52-577: 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 80,208 students and 195+ languages represented during the 2022-23 school year. District 36 includes 103 elementary schools, 21 secondary schools, 5 learning centres, and 3 adult education centres. While the district was established in 1906 its first school opened in 1882. The district
104-543: A kindergarten teacher , to reflect on the realities of today's families and to teach his pupils about diversity and tolerance . A legal battle to overturn the decision to ban the three books went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada , where the school board's decision was overturned. The judgment, Chamberlain v. Surrey School District No. 36 , cited the need for families headed by same-sex couples to be respected. Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin dismissed
156-519: 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. The city
208-744: 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 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
260-547: 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. Surrey is governed by the elected Surrey City Council comprising a mayor and eight councillors. As of the October 15, 2022, election , the mayor is Brenda Locke and city councillors are Linda Annis, Harry Bains, Mike Bose, Doug Elford, Gordon Hepner, Pardeep Kooner, Mandeep Nagra, and Rob Stutt. In
312-683: 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. Although not considered a sport, the globally acclaimed dance company known as "Brotherhood" won gold trophies at the World Hip Hop Dance Championships in 2013 and 2014 for the varsity and adult divisions. The affiliated dance production team known as "PraiseTEAM" had taken home
364-602: A population of 568,322 living in 185,671 of its 195,098 total private dwellings, a change of 9.7% from its 2016 population of 517,887. With a land area of 316.11 km (122.05 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,797.9/km (4,656.4/sq mi) in 2021. Surrey is the 11th largest city in Canada, and is also the fifth-largest city in Western Canada (after Calgary , Edmonton , Winnipeg and Vancouver ). Surrey forms an integral part of Metro Vancouver as it
416-823: Is Surrey’s largest employer with 12,540 employees including 6,716 teachers. The Surrey School District's administration hub is the District Education Centre and was officially opened on September 11, 2011. For the first time in history, the Surrey Board of Education passed an annual budget totalling more than a billion dollars for the 2023-24 school year consisting of $ 602 million for teacher costs and $ 451 million for all other costs. The largest sources of funds are $ 945 million in provincial government grants, $ 17 million in tuition, $ 9 million in investment income, $ 4 million in rental and lease income, and $ 3 million in federal grants. The Surrey School District
468-865: Is a city in British Columbia , Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border . It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surrey is the province's second-largest by population after Vancouver and the third-largest by area after Abbotsford and Prince George . Seven neighbourhoods in Surrey are designated town centres : Cloverdale , Fleetwood , Guildford , Newton , South Surrey , and City Centre encompassed by Whalley . Surrey
520-500: Is a difference between endorsing a faith versus "accommodating" spiritual needs. A complaint was filed with the BC Human Rights Tribunal ; however, Jubenvill withdrew the complaint because he felt that the resulting media attention and the reaction it generated did not accurately represent his intentions and he preferred to address the matter with the school district out of the public eye. Some secondary schools in
572-628: 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. 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
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#1732797688090624-516: Is characterized by low population density urban sprawl , 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 2,465 hectares (6,091 acres) or 27 percent of the land area is designated as part of the Agricultural Land Reserve and can only be used for farming. The city is mostly hills and flatland, with most of
676-399: Is climate change, there's no question about that. Whether what Al Gore says about it is the truth, I have questions." In early November 2009, a Cloverdale father, Paul Jubenvill, requested an extra-curricular, non-instructional, voluntarily-attended Bible club be established during lunch-hour at his sons' school, Colebrook Elementary. The school would not permit the club on their property, and
728-468: Is the administrative, quasi-judicial tribunal tasked with hearing complaints that the Code has been violated. It has the power to grant damages and specific performance to remedy discriminatory acts. The BCHRT is subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court of British Columbia . The Code does not apply to federally-regulated activities, such as aeronautics and telecommunications. They are subject to
780-593: Is the largest city in the region by land area, 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 percent 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 . Within
