Surrey is traversed by five major highways and four railways, has deep-sea docking facilities and is located near an international airport. Two Canada/United States border crossings put Surrey's businesses within easy access of local, national and world markets.

As one of the fastest growing major cities in Canada, Surrey's City Centre has been touted as the Lower Mainland's Downtown for the Fraser Valley.

With 317.40 square km (122.5 square miles), Surrey is the largest city in BC's Lower Mainland, with the second largest population (400,000 in 2005). The City of Surrey is encouraging developers and builders to utilize its available non-agricultural land for business and industrial purposes and has streamlined development approval to maintain a high level of service to business.

The 500 plus businesses which locate to Surrey each year also have access to a large consumer market as well as a talented and diversified labour pool capable of supporting a wide range of business needs.

Site Selector/Community Profile
The Economic Development Office in partnership with HRDC (Human Resources Development Canada) has prepared a comprehensive community profile for site selectors, investors and corporate real estate executives.This document provides demographic and business information based on the 2001 census.

Location

• Municipality: City of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
• Regional District: Greater Vancouver Regional District
• Land Area: 317.40 km²  (122.5 miles²)
• Geographic Location: Located only 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of the City of Vancouver, Surrey is bounded by the Fraser River to the north, the Canada-U.S. border to the south and the municipalities of Delta and Langley to the west and east, respectively.
• Web-based Mapping - Use this link to access the City's web-based mapping system called COSMOS which provides the ability to query, view and print a wide range of City information such as zoning, aerial photography, utilities, parks, roads and recreation facilities.

Population Growth & Projections

Surrey has been among the fastest growing major cities in Canada since 1991.

 

1991, 1996 and 2001 figures are census, 2006 and 2021 are projections.

Other demographic information for Surrey can be found on the Stats Canada website.

 Communities

Surrey has been divided into six distinct communities. Each of these communities Whalley, Guildford, Newton, Fleetwood, Cloverdale and South Surrey has its own unique character. With a commercial core including public and private recreation facilities, surrounded by high and low density residential development, each is a self-contained town centre where people can live, work and play.

Within the town centre of Whalley, a vibrant, new downtown, Surrey City Centre, is being created.  Bolstered by Surrey's rapid population growth and supported by the regional growth strategy, Surrey City Centre is being created to serve the needs of the City, region and growing population of the Fraser Valley.

The City Centre plan identifies high density commercial and medium to high density residential development to encourage a viable, thriving city core.   Three of the City's four SkyTrain stations are located in the City Centre, as well as the hub of the transit system providing easy access to businesses and their customers as well as residents.

Climate

Surrey has pleasant temperatures all year round with little or no snowfall during the winter months, less rainfall than many neighbouring communities and a significant number of sunshine hours that enable residents to fully enjoy a variety of outdoor pursuits.

Average Annual:

• Rainfall: 1358.3 mm per year (53.5 inches/year)
• Days with measurable snowfall:  13
• Sunshine Hours: 1848.3 hours per year (average 5 hours/day) (May, June, July & Aug. all over 200 hours per month)

Average Temperatures:

• June to September: max. 21.5 ^oC min 10.8 ^oC
• October to May: max. 10.6 ^oC min 3.0 ^oC
• Frost Free Days: 190 days
• Growing Season: April 18 to October 24

Source: Gary Myers, Environment Canada, BC Regional Climate Information

Transportation

• Highways: Highways 1, 1A, 10, 15, 99 and 99A
• Rail: Southern Railway of BC, CN Rail, Burlington Northern Railway
• Public Transit: Translink - Bus and four SkyTrain stations in Surrey
• Air: Vancouver International Airport, Abbotsford International Airport, Boundary Bay Airport, Langley Municipal Airport
• Water: Fraser Surrey Docks deep sea port, Fraser River
• International Border Crossings: Pacific Border Crossing, Douglas Crossing at Peace Arch, Nexus (frequent border crossing program)

Utilities

• Hydro: BC Hydro
• Natural Gas: Terasen Gas
• Telephone: Telus

Housing

Predominantly detached single family dwelling units. Townhouses, condominiums, compact and executive homes, and apartments available.

