Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey
—  City  —
City of Surrey
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: The future lives here.
Location of Surrey
Coordinates: 49°11′N 122°51′W / 49.183°N 122.85°W / 49.183; -122.85Coordinates: 49°11′N 122°51′W / 49.183°N 122.85°W / 49.183; -122.85
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional District	Greater Vancouver Regional District
Incorporation	1879 (municipality status)
	1993 (city status)
Government
– Mayor	Dianne Watts
– City Council	List of Councillors Aman Bassi (Independant) 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 Jinny Sims (NDP) Nina Grewal (CON) Russ Hiebert (CON) Jasbir Sandhu (NDP)
– School Trustees	List of Trustees Terry Allen (Surrey Civic Coalition/SCC) Ijaz Chatta (Surrey Civic Coalition/SCC) Pam Glass (Surrey Education Team/SET) Laurie Larsen (Surrey Civic Coalition/SCC) Laurae McNally (Surrey Education Team/SET) Reni Masi (Surrey Education Team/SET) Shawn Wilson (Surrey Education Team/SET)
Area
– Total	317.19 km2 (122.5 sq mi)
Highest elevation	134 m (440 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2006)[1]
– Total	394,989
– Rank	12th
– Density	1,245.3/km2 (3,225.2/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC-08)
– Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-07)
Postal code span	V3R–V3X, V4A, V4N, V4P
Area code(s)	604, 778
Website	surrey.ca

Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It is the province's second-largest city by population after the city of Vancouver.

The six "town centres" the City of Surrey comprises are: Fleetwood, Whalley/City Centre, Guildford, Newton, Cloverdale, and South Surrey.^[2] Surrey's population, according to the 2006 Census, is 394,976.^[3]

History

Surrey became 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 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.

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 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, Surrey witnessed unprecedented growth, as people from different parts of Canada and 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 - 2030.^{[citation needed]}

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. In the 2011 election the NDP captured Newton—North Delta and Surrey North.

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 percent of the land is designated as part of the Agricultural Land Reserve.^{[citation needed]} The city is mostly hills and flatland, with most of the flatland in Tynehead, Hazelmere, south of Cloverdale, and Colebrook.

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
Record high °C (°F)	15.5 (59.9)	19.4 (66.9)	25 (77)	29 (84)	34.5 (94.1)	33.3 (91.9)	35 (95)	34.5 (94.1)	34.5 (94.1)	29 (84)	21 (70)	16.7 (62.1)	35 (95)
Average high °C (°F)	6 (43)	8.4 (47.1)	11.1 (52.0)	14.3 (57.7)	17.6 (63.7)	20 (68)	23 (73)	23.2 (73.8)	20.5 (68.9)	14.5 (58.1)	8.7 (47.7)	6.1 (43.0)	14.5
Average low °C (°F)	0.2 (32.4)	1.3 (34.3)	2.8 (37.0)	4.9 (40.8)	7.6 (45.7)	10.3 (50.5)	12.1 (53.8)	12.2 (54.0)	9.6 (49.3)	6 (43)	2.7 (36.9)	0.5 (32.9)	5.9
Record low °C (°F)	−17.2 (1.0)	−13.5 (7.7)	−8.3 (17.1)	−2.8 (27.0)	−1.1 (30.0)	2.2 (36.0)	2.8 (37.0)	−1.1 (30.0)	−2.2 (28.0)	−6.5 (20.3)	−15 (5)	−18.9 (−2.0)	−18.9 (−2.0)
Precipitation mm (inches)	185.7 (7.311)	136.1 (5.358)	128.7 (5.067)	100.5 (3.957)	81.6 (3.213)	68 (2.68)	50 (1.97)	48.7 (1.917)	64.2 (2.528)	131.4 (5.173)	212.3 (8.358)	202.1 (7.957)	1,409.2 (55.48)
Source: Environment Canada[4]

Demographics

The Provincial Courthouse for the City of Surrey, BC.

Surrey Pretrial Services Centre

As of 2006^[update], the population of Surrey is 394,976, a 13.6% increase from 2001. The non-minorities population is 211,445, or 53.9% of the city's population. The foreign-born population is 150,235, constituting 30.3% of the city's population. Visible minorities number 181,005, or 46.1% of the population, while Aboriginal people constitute 1.9% of the population.^[3]

As of 2011, the racial makeup in Surrey is as follows:^[3]

• 53.7% White
• 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

Religion

The predominant religion in Surrey is Christianity. More than 60% of people in Surrey are Christian. The next largest religious group of people in Surrey are Sikh. There are approximately 19.2% Sikhs in Surrey, with the majority being in the Newton area of Surrey which is home to nearly 50,000 Sikhs.

Education

Central City Tower. Surrey's Simon Fraser University occupies a portion of 'the podium'

Schools

School District 36 Surrey oversees 100 public elementary and 21 public secondary schools, making it the largest public school district in British Columbia.^{[citation needed]} Private schools in Surrey include Holy Cross Regional High School, Pacific Academy, Surrey Christian School, and Southridge School. 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.^{[citation needed]}

Universities and colleges

Surrey is home to the third campus of Simon Fraser University (SFU), which opened in 2002. SFU took over the space and programming that was initially built for TechBC, a technical university proposed 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 also 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, business, arts, and health, including a publicly accessible wellness centre, while the new Cloverdale campus trains apprentices for the skilled trades industries.

Surrey also has many private post-secondary institutions to choose from including; Sprott-Shaw Community College, CDI College, and Vancouver Career College, among others.

Culture

Attractions

Surrey Museum in the Cloverdale area of Surrey

The Surrey Arts Centre street sign at Bear Creek Park.

The 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, held at the Central City Plaza.

Since 1888, the town centre of Cloverdale has hosted the annual Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds every May long weekend. The Fair is Canada's second largest rodeo,^{[citation needed]} 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,^{[citation needed]} Surrey has become known for its annual Children's Festival,^{[citation needed]} 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. Roughly 100,000 people attended in 2008.^[5]

Surrey has the largest Canada Day event of its kind in Western Canada.^{[citation needed]} 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.

In 2008, the City, thanks to the federal government's designation of Surrey as Canada's Cultural Capital for the year,^{[citation needed]} 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,^{[citation needed]} and will return for 2009. It is expected that the Fusion Festival will become an annual event for Surrey.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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, the community is served by The Surrey Now newspaper, the Surrey Leader newspaper, and the Peace Arch News newspaper (for South Surrey).

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 nine-day tournament in 2004.

The BCHL Surrey Eagles hockey team plays at the South Surrey Arena in Surrey. The Eagles won the BCHL championship, the 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.^[6]

Transportation

History

Surrey was first settled near Crescent Beach, in South Surrey, and Bridgeview/Brownsville, 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. 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.^[7] The Semiahmoo Wagon Road was built in 1873 between Brownsville opposite New Westminster and Semiahmoo (Blaine).^[8] 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.^[9] 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 opened.

In the early 1950s, BC Electric Railways ceased operating its interurban line, thus increasing the number 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 Boulevard became major arteries.

In the early 1990s, Surrey saw the return of rail transit with the SkyTrain Expo Line expansion into Surrey. Stations include Scott Road, Gateway, Surrey Central (bus depot center) and King George.

A panorama of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey, British Columbia.

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.

Public transport, operated by TransLink, connects some of Surrey's centres to each other and to other Lower Mainland 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 destinations in Canada, North America, Europe, and Asia.

Notable people

• Nuvraj Bassi, professional football player
• Rick Bognar, professional wrestler
• Lisa Brokop, singer
• Chuck Cadman, politician
• Dona Cadman, politician
• Brant Campioni, the First Officer of DHL Flight 611, lost in the Überlingen Disaster.
• Gina Choi (G.NA), South Korean singer
• Ranj Dhaliwal, best-selling author
• Sukh Dhaliwal, politician
• Elise Estrada, singer
• Colin Fraser, professional hockey player; forward for the Los Angeles Kings
• Curtis Fraser, professional hockey player; forward for the Peoria Rivermen
• Kamal Heer, Punjabi singer
• Jacob Hoggard, Lead Singer of Hedley
• Daniel Igali, 2000 Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler
• Britt Irvin, actress, singer; 2008 Leo Award nominee
• Jazzy B, singer
• Adam Loewen, baseball player; first baseman/outfielder under minor-league contract for the Toronto Blue Jays
• Harbhajan Mann, Punjabi singer
• Gary Nylund, former professional hockey player (Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, and New York Islanders)
• Prab Rai, hockey player
• Gordon Rice, artist
• Sangtar, Punjabi songwriter
• Kalib Starnes, professional mixed martial artist
• John Tenta, professional wrestler, known as Earthquake
• Aaron Voros, professional hockey player; forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Manmohan Waris, Punjabi singer
• Daniel Wesley, singer/songwriter

Affiliated cities and municipalities

Surrey has two sister cities:

Country	City	Province	Date
Japan	Kōtō	Tokyo	1989
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

References

• Adopted from Statistics Canada^[10][11]

1. ^ "2006 Community Profiles - Census Subdivision". 2.statcan.ca. 2010-12-07. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5915004&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&Data=Count&SearchText=surrey&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=. Retrieved 2011-03-09. 
2. ^ http://www.surrey.ca/Visiting+Surrey/About+Surrey/Surrey+Is.htm
3. ^ ^{a b c} Statistics Canada: 2006 Community Profiles: Search results for "Surrey"
4. ^ Environment Canada—Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 12 July 2009
5. ^ "100,000 in Vaisakhi parade". Surrey Now. http://www.canada.com/surreynow/multimedia/story.html?id=80aba4d4-7694-4d56-bc1a-55c5afd54464. Retrieved 29 May 2008. 
6. ^ "Premier Officially Opens Surrey Kabaddi Stadium" (Press release). Government of British Columbia. 9 September 2006. http://www.gov.bc.ca/premier/media_gallery/events/2006/sept/premier_officially_opens_surrey_kabaddi_stadium_2006_09_09_35643_o.html. Retrieved 12 January 2008. 
7. ^ Early Trails and Roads in the Lower Fraser Valley, W. N. Draper, British Columbia Historical Quarterly, January, 1943, Vol. 7, p. 49-56.
8. ^ The Semiahmoo Trail: Myths Makers Memories by Ron Dowle, Surrey Historical Society, 1998.
9. ^ "Surrey History". Members.shaw.ca. 1993-09-11. http://members.shaw.ca/jack_brown/surrey.html. Retrieved 2011-03-09. 
10. ^ "Statistics Canada: 2001 Community Profiles". 2.statcan.ca. 2002-03-12. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/profil01/Details/details1.cfm?SEARCH=BEGINS&ID=11915&PSGC=59&SGC=5915004&DataType=1&LANG=E&Province=59&PlaceName=Surrey&CMA=&CSDNAME=Surrey&A=&TypeNameE=City%20%2D%20Cit%E9&Prov=. Retrieved 2011-03-09. 
11. ^ "Surrey named car theft capital of North America - CTV News". Ctv.ca. 2002-09-07. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1031407441531_58?s_name=&no_ads=. Retrieved 2011-03-09. 

External links

• City of Surrey
• The City of Surrey - A History
• Tourism Surrey