To varying degrees of support, the Conservative Party of British Columbia and BC NDP are promising to bring SkyTrain to Surrey’s Newton Town Centre if they form the next provincial government, putting the party behind a major rapid transit expansion also championed by Surrey mayor-elect Doug McCallum.
Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson announced this morning that his provincial government would work with the federal government to fund and build the SkyTrain extension along King George Boulevard.
The proposed route fully aligns with McCallum’s civic election promise to extend SkyTrain south along the same corridor to Newton.
This would most likely extend the existing Expo Line south from Surrey City Centre, adding a spur line to SkyTrain’s original route.
The Conservatives’ announcement also points to the cancellation of the previous street-level Surrey Newton-Guildford light rail transit (LRT) project in late 2018. That change occurred during McCallum’s previous administration. At its first meeting after taking office, Safe Surrey Coalition-led City Council passed a motion to cancel the LRT project and pursue a SkyTrain extension along Fraser Highway from the existing King George Station to Langley City Centre, which is now well under construction for completion in 2029.
If the Conservatives are elected, a Newton SkyTrain extension project would almost certainly cancel TransLink’s existing less ambitious proposal to build the King George Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line for about $700 million, with David Eby’s BC NDP including $250 million in their platform to fund the project.
“Families in Newton shouldn’t have to keep waiting on promises that never get delivered. This community has been patient for far too long. I’m committing to this project now, and a Conservative government will build it on time and on budget,” said Doerkson in a statement.
“British Columbians are tired of watching major projects go over budget and fall behind schedule. Our government will get it done right, and Newton will finally get the rapid transit it deserves.”
Surrey mayor-elect Doug McCallum sides with the Conservative’s SkyTrain promise
The BC NDP has also made a commitment, announcing this morning they would also support the development of SkyTrain to Newton.
BC NDP leader David Eby also says his party would work with McCallum to bring SkyTrain to Newton, pointing to the $250 million earmarked for public transit expansion in the BC NDP’s election platform, which is currently dedicated to the BRT project.
It should be noted that such a SkyTrain extension project would most certainly cost well over a billion dollars.
Eby acknowledged the funding was initially intended for TransLink’s BRT concept, reflecting the preference of outgoing Surrey mayor Brenda Locke. With McCallum elected on a promise to pursue SkyTrain, he said the BC NDP would bring that allocation to discussions about delivering an extension of the existing SkyTrain network.
“The new mayor wants to do SkyTrain all the way to Newton and the commitment is that we’ve got this money set aside,” said Eby this morning, when asked by media during an unrelated press conference.
He also compared the situation to the previous shift in Surrey’s rapid transit plans, when McCallum pushed to replace TransLink’s planned Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT project with SkyTrain’s Expo Line Surrey-Langley extension. Eby said his BC NDP-led provincial government worked with McCallum on that change and would again work with him on the city’s preferred approach.
Eby argued that the BC NDP’s proposed funding allocation gives its commitment more substance than the Conservatives’ announcement, accusing the rival party of promising a Newton extension without budgeting for it.
However, in a statement in reaction to both platform promises on the Newton SkyTrain extension, mayor-elect McCallum leaned more towards the commitment made by Doerkson’s Conservatives, which he says was a more explicit promise.
McCallum says the Conservatives clearly promised they would build the Newton SkyTrain extension, while the BC NDP said they would welcome “that conversation,” adding that “a commitment to build is not the same as a willingness to talk.”
“Surrey is the fastest-growing city in British Columbia and Newton is its largest community, and for years it has been underserved by transit and neglected by the governments that decide where rapid transit gets built. Newton has been promised its turn for as long as I can remember,” said McCallum.
“This week one party committed to build SkyTrain to Newton, and the other offered a meeting. Newton has been in meetings for years. It needs a commitment, and it needs shovels.”
The provincial general election’s main voting day is this Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
