Voters in Surrey look for change in municipal election: survey

A new poll shows voters in Surrey want to see change in the upcoming municipal election.

“When you compare the City of Surrey to the rest of Metro Vancouver, and also the City of Vancouver, there’s a widespread discontent,” said Steve Mossop, executive vice president at Leger’s Vancouver office.

In a recent Leger survey for Postmedia, it shows Surrey’s incumbent Mayor Doug McCallum may be in trouble, with an approval rating significantly lower than other nearby cities.

“The mayor and council only have an approval rating of 26 per cent, which is very low relative to approval ratings for other jurisdictions. We looked at places like Coquitlam and Burnaby, and they have ratings of over 50 to 60 per cent,” Mossop said.

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More than three-quarters of voters surveyed think it is time for a change.

“We typically ask that at election time, ‘How many people think that it’s time for a change in government at the municipal level?’ And the number is really, what I would call, off the charts. 76 per cent say that there’s a desire for change.” Mossop said.

Mossop notes that 53 per cent of people said that Surrey is worse-off compared with what it was like four years ago.

Compared with the rest of Canada, