Surrey mayor calls for \u2018more realistic\u2019 housing targets from provincial government<\/p>\n
Published 11:15 pm Monday, July 13, 2026<\/p>\n
Surrey\u2019s manager of planning and development Ron Gill told council on July 13 that while city hall has demonstrated \u201cstrong progress\u201d in meeting provincial government-imposed housing targets, these targets \u201cmay pose significant challenges\u201d as they become progressively larger, reaching \u201cunprecedented levels\u201d in 2028 and 2029.<\/p>\n
Mayor Brenda Locke asked Gill if these targets will be adjusted considering the federal government has made \u201csignificant\u201d changes to its immigration policy. \u201cAssuming that has an impact on housing, I would assume,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so have they adjusted those?\u201d<\/p>\n
Locke also asked why the provincial targets \u201cseem so elevated\u201d compared to the federal targets Surrey gets through the Housing Accelerator Fund. \u201cThere seems to be a real discrepancy there,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
She also noted the provincial government cancelled eight housing projects in Surrey. \u201cI think it was 954 units of housing \u2013 are those 954 housing units factored into this? That\u2019s a significant percentage of what our target number would be ultimately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gill replied that Surrey is \u201ccertainly on target\u201d largely due to the record year it had in 2024 but this year has been \u201csignificantly\u201d lower because of things outside of city hall\u2019s control such as immigration and market conditions. \u201cAnd yet the targets continue to ramp up, so there certainly is risk \u2013 I would say significant risk that the city will not, if the targets are not adjusted, the city will not meet the 2028 and 2029 targets if we remain on the current trajectory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Locke said it\u2019d be \u201cprudent\u201d for city hall to send a letter to the housing minister \u201cjust to talk about adjusting those numbers to make them more realistic because as they continue to ramp up it\u2019s pretty obvious that kind of housing stock is not going to keep building in our city, that\u2019s not realistic so they need to review it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Surrey housing target analysis indicates city hall granted occupancy to 5,307 new units between July 1, 2025 and June 30 for a cumulative 11,795 since the provincial Ministry of Housing issued Surrey its target of achieving a total of 27,256 by June 30, 2029.<\/p>\n
The ministerial order was issued on July 1, 2024, establishing the five-year expectation these housing units be constructed by then.<\/p>\n