832-489: Is the second largest employer in the City of Surrey with an annual operating budget of $ 149.2 million while the health care organization, Fraser Health 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. Although not as large as Vancouver's technology sector, Surrey also has an emerging tech sector with
884-629: Is the second largest library in terms of size in Metro Vancouver. "REMEMBRANCE" by André Gauthier in Heritage Square, is an oversized bronze statue depicting a World War I kneeling soldier, helmet in hand, in remembrance of his fallen comrades. 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,
936-415: Is to prevent discrimination and harassment because of race , colour , sex , gender identity or expression , sexual orientation , disability , creed , age and other grounds. The Code was enacted in 1973. Before that date, various laws dealt with different kinds of discrimination. The code brought them together into one law and added some new protections. The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal
988-624: 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 2004, when Gurmant Grewal 's wife Nina 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 won three of Surrey's four seats in
1040-541: The Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society on the mainline between Cloverdale and Sullivan. 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
1092-605: The House of Commons of Canada . Conservative MP Dianne Watts 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 defeated former Conservative MP and federal cabinet minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay . The Museum of Surrey is affiliated with CMA , CHIN , and Virtual Museum of Canada . It reopened as
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#17327976880901144-641: The Indian Subcontinent 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 (10.9 percent) and Southeast Asians (9.7 percent). Forming nearly 2.3 percent of the total population, the Black community of Surrey is small, though the city is home to the largest Black population in British Columbia; roughly 21 percent of
1196-787: The Port Mann Bridge ; that section of roadway would later be renamed Highway 1 . In 1959, 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. British Columbia Human Rights Code The Human Rights Code is a provincial law in the province of British Columbia , Canada that gives all people equal rights and opportunities without discrimination in specific areas such as jobs, housing and services. The code's goal
1248-521: The Board's concerns that children would be confused or misled by classroom information about same-sex parents. She pointed out that the children of same-sex parents are rubbing shoulders with children from more traditional families, and wrote: "Tolerance is always age-appropriate, children cannot learn unless they are exposed to views that differ from those they are taught at home." The legal fees ended up costing Surrey taxpayers over $ 1,200,000. In 2005,
1300-503: The City of Surrey itself feature many neighbourhoods including City Centre, Whalley, Newton , Guildford , Fleetwood , Cloverdale and South Surrey . 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 percent) and Cloverdale (69 percent), with Newton (58 percent) and Whalley (51 percent) being home to large numbers of
1352-630: The Fraser news. Radio India , another Indo-Canadian radio station, has its offices in Surrey. Every summer, Surrey hosts the Canada Cup International Women's Fastpitch Tournament. It began in 1993 as an international women's fastpitch developmental softball 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
1404-674: The Museum of Surrey on September 29, 2018, after a renovation which added 12,000 square feet (1,100 m ) to the previous 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m ) 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
1456-563: The School District have, or have had, overtly Christian clubs (for example, LA Matheson has a prayer club titled "PUSH", Semiahmoo Secondary had a Crossroad Christian club in 2008 and earlier years, and Fraser Heights Secondary had a Bible Club in 2007). At Colebrook Elementary in July 2010, a 75-foot portion of a roof over an exterior walkway collapsed, with no injuries reported. In 2011 the school district initiated legal action against
1508-586: 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
1560-552: The Sikh community celebrates Vaisakhi , 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
1612-746: The Surrey School District made national news for cancelling production of The Laramie Project , a play that deals with the murder of a gay university student, in Elgin Park Secondary. Advocates for the play noted that it is designed to teach tolerance toward LGBT people. The school district's administration said that the play contains sex, violence and foul language and is not appropriate as family entertainment. The decision met with outrage from LGBT advocacy organization Egale Canada . A school in neighbouring Vancouver , Lord Byng Secondary School , subsequently chose to stage
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1664-407: The Surrey School District supported the school's position. The father argued that this ban violated the provincial BC Human Rights Code by disallowing a normally available service on the grounds of discrimination against religion. The school district was concerned that permitting the club may have given the appearance of the school endorsing a particular religious ideology. Jubenvill argued that there
