskaran Singh "Karan" Aujla (born 18 January 1997) is an Indo-Canadian and Punjabi singer, rapper and songwriter. He is known for his single tracks, 14 of which have been featured in the UK Asian chart by ''Official Charts Company'', while s ...
, singer, songwriter and rapper
*
Harry Bains
Harry Bains is a Canadian politician serving as the Minister of Labour in British Columbia. He has been the NDP MLA for Surrey-Newton since 2005.
Career
Bains has experience in education due to his service on the Kwantlen University College ...
, politician
*
Nuvraj Bassi
Nuvraj Singh Bassi (born March 20, 1983) is a former defensive tackle in the Canadian Football League. He was drafted 43rd overall in the 2010 CFL Draft by the Lions. He played college football for the Oregon Ducks.
He previously played for t ...
, professional football player
*
Jagrup Brar
Jagrup Brar is a Canadian politician. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in British Columbia, Canada. He represented the ridings of Surrey-Panorama Ridge from 2004 to 2009 and Surrey-Fleetwood from 2009 to 2013 and since 2017 as a ...
, politician
*
Jean-Luc Bilodeau
Jean-Luc Bilodeau (born November 4, 1990) is a Canadian actor who has been acting since 2004. He is best known for his role as Ben Wheeler in the ABC Family channel program ''Baby Daddy''.
Bilodeau has also appeared in films and television seri ...
, actor
*
Margaret Bridgman
Margaret L. Bridgman (January 10, 1940 – January 4, 2009) was a Canadian politician. Bridgman was a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 1997, representing the Canadian, federal electoral district of Surrey North in Surrey, British Columbia ...
, politician
*
Lisa Brokop
Lisa Brokop (born June 6, 1973) is a Canadian country music singer/songwriter and actress. Active since 1990 in the country music field, she has released a total of seven studio albums and has charted more than twenty singles on the country music ...
, singer
*
Laurent Brossoit
Laurent Brossoit (born March 23, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Brossoit was selected by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round, 164th ove ...
, professional hockey goaltender
*
Chuck Cadman
Charles Cadman (February 21, 1948July 9, 2005) was a Canadian politician and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1997 to 2005, representing the riding of Surrey North in Surrey, British Columbia.
Originally a Canadian Alliance MP, Cadman won re-e ...
, politician
*
Dona Cadman
Dona Cadman (born July 9, 1950) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Surrey North in the House of Commons of Canada from 2008 to 2011, as well as the widow of Chuck Cadman, a former Member of Parliament for the same ...
, Member of Parliament and widow of Chuck Cadman
*
Gulzar Singh Cheema
Gulzar Singh Cheema (born August 11, 1954) is an Indian-born Canadian physician and politician. Cheema was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 to 1993, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2001 ...
, physician and politician
*
Jasbir Singh Cheema
Jasbir Singh Cheema is a Canadian television personality and politician.
In the 2004 federal election, he won the candidate nomination for the Conservative Party of Canada defeating Chuck Cadman, the sitting Member of Parliament for the riding ...
, politician
*
Eleanor Collins
Eleanor Collins (born Elnora Ruth Procter; November 21, 1919) is a Canadian jazz singer, television host and civic leader. She is known as the Canadian First Lady of Jazz.
Early life
Elnora Ruth Procter was born on November 21, 1919, in Edm ...
, jazz singer, TV host and civic leader
*
Ryan D'Arcy
Ryan C.N. D'Arcy (born 1972) is a Canadian neuroscientist, researcher, innovator and entrepreneur. D'Arcy co-founded HealthTech Connex Inc. where he serves as President and Chief Scientific Officer. HealthTech Connex translates neuroscience advan ...
, neuroscientist researcher
*
Narima dela Cruz, politician
*
Baltej Singh Dhillon
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
, first
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
officer allowed to wear a turban
*
Ranj Dhaliwal
Ranj Dhaliwal ( Punjabi: ਰਣਜ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ; born 1976/1977) is a Canadian author.
Early life
Born in Vancouver, Dhaliwal grew up in Surrey Central, British Columbia in the 1980s, which was a time when Indo-Canadian families were s ...
