Surrey, British Columbia

City of Surrey
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  The future lives here.
Location of Surrey
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional District	Metro Vancouver
Incorporation	1879 (municipality status)
	1993 (city status)
Government
• Mayor	Dianne Watts
• City Council	List of Councillors Bob Bose (SCC) Tom Gill (Surrey First) Linda Hepner (Surrey First) Marvin Hunt (Independent) Mary Martin (Surrey First) Barinder Rasode (Surrey First) Barbara Steele (Surrey First) Judy Villeneuve (Surrey First)
• MLAs	List of MLAs Harry Bains (NDP) Jagrup Brar (NDP) Stephanie Cadieux (LIB) Kevin Falcon (LIB) Sue Hammell (NDP) Dave Hayer (LIB) Gordon Hogg (LIB) Bruce Ralston (NDP)
• MPs	List of MPs Sukh Dhaliwal (LIB) Nina Grewal (CON) Russ Hiebert (CON) Dona Cadman (CON)
• School Trustees	List of Trustees SCC) SCC) SET) SCC) SET) SET) SET)
Area
• Total	317.19 km2 (122.47 sq mi)
Elevation	0−134 m (0−440 ft)
Population  (2006)
• Total	394,976 (Ranked 12th)
• Density	1,245.3/km2 (3,225/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
Postal code span	V3R–V3X, V4A, V4N, V4P
Website	City of Surrey - Homepage

Surrey is a Canadian city in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that lies within the Metro Vancouver district, and geographically at the centre of the larger region known as the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. It is the province's second-largest city by population after the city of Vancouver.

The six "town centres" comprising the City of Surrey are: Fleetwood, Whalley/City Centre, Guildford, Newton, Cloverdale, and South Surrey.

History

Surrey was incorporated in 1879, and encompasses land formerly occupied by a number of Halqemeylem-speaking aboriginal groups. When Englishman H.J. Brewer looked across the Fraser River from New Westminster and saw a land reminiscent of his native County of Surrey in England, the settlement of Surrey was placed on the map. The area then comprised forests of douglas-fir, fir, red cedar, hemlock, blackberry bushes, and 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 Highway at 108th, "Whalley's Corner") was used as a burial ground by the Kwantlen (or Qw’ontl’en) Nation.

The Peace Arch on the Canadian side is located in Surrey

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 was erected in 1937, the way was open for Surrey to expand. In the post-war fifties, North Surrey's neighbourhoods filled with single family homes and Surrey (not yet a city) became a true bedroom community, absorbing commuters who worked in Burnaby or Vancouver.

In the 1980s and 1990s Surrey witnessed unprecedented growth, as people from different parts of Canada and other parts of the world, particularly Asia, began to make the municipality their home. Surrey is projected to surpass the city of Vancouver as the most populous city in BC by 2020.

Government and politics

Surrey City Hall in 2009

Surrey is governed by an eight-member city council. The current mayor of Surrey is Dianne Watts. The last elections were held in November 2008.

In the recent 2009 provincial elections, the British Columbia New Democratic Party won four of Surrey's seats, all of them in the more urbanized north and centre of the city, while the BC Liberal Party won four seats in the more rural east and south.

Following the 2008 federal election, the Conservative Party of Canada holds three of Surrey's four seats (Surrey North, Fleetwood—Port Kells, and South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale) in the Canadian House of Commons, with the remaining seat (Newton—North Delta) held by the Liberal Party of Canada.

Geography and climate

The city is characterized by low population density urban sprawl, typical of western North America, which includes areas of residential housing, light industry and commercial centres and is prone to strip development and malls. Approximately 35% of the land is designated is part of the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The climate is typically inter-coastal Pacific-Northwest; rainy, wet winters, often with heavy rainfall lasting into early spring, with mild, sunny summers and cool autumns.

Climate data for Surrey
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: Environment Canada

Demographics

As of 2006, the population of surrey is 394,976, a 13.6 percent increase from the 2001 population. The foreign-born population is 150,235, constituting 30.28 percent of the city's population. Visible minorities number 181,005 or 46.1 percent of the population, while Aboriginals constitute 1.9 percent of the population.

