Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum calls for immediate action on all campaign promises

Surrey council will be asked to vote yes to all of newly-elected mayor Doug McCallum’s campaign promises at its inaugural meeting on Monday.

These include withdrawing the city from Metro Vancouver while maintaining core services, equipping the Surrey Police Service with a helicopter and drone fleet within three months and freezing property taxes.

UBC political scientist Stewart Prest said the strategy is unusual, with city staff normally asked to report back on proposals to determine how they can be accomplished, after which council makes a decision.

“This is extremely Doug McCallum,” Prest said. “Just damn the torpedoes, go full speed ahead and try to change the facts on the ground as quickly as possible so people have no choice but to adapt to what he’s doing.

“It has the potential of creating space for his ambitious agenda, but also creates a very real possibility of unintended consequences and the creation of conflict with the province and other cities. I am concerned he is biting off too much too quickly with this approach.”

For example, Prest pointed out the promise to spend money on a police helicopter and drone fleet, while also promising not to increase property taxes.

“If you’re making significant new purchases at the same time you are freezing property taxes, you’re going to have to make significant cuts elsewhere to pay for the new toys,” Prest said.

McCallum is serving his fifth term as mayor of Surrey over the past 30 years. He was mayor from 1996 to 2005, from 2018 to 2022, and was re-elected with 31.8 per cent of the vote in 2026.

He and his Safe Surrey Coalition team campaigned on a 15-point agenda and won all but one seat on the nine-member council.

This agenda also includes using city-owned land in Newton for a new women and children’s hospital, building pools in Clayton Heights, Newton and Cloverdale, providing free swim lessons for children, protecting farm land and promoting a SkyTrain expansion down King George Boulevard to Newton.

“The people of Surrey did not elect this council to study things,” McCallum said during his inauguration address on Nov. 3. “They elected us to get things done, and that work starts at our first meeting.”

Prest said Surrey council cannot simply pass a motion to withdraw from Metro Vancouver, noting the body is responsible for the region’s drinking water, wastewater treatment, solid waste management and regional parks.

“There are multiple boards across Metro Vancouver and membership is not universal. But all the major cities are on all the main boards. So for Surrey to pull out, even if it were successful in doing so, it creates a significant hole in governance of the region. There are going to be real costs coming from Surrey not being part of aspects of Metro Vancouver.”

dcarrigg@postmedia.com