All seven candidates running for mayor of Surrey share a stage tonight at a forum co-hosted by the Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade and the South Asian Business Association. The event runs 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel.
Tonight is also the first day of advance voting in the municipal election.
The seven on stage
- Brenda Locke (Surrey Connect), the incumbent mayor, first elected in 2022.
- Doug McCallum (Safe Surrey Coalition), former mayor of Surrey.
- Linda Annis (Surrey First), longtime city councillor, in her first run for mayor.
- Mike Starchuk (Imagine Surrey).
- Honveer Singh Randhawa (Conservative Electors Association), a BC lawyer.
- Troy Van-Vliet (Surrey Now), builder and business owner.
- Igal Ammons-II (New Surrey+).
Four issues to watch
Property taxes. Where does each candidate stand: a freeze, a cap tied to inflation, or something else, and what would be cut or kept to pay for it?
The arena. The proposed $360M, 10,000-seat arena project sits inside the campaign window. Keep it, pause it, or cancel it, and who pays?
Public safety. What changes in the first 100 days on extortion and targeted crime, and on retail theft?
Transit and gridlock. What is actually funded versus promised, from SkyTrain expansion to RapidBus service and the King George and Fraser Highway corridors?
Why this forum matters
The South Asian Business Association is a co-host, and Surrey’s South Asian business community is one of the most engaged voting blocs in the city. What gets asked tonight, and how the candidates answer, will shape the final ten days of the campaign.
What’s next
- Advance voting: Oct 7, 10, 14, 15
- General voting day: Saturday, Oct 17, 2026, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Apna News reader poll: apnanews.ca/surrey-mayor-poll/ (Who would you vote for as Surrey’s next mayor?)
Apna News will publish a full report from tonight’s forum.