1716-457: 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. Farming has strongly been attached to
1768-581: The community is served by The Surrey Now-Leader newspaper, and the Peace Arch News 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
1820-505: The contractor and architect involved in the design and construction of the roof, which had been built in 1987. In November 2013 the School Board adopted an anti-discrimination code to provide protection for students and staff against homophobic and other forms of bullying . Approximately one third of all school districts in the province have policies against homophobic bullying. Surrey, British Columbia Surrey (/ˈsɝɹi/)
1872-499: 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
1924-464: The entire Black population of the province resides in Surrey. Similar to most cities across English-speaking Canada, a large majority (64 percent) of Surrey residents of European heritage can trace their roots to the British Isles . Religion in Surrey (2021) Proportionally, Surrey has the largest Sikh population percentage (27.4 percent) out of all subdivisions in Canada. As of 2021 ,
1976-470: The flatland in Tynehead, Hazelmere, the south of Cloverdale, and Colebrook. Surrey has an oceanic climate ( Cfb ) typical of the inter-coastal Pacific Northwest : 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. In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada , Surrey had
2028-643: The latter. Immigration to Surrey has drastically increased since the 1980s; this has created a more ethnically and linguistically diverse city. 52 percent do not speak English as their first language, while approximately 38 percent of the city's inhabitants are of South Asian heritage. Beginning in the 1990s, an influx of South Asians began moving to the city from the Punjabi Market neighbourhood of South Vancouver due to rising housing costs and rapidly increasing rent costs for businesses. The outflow of these residents combined with increased immigration from
2080-525: 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. 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
2132-766: 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, 2005 and 2013; 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
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2184-473: The play. In May 2007, the Surrey School Board made national news when it voted to instruct teachers not to show Al Gore 's Academy Award -winning documentary on climate change , An Inconvenient Truth , until trustees were able to review the film. On the issue of climate change, Board Trustee and social activist Heather Stilwell stated: "I am not sure. I mean I see evidence. I think there
2236-571: 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. In addition to news media from Vancouver ,
2288-482: 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. Other notable sporting events held by Surrey include: The first non-Indigenous settlement of Surrey
2340-401: The top five most reported religious affiliations in Surrey were Christianity (170,115 or 30.2 percent), Irreligion (161,860 or 28.6 percent), Sikhism (154,415 or 27.4 percent), Islam (31,095 or 5.5 percent), and Hinduism (30,455 or 5.4 percent). As of 2010, Surrey had the highest median family income of CA$ 78,283 , while the BC provincial median was $ 71,660, and the national median
2392-625: 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 , and it features 150 acres (0.61 km ) 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,
2444-907: The world to the Comfort Inn & Suites Surrey Hotel and Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Guildford Town Centre . 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
2496-425: 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,
2548-652: Was founded near Crescent Beach , located in South Surrey ; 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 . James Kennedy built the trail to provide a route between New Westminster and the natural pasture land on the Mud Bay Flats next to
2600-707: Was incorporated in 1879, and encompasses land formerly home to a number of Halqemeylem -speaking indigenous groups, including the Semiahmoo , Katzie , and the Kwantlen peoples. When Englishman H.J. Brewer looked across the Fraser River from New Westminster and saw it was 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
2652-542: 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 . Two of the BCER cars (1225 & 1304) are restored and are operated by
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#17327976880902704-520: Was reported in the national news numerous times during the 1990s and 2000s, most notably for its stand on social issues. Surrey had 361 portable classrooms in use by the end of the 2022-23 school year. This number had increased by 20% over the 15 years prior. The District School Board was the focus of major media attention from 1997 to 2002 over its stand on not allowing books about families with same-sex parents to be included as optional learning resources. These books were requested by James Chamberlain ,
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