Surrey receives 2 prestigious economic development awards<\/p>\n
Published 5:00 pm Thursday, August 20, 2026<\/p>\n
The City of Surrey has received two 2026 Excellence in Economic Development Awards from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). <\/p>\n
These awards are said to recognize the city\u2019s leadership and reputation in supporting business growth and strengthening the local economy, the city shared in a release. <\/p>\n
Surrey received a silver award in the Postsecondary Education Partnership category for Innovation Boulevard and a bronze award in the Innovative Economic Development category for the Surrey Agritech Strategy 2026. <\/p>\n
Innovation Boulevard was created in partnership between the City of Surrey and Simon Fraser University with the goal of helping businesses adopt new technologies and expand them.<\/p>\n
Since 2025, the initiative has supported more than 250 businesses through training, industry events and projects, the release said. <\/p>\n
Launched in 2026, the Surrey Agritech Strategy is described as focusing on innovation, collaboration and practical technology solutions to help local farmers and producers remain productive and resilient.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City of Surrey is leading the field of excellence in economic development with its Innovation Boulevard and Surrey Agritech Strategy initiatives,\u201d Nathan Ohle, president and CEO of the IEDC, said in the release. \u201cThese awards shine a spotlight on Surrey\u2019s commitment to its community and showcase the significant impact of economic development. IEDC is honoured to present this award to the City of Surrey to celebrate their leadership and innovation in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyler Westover, the city\u2019s director of business and government relations, agreed. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese initiatives are built on strong partnerships and practical support for Surrey businesses and producers,\u201d he said in the release. \u201cBy connecting industry with resources, expertise and technology, we\u2019re helping create the conditions for long-term economic growth across Surrey.\u201d <\/p>\n
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke noted in the release how proud she is to see the city\u2019s work being recognized on an international stage. <\/p>\n
\u201cBehind these initiatives are local entrepreneurs, farmers and partners who are helping build new opportunities and a stronger future for our community,\u201d said Locke.<\/p>\n
The release states that the City will be recognized at the IEDC 2026 Annual Conference in New Orleans, U.S. from Oct. 25 to 28, 2026. <\/p>\n
Learn more about Surrey\u2019s Innovation Boulevard and the Agritech Strategy at innovationboulevard.ca<\/a> and investsurrey.ca\/market-data-resources\/reports-strategies\/agritech-strategy-2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Surrey receives 2 prestigious economic development awards Published 5:00 pm Thursday, August 20, 2026 The City of Surrey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-865737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}