As of 2006, visible minority groups in Surrey are as follows:

• 27.5% South Asian
• 5.1% Chinese
• 4.2% Filipino
• 2.4% Southeast Asian
• 2.0% Korean
• 1.3% Black
• 1.1% Multiple Visible Minority
• 1.0% Latin American
• 0.5% Japanese
• 0.5% Arab
• 0.5% West Asian
• 0.2% Other Visible Minority

Religious profile

• 25.8% No religious affiliation
• 19.2% Sikh
• 16.2% Roman Catholic
• 11.0% Protestant
• 6.4% Other Christian
• 2.9% Muslim
• 2.8% Hindu
• 1.9% Buddhist
• 1.5% Jewish
• 0.1% Coptic Orthodox (Egyptian) Christian
• 0.1% Other Eastern Religion
• 0.2% Religion not mentioned above

Education

Schools

School District 36 Surrey oversees 99 public elementary and 21 public secondary schools, making it the largest public school district in British Columbia. Private schools in Surrey include Holy Cross Regional High School, Pacific Academy, and Southridge School. There are no public middle schools in Surrey, so an average elementary school goes from grades kindergarten through 7, and secondary school starts at grade 8 and continues through grade 12. There are 63,036 students enrolled in public and private schools.

Universities and colleges

Central City Tower, designed by architect Bing Thom. SFU Surrey occupies a portion of 'the podium' (the lower, rectangular portion)

Surrey is home to the third campus of Simon Fraser University, which opened in 2002. SFU took over the space and programming that was initially built for TechBC, a proposed technical university for south of the Fraser River by the then-NDP led provincial government. SFU Surrey offers a number of cutting edge programs, including TechOne and Explorations; first year cohort options; and studies in Applied Sciences, Criminology, World Literature, Business Administration, and Interactive Arts and Technology.

Surrey is the home of Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Kwantlen opened its doors in the Newton Town Centre of Surrey in 1981. Since then, it has expanded to provide satellite campuses in Richmond, Langley, a trades and technology centre in the Cloverdale Town Centre of Surrey. The Surrey campus focuses on sciences, arts, and health, including a publicly accessible wellness centre, while the new Cloverdale campus trains apprentices for the skilled trades industries.

Culture

Attractions

City of Surrey Museum

File:City of Surrey Museum1.jpg
Location	Cloverdale, Canada
Type	Municipal museum
Website	[1]

The City of Surrey Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.

Events

Attracting 15,000 people every February since 2004, WinterFest is a day of live music, sporting activities, food, and fireworks, which is held at the Central City Plaza.

Since 1888, the town centre of Cloverdale has been hosting the annual Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds every May long weekend. The Fair is Canada's second largest rodeo, and it features 150 acres (0.61 km²) of family-oriented entertainment including agricultural/horticultural exhibits, a western tradeshow, parade, community stages, and the Pacific Northwest Firefighter Combat Challenge.

Due in part to having one of British Columbia's youngest populations, with nearly one third of all citizens under 18, Surrey has become known for its annual Children's Festival, which began 2004. The free, multi-day festival features circus and clay arts, world rhythm music and movement, popular children's performers, storytelling sessions, and a parade.

Every year on April 13, the Sikh community celebrates Vaisakhi, which often includes a nagar kirtan, or parade and free food is often handed out by the Sikh community. Roughly 100,000 people attended in 2008.

Surrey has become recognized in Metro Vancouver for its annual Canada Day celebrations. Following the collapse of any official civic event in Vancouver to celebrate the occasion, Surrey's Canada Day has gained popularity to become the largest event of its kind in Western Canada. Presented every July 1 at Cloverdale's Millennium Amphitheatre Park, the event includes amusement rides, a tea ceremony, booths, musicians and performers, and a fireworks show at night. The event attracts upwards of 100,000 people.

In 2008, the City, thanks to the federal government's designation of Surrey as Canada's Cultural Capital for the year, put on a three-day multicultural festival. The Fusion Festival celebrated over 60 different cultures through food, music, and dance. The event attracted 60,000 attendees, and will return for 2009. It is expected that the Fusion Festival will become an annual event for Surrey.

Following the success of the Surrey Regional Economic Summit, held in September 2008 at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel, in Guildford Town Centre, it is anticipated that this too will become an annual event. The first summit featured BC Premier Gordon Campbell and VANOC CEO John Furlong as speakers and a keynote speech by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The event attracted 400 business and community leaders for a day long conference to discuss issues including public safety, transportation, and sustainability. The second summit is being planned, and will feature former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as keynote speaker.

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 Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Guildford Town Centre.

