1879: Surrey is incorporated on Nov. 10 and the petition for Letter’s Patent, the document that grants to district municipality, is signed by 35 residents. At this time, the municipality’s size was restricted to 100 square miles, or 259 square kilometres. A half-mile strip was left out of Surrey’s and Langley’s boundaries and voters decide they want to join Surrey.
1880: Three councillors are appointed to form the Board of Works and a resolution passes to request the formation of a school district or funds be given to establish a school.
1880-1946: Surrey holds annual election terms.
1881: A new municipal hall is built and the first meeting is held there on May 2. The land purchase (at what is now 168th Street and 60th Avenue) and contruction of the town hall was not to cost more than $400. The ward system is created. On Dec. 3 the Ward Bylaw passes and creates five wards with one councillor to represent each ward.
ABOVE: The 1881 Town Hall, pictured in 1912. (Courtesy of City of Surrey Archives)
1882: A new Letters Patent is created because of the boundary changes to include the discovered additional half of a mile. The Corporation of the District of Surrey becomes the largest municipality, geographically, in B.C.
1947: A two-year election term is introduced.
1956: White Rock separates from Surrey to become its own municipality.
1957: The ward system is abolished by the provincial government.
1960-73: Aldermen are elected annually, mayors are elected biennially.
1973-1990: Local governments are given the power to elect aldermen biennially at their discretion.
1987: New amendments to the Municipal Act require that all local elections be held in 1990 and every three years after that. Changes in the 1980s were to reduce costs, help increase voter participation and bring B.C. in line with other local election cycles across Canada.
1990: A three-year election term is introduced.
1993: Surrey becomes a city on Sept. 11.
2014: A four-year election term is introduced.
Courtesy of Surrey.ca
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