Average price of a 'typical' single family house in Surrey.  Typical is defined as the residential property features that occur most frequently in MLS sales for the area.

June 2006

*Source: Fraser Valley Real Estate Board

Average Monthly Apartment Rental Rates (Winter 2005)

*Source: Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp.

Annual Housing Starts

*Source: City of Surrey, Planning & Development Department

Personal Taxation Statistics

Total Income

*Source:  BC Stats website

Education

Surrey is one of the fastest growing school districts in the Lower Mainland, as well as the largest in the province, and new schools are planned and built every year. As of September 2004, there were 99 elementary schools, 18 secondary schools and 6 learning centres.  In addition, there are 26 independent schools. More information can be obtained from School District No. 36.

Kwantlen University College offers undergraduate university programs including bachelor's degrees, diplomas, certificates and citations. To meet the growing and changing educational needs of the region, Kwantlen has embarked on a $38-million expansion of its Surrey Campus as well as construction of the new Cloverdale Trades and Technology Centre expected to be completed in late 2006. In addition to the two Surrey campuses, Kwantlen has a new location in the adjacent City of White Rock and campuses in Langley and Richmond.

B.C.I.T., the British Columbia Institute of Technology is located in Burnaby and offers some courses in Surrey.

Simon Fraser University Surrey

Simon Fraser University Surrey is one of BC's leading university campuses for study and research. The campus opened its doors in September 2002, and now has more than 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the campus, in programs such as Arts and Social Sciences, Computing Science, Business Administration, Education, Interactive Arts and Technology, and Science. SFU also offers a number of continuing studies courses at its Surrey campus, as well as public lectures and summer camps for children.

SFU Surrey's connection to the City of Surrey and other communities in the South Fraser region is highly valued. The university collaborates with educational, business and other organizations in the region and serves as an intellectual and creative resource through research, credit and non-credit education, industry liaison and community outreach.

SFU Surrey is located in Central City in Whalley, adjacent to the Surrey Central SkyTrain station. In September 2006, SFU will open an expanded campus at Central City, which will grow to 322,000 square feet to support planned growth of 2,500 full-time equivalent students by 2010.

 

• Kwantlen University College 
• University of British Columbia 
• Simon Fraser University 
• Trinity Western University 
• University College of the Fraser Valley 
• British Columbia Institute of Technology

Health Services

• Surrey Memorial Hospital functions both as a community hospital and as a referral hospital for residents of neighbouring communities. The hospital provides about 420 acute care beds and 186 extended care beds, and has the busiest Emergency Department in Western Canada with about 70,000 visits per year. Surrey Hospital is a teaching facility and offers thoracic surgery, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, renal and oncology services. It also has one of the largest single-room maternity units in Canada and a growing pediatrics department. The Emergency Department was expanded in late 2005 with the addition of a Minor Treatment Unit for less-urgent cases. At the same time, the provincial government announced a significant expansion program to begin in 2007, to include a new Emergency facility, a high-level care facility for premature babies, a new outpatient services and primary care building, and renovations to existing hospital buildings. A 30-bed medical withdrawal facility for people with addictions is now under construction near the hospital.
• The BC Cancer Agency Fraser Valley Cancer Centre provides care for residents of the Fraser Valley Region from Delta and Surrey east to Hope, and is located adjacent to Surrey Memorial Hospital.
• Peace Arch Hospital is a 146-bed advanced community hospital offering services such as: emergency medicine (about 35,000 visits per year); emergency and elective surgery, with three operating rooms; critical care; maternity; inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient programs including medical imaging, mental health services and services for seniors. The hospital also has an extended care unit with 300 beds. Peace Arch serves the needs of South Surrey and the City of White Rock.