The Surrey Festival of Dance, an annual event since 1966, is one of the largest dance competitions held in North America, with over 10,000 dancers participating in the multi-week festival.

The Surrey RCMP hold an annual basketball tournament with participation from all the city's Secondary Schools. The event is the city's largest annual sports tournament.

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 rules of the Nicomekl River race state that all boats be made by the participants. The racecourse goes 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 $1000. 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, the community is served by The Surrey Now newspaper, the Surrey Leader newspaper, and the Peace Arch News newspaper (for South Surrey). The studios of ethnic radio station Red FM are located in Surrey's Newton neighbourhood.

Sports

Every summer, Surrey hosts the Canada Cup International Women's Fastpitch Tournament. It began in 1993 as an international women's fastpitch developmental tournament to help teams prepare for the Olympics by facing top-calibre competition. The event continues to be a fan favourite with gate attendance reaching 93,000 for the 2004 nine-day tournament.

The BCJHL Surrey Eagles hockey team plays at the South Surrey Arena in Surrey. The Eagles won the BCJHL championship, Fred Page Cup, in 1997, 1998 and 2005; the western championship, the Doyle Cup, in 1997 and 1998; and the national championship, the Royal Bank Cup, 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 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Surrey is also home to Canada's first kabaddi-specific stadium.

Transportation

History

Surrey was first settled near Crescent Beach, in South Surrey, and Bridgeview/Brownsville, in North Surrey. Soon after, wagons and trails were built, causing rapid development.

The Semiahmoo Trail, which stretched from White Rock to North Surrey, was one of the first overland trails to bring settlers into the Fraser Valley. 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 the 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 on the upper deck. The lower deck, for rail, enabled BC Electric Railway 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, Sullivan, and Cloverdale.

In 1937, the then two-lane Pattullo Bridge linking New Westminster and Surrey was open.

In the early 1950s, BC Electric Railways ceased operating its interurban line, and thus increasing the amount of vehicles on Surrey roads. Highway 10 was built in 1953, and Highway 15 in 1957. In 1964, the provincial government completed Highway 401 and the Port Mann Bridge — that section of roadway would later be renamed Highway 1. In 1966, the George Massey Tunnel 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 Highway would become major arterials.

In the early 1990s, Surrey saw the return of rail transit with the SkyTrain Expo Line expansion into Surrey.

Current network

The Canadian National Railway, BNSF Railway, and Southern Railway of British Columbia systems are active and stretch across Surrey to eastern provinces and southward into the United States.

The Fraser Surrey Docks on the Fraser River service more than 400 deep sea vessels annually and over 2 million tons of cargo from around the world pass through the terminal. It is the largest facility of its kind on the west coast of North America.

Public transport, provided by TransLink, connects some of Surrey's disparate centres to each other and to other Lower Mainland cities and municipalities. The SkyTrain Expo Line provides 35-minute service to Downtown Vancouver via four stations.

Vancouver International Airport, is 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Surrey by road. Vancouver Airport offers direct daily service to Canada, North America, Europe, and Asia.

Notable people from Surrey

• Chuck Cadman, politician
• Aaron Voros, professional hockey player; forward for the New York Rangers
• Colin Fraser, professional hockey player; forward for the Chicago Blackhawks
• Curtis Fraser, professional hockey player; forward for the Peoria Rivermen
• Kalib Starnes, professional mixed martial artist
• Adam Loewen, baseball player; first baseman/outfielder under minor-league contract for the Toronto Blue Jays
• John Tenta, professional wrestler known as Earthquake
• Jean Luc Bilodeau, actor
• Elise Estrada, singer
• Lisa Brokop, singer
• Britt Irvin, actress, singer - 2008 Leo Award Nominee
• Harbhajan Mann, singer
• Daniel Igali, 2000 Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler
• Jazzy B, singer
• Gary Nylund, former professional hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders.)

Affiliated cities and municipalities

Surrey has two sister cities:

Country	City	Province	Date
Japan	Kōtō	Tokyo	1987
People's Republic of China	Zhuhai	Guangdong	1989

Surrey also has two Friendship Cities:

Country	City	Province	Date
People's Republic of China	Ningbo	Zhejiang
People's Republic of China	Taicang	Jiangsu

External links

• City of Surrey
• The City of Surrey - A History
• Adopted from Statistics Canada [2][3]
• Tourism Surrey