Surrey Police Board names new chief constable, McCallum wants board removed
Published 2:00 pm Friday, October 30, 2026
Surrey Police Service has a new chief constable.
Surrey Police Board announced Friday (Oct. 30) that Todd Matsumoto, interim chief, has been made permanent in the role, effective Friday, Oct. 30.
“This is an exciting day for Surrey Police Service,” board chair Perm Jawanda said in a news release. “We are confident Todd Matsumoto is the right leader to guide SPS forward as we continue building a strong, modern and effective police service for the people of Surrey.”
Reacting to the news Friday, Surrey mayor-elect Doug McCallum said Matsumoto’s appointment, made “on the last business day before the new council is sworn in, is Brenda Locke’s handpicked board doing exactly what it was built to do: carry out the mayor’s wishes after the voters have shown the mayor the door.”
Scorn is not directed at Matsumoto, the incoming mayor insists.
“The union stands behind him, he will have my support and SPS officers will get the helicopter, drones and resources I promised,” McCallum said in a news release ahead of Monday’s inaugural council meeting (Nov. 2).
“The only reason to do this on Friday was to do it before Monday,” McCallum added. “Today I am calling on the Province to remove this entire board, every member of it, and appoint a new, non-partisan board through a public process, immediately.”
Matsumoto, first hired by SPS in February 2021, has been interim chief constable since June, following the June 1 ousting of founding SPS chief constable Norm Lipinski, who was let go eight months into a renewed ongoing contract.
Lipinski filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court on Sept. 28 asking the court to overturn his firing, claiming his “purported termination was motivated by extraneous political considerations disconnected from Chief Lipinski’s conduct or competence, and was not conducted in accordance with the common law, the Police Act, or the board’s own governance requirements.”
Matsumoto’s appointment follows “a comprehensive national search process led by a respected executive search firm,” according to the police board.
“The process included a thorough community and stakeholder engagement process, seeking input on a broad array of topics including challenges for and desired attributes of the new Chief Constable.”
Matsumoto has more than three decades of leadership experience in municipal policing and public safety, including across many “of the most significant initiatives in the SPS’s history,” the release continues.
According to a biography at surreypolice.ca, he started his career with the New Westminster Police Department in 1993.
At SPS, he first served as the officer in charge of the Investigative Services Bureau, and in May 2023, shifted to overseeing its Corporate Services Bureau, the bio continues.
“It is an honour to continue to serve and lead Surrey Police Service,” Matsumoto said in the news release.
“Our greatest assets are our people and our relationship with the community we serve. My focus will continue to be transparency, consistent communication and relationship-based leadership.”
The announcement does not mention Lipinski, but notes that at the time Matsumoto assumed the interim chief role, “SPS was facing a period of significant organizational change.”
He “brought stability, strengthened the organization’s relationships, and was instrumental in the successful renewal of the collective agreement with the Surrey Police Union,” it continues.
SPU president Sgt. Ryan Buhrig described Matsumoto as “the right person for the job.”
“His appointment is a positive signal to our members on the bright future of SPS.”
– with files from Tom Zytaruk and Tom Zillich