• Surrey Memorial and Peace Arch hospitals are operated by the Fraser Health Authority under the guidance of the BC Ministry of Health. Fraser Health also provides a range of other health services in Surrey, such as funding for more than 850 residential complex care beds and 120 mental health residential beds operated by community partners under contract; public health clinics for mothers and children; seasonal flu vaccination clinics; inspection and licensing of food services businesses, drinking water systems, child care centres and community care facilities; response to public health emergencies; mental health treatment and counseling; addictions treatment and counseling; in-home health care; and group day health programs for seniors.

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Local Media

Surrey has 4 local newspapers:

• The Surrey Leader
• The Now Newspaper
• The Peace Arch News
• The Cloverdale Reporter  

There are two main daily British Columbia newspapers:

• The Vancouver Sun
• The Province

There are two local television stations:

• Omni Television  
• Rogers

Police and Fire Protection Services

The R.C.M.Police provides municipal police services. Surrey is the largest Detachment in Canada, with 405 officers and 135 municipal employees. Surrey's crime rate has been ranked 27th out of 72 communities, one of the lowest of any of the major cities in British Columbia.

Surrey has a total of 17 fire halls and over 550 highly skilled fire fighters, over half of whom are volunteers. This strong contingent of volunteers makes Surrey's Fire Department one of the largest composite fire departments in Canada.

Parks, Recreation and Culture

Surrey, known as 'Surrey - City of Parks' has more than 5,400 acres of designated parkland with over 400 parks, many of which are in their natural state. These include ocean parks, urban forests, youth parks and quiet gardens. In addition to our own parks, cultural, recreation and leisure facilities, Surrey's residents also have access to all of the amenities located in our neighbouring communities of Burnaby, Richmond, Langley, Delta, White Rock and Vancouver within a 25 mile radius.

There are six community recreation offices located throughout Surrey providing services and recreational activities which highlight the arts, culture and sports. In addition to the 5,000 registered programs per year which involve approximately 2.1 million participants, Surrey operates:

• 6 community Recreation Centres
• 4 indoor pools and 8 outdoor pools
• 5 ice arenas
• 4 seniors' centres
• 4 youth centres
• 4 cultural facilities including:
• Arts: 1 Art Centre containing a gallery and theatre
• Heritage: 1 museum and archives, 1 weaving centre, 1 historic farmhouse
• over 2,357 hectares of parkland including ocean front, urban forests, youth parks and quiet gardens and cemeteries that make up Surrey's 473 parks
• outdoor facilities including 107 ball diamonds, 119 playgrounds, 69 public tennis courts, 102 grass soccer/mini soccer fields, 2 synthetic fields, 13 all-weather fields, 2 rugby fields, 8 water playgrounds, 6 skate parks, 1 climbing wall, 3 football fields, 5 lacrosse boxes, 35 basketball/hockey courts, 5 volleyball courts, 2 fitness circuits, 15 group picnic areas, 1 track  and field complex and 1 equestrian ring
• three cemeteries
• Ward's Public Marina within Elgin Heritage Park
• 9 libraries - To find out more about Surrey Public Library check out our web site www.spl.surrey.bc.ca

To find out more about Parks, Recreation & Culture check out our latest Leisure Guide.

Other privately owned recreational facilities include: Curling, 16 Golf Courses and Driving Ranges, 5 bowling facilities and 6 movie theatres (including two 'Super Cinemas').

Enjoy the many attractions in Surrey!

Service Clubs and Community Ogranizations

Contact Surrey Community Services for information on community services in Surrey and the Fraser Valley.

Shopping

Surrey has over 41 shopping centres, including large indoor malls, plazas, oceanside shops and small commercial outlets. Guildford Town Centre, in north Surrey, is one of the largest indoor shopping malls in British Columbia.

Financial Banking

All major financial institutions are represented in Surrey.