, author
*
Sukh Dhaliwal
Sukhminder "Sukh" Singh Dhaliwal (born October 1, 1960) is a Canadian businessman and politician, who has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Surrey—Newton since 2015. He was previously the Member of Parliament for Newton—North De ...
, politician
*
Brenden Dillon
Brenden Dillon (born November 13, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Dillon has previously played in the NHL for the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks and W ...
, professional hockey player
*
Emmalyn Estrada
Emmalyn Estrada (born April 5, 1992), known professionally as Emmalyn, is a Canadian singer. Her first single, 'Get Down', entered ''Billboard''s Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of August 29, 2009, at number 88 and peaked at number 59 for th ...
, singer, songwriter, actress and sister of Elise Estrada
*
Elise Estrada
Elise Estrada (born July 30, 1987) is a Filipino-Canadian pop singer-songwriter. She is known for her hit singles such as " Insatiable", "One Last Time" and "Lipstick" which were released in Canada.
She is signed to Universal Music Canada's XO ...
, singer, songwriter, actress and sister of Emmalyn Estrada
*
Kevin Falcon
Kevin Falcon (born 1963) is a Canadian financial executive and a provincial politician who is the leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party as of 2022, and the Leader of the Opposition as of May 2022. He is the member of the Legislative Assem ...
, politician
*
Peter Fassbender
Peter Fassbender (born 1946) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election after a career at the municipal level. He was elected to represent the electoral district of Su ...
, politician
*
Colin Fraser Colin Fraser may refer to:
* Colin Fraser (Australian politician) (died 1877), Australian politician
*Colin Fraser (Canadian politician) (born 1978), Canadian politician
*Colin Fraser (ice hockey)
Colin Fraser (born January 28, 1985) is a Canadia ...
, professional ice hockey player
*
Curtis Fraser
Curtis Fraser (born April 4, 1982) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre.
Playing career
Fraser played as a junior of the British Columbia Hockey League with the Victoria Salsa and the Vernon Vipers, before committed to a collegiat ...
, professional ice hockey player
*
Gurmant Grewal
Gurmant Singh Grewal (born December 21, 1957) is an Indo-Canadian politician and former Conservative Member of Parliament. Gurmant and his wife, Nina Grewal, who represented Fleetwood—Port Kells from 2004 to 2015, were the first married co ...
, politician
*
Nina Grewal
Nina Grewal (born 20 October 1958), is a Canadian politician of the Conservative Party of Canada, Conservative Party. She represented the constituency of Fleetwood—Port Kells, British Columbia from her election in the 2004 Canadian federal el ...
, politician
*
Scott Hannan
Kenneth Scott Hannan (born January 23, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Hannan was born in Richmond, British Columbia, but grew up in Surrey, British Columbia.
Playing career
As a youth, Hannan played in the 1992 Quebec ...
, professional hockey player
*
Dave Hayer
Dave Sukhdip Singh Hayer (born 1958) is a Canadian former politician for the province of British Columbia. He served as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Surrey-Tynehead from May 2001 to May 2013. Hayer is an Indo-Canadian who is the ...
, politician
*
Kamal Heer
Kamal Heer (born Kamaljeet Singh Heer) is an Indian born Canadian musician. He is the younger brother of Manmohan Waris and Sangtar, two other esteemed musicians. His live performances showcase his virtuosity with taan and his command of the art ...
, Punjabi singer
*
Russ Hiebert
Russel "Russ" Hiebert (born February 8, 1969) is a Canadian lawyer, politician and businessman. He was the Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale from 2004 to 2015. He was born in Stei ...
, politician
*
Jacob Hoggard
Jacob William Hoggard (born July 9, 1984) is a Canadian convicted sex offender and former singer-songwriter who was the lead singer for the pop-rock band Hedley. Before Hedley was formed, Hoggard competed on the second season of ''Canadian Ido ...
, lead singer of
Hedley
*
Britt Irvin
Brittney Elizabeth Irvin (born November 10, 1984) is a Canadian actress. She has also done voiceover work for Ocean Productions. Irvin is best known for playing Katie in '' Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular'' and its sequel '' Scary Godmoth ...
, actress, singer, voice-over artist
*
Daniel Igali
Baraladei Daniel Igali (born February 3, 1974 in Eniwari, Bayelsa State, Nigeria) is a Canadian freestyle wrestler who is an Olympic gold medallist. He lives in Surrey, British Columbia.
Wrestling career
As captain of the Nigerian wrestling tea ...
, 2000 Olympic gold medalist for freestyle wrestling
*
Mark Janssens
Mark Francis Janssens (born May 19, 1968) is a Canadian retired ice hockey forward.
Janssens started his National Hockey League career with the New York Rangers in 1989. He also played for the Minnesota North Stars, Hartford Whalers, Mighty Du ...
, professional hockey player
*
Tristan Jarry
Tristan Jarry (born April 29, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Jarry was selected by the Penguins in the second round (44th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Dra ...
, professional hockey goaltender
*
Jujhar Khaira
Jujhar Khaira (born August 13, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the Edmonton Oilers.
Playing career
Khaira was drafted b ...
, professional hockey player
*
Sydney Leroux
Sydney Rae Leroux (; born May 7, 1990) is a professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist who currently plays as a forward for Angel City FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Born in Canada to a Canadian mother and an American ...
, professional soccer player
*
Adam Loewen
Adam Alexander Loewen (born April 9, 1984) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and outfielder. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles from 2006 to 2008, before converting to a position player and playin ...
, first baseman/outfielder under minor-league contract for the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
*
Harbhajan Mann
Harbhajan Singh Mann (born 30 December 1965) is an Indian-Canadian singer, actor and film producer associated with Punjabi music and cinema. His movies include ''Jee Aayan Nu (2002)'', ''Asa Nu Mann Watnan Da (2004)'', ''Heer Ranjha (2009)'' and ...
, Punjabi singer
*
Alen Marcina
Alen Marcina (born July 30, 1979) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player who is currently the head coach of USL Championship side San Antonio FC. He is a three-time champion with San Antonio Scorpions and Rayo OKC in the NASL.
Club car ...
, Professional soccer player and coach
*
Laura Mennell
Laura Mennell (; born 18 April 1980) is a Canadian actress known for her roles in ''Thirteen Ghosts'', ''Alphas'', '' Haven'', '' Loudermilk'', ''The Man in the High Castle'', ''Watchmen'' and ''Batwoman''. In 2011/2012 Mennell co-starred on the ...
, actress
*
Tyler Joe Miller
Tyler Joe Miller is a Canadian country singer and songwriter. He is signed to MDM Recordings. He was the first independent artist to debut with back-to-back No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' Canada Country chart with " Pillow Talkin'" and " I Would ...
,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
singer, songwriter, and humanitarian
*
Victoria Moors
Victoria Ashley Moors OLY (born November 5, 1996) is a retired Canadian artistic gymnast who represented her country at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She is the older sister of 2020 Olympic gymnast Brooklyn Moors.
Junior career
2010
In Dece ...
, Canadian gymnast at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
*
Gary Nylund
Gary Nylund (born October 28, 1963) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played in 608 National Hockey League games for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders.
Overview
Nylund was born in Surrey, Br ...
, professional hockey player
*
Shallon Olsen
Shallon Jade Olsen (born 10 July 2000) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 World silver medalist and 2018 Commonwealth Games champion on vault. She is also the 2018 Commonwealth Games floor exercise bronze medalist and the 2019 Pan ...
, Olympic artistic gymnast
*
Missy Peregrym
Melissa "Missy" Peregrym (born June 16, 1982) is a Canadian actress and former fashion model. She is known for her roles as Haley Graham in the 2006 film ''Stick It'' and Officer Andy McNally on the ABC and Global Television Network series ''Ro ...
, actress and former fashion model
*
Penny Priddy
Penny Priddy (born March 5, 1944 in Toronto, Ontario) is a politician from British Columbia, Canada. Priddy is the only woman in Canadian history to be elected to school board, city council, a provincial legislature and the House of Commons.
Ori ...
, politician
*
Michael Rasmussen (ice hockey)
Michael Rasmussen (born April 17, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Rasmussen was drafted ninth overall by the Red Wings in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He was born in V ...
NHL player for the
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
*
Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...
, vocalist with
Free
Free may refer to:
Concept
* Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything
* Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism
* Emancipate, to procur ...
and
Bad Company
Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...
*
Gordon Rice
Gordon Allen Rice (born 1933) is a Canadian artist.
Biography, education
Gordon Rice was born on 27 September 1933 in Los Angeles, California and educated at Los Angeles City College, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, ...
, artist
*
Jasbir Sandhu
Jasbir Sandhu (born April 21, 1966) is a former Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament in the 41st Parliament. He was elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election and represented the electoral district of Surrey ...
, politician
*
Linus Sebastian
Linus Gabriel Sebastian (born August 20, 1986) is a Canadian YouTuber. Sebastian is best known for creating and hosting YouTube channels that cover technology, especially ''Linus Tech Tips'' (LTT)''.'' His channels have a combined subscriber ...
, videographer; CEO of Linus Media Group
*
Geroy Simon
Geroy Simon (born 11 September 1975) is the assistant general manager for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is also a former professional Canadian football slotback who played in 15 seasons in the CFL, twelve of them wit ...
, professional football player
*
Jinny Sims
Jinny Jogindera Sims (born June 7, 1952) is an Indian-born Canadian politician, who was elected as a New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election in Surrey-Panorama. She previously ...
, politician
*
Lauren Southern
Lauren Cherie Southern (born 16 June 1995) is a Canadian alt-right YouTuber, political activist and commentator. In 2015, Southern ran as a Libertarian Party candidate in the Canadian federal election. Southern worked for Rebel Media until M ...
, internet personality, writer, and political activist
*
Kalib Starnes
Kalib Starnes (born January 6, 1975) is a Canadian mixed martial artist.
Early life
Starnes became involved in the martial arts at an early age and began teaching when he was a teenager. He started training in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu at the Gracie Aca ...
, professional mixed martial artist
*
Heather Stilwell Heather Stilwell (January 26, 1944 – December 4, 2010) was a Canadian political activist and former school trustee in Surrey, British Columbia. A staunch Roman Catholic, she was well known for her opinions opposing homosexuality, abortion, and ...
, politician and activist
*
John Tenta
John Anthony Tenta Jr. (June 22, 1963June 7, 2006) was a Canadian professional wrestler and sumo wrestler (''rikishi'') best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake, though initially known as Canadian Earthquake.
...
, professional wrestler nicknamed "Earthquake"
*
Aaron Voros
Aaron Voros (born July 2, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Voros played in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks. He served two consecutive years as the Team President of ...
, professional hockey player
*
Manmohan Waris
Manmohan Waris (born 3 August 1967) is an Indian Punjabi folk/pop singer. He is the elder brother of record producer Sangtar and singer Kamal Heer. Waris is considered one of the most gifted singers of Punjabi folk music.
Career
Manmohan Waris ...
, Punjabi singer
*
Nolan Watson
Nolan Watson (born August 1, 1979) is a Canadian businessman, humanitarian, investor, and philanthropist. He is known for his contribution to finance innovation in the mining industry. Watson began working in mine finance with Silver Wheaton Co ...
, businessman, philanthropist, and humanitarian
*
Dianne Watts
Dianne Lynn Watts (born October 30, 1959) is a former politician in British Columbia, Canada. She won her first federal election campaign in October 2015 to become a federal Member of Parliament for South Surrey—White Rock. In 2017 she resigned ...
, politician; first female Mayor of Surrey
Affiliated cities and municipalities
Surrey has two
sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
:
Surrey also has six "friendship cities":
See also
*
*
List of tallest buildings in Surrey
Notes
References
Further reading
* Sinoski, Kelly.
The New Surrey: The city's not-so-secret weapon. ''
Vancouver Sun
The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...
''. March 9, 2013.
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Cities in British Columbia
Ethnic enclaves in Canada
Populated places established in 1879
Populated places in Greater Vancouver
Populated places on the Fraser River
Sikh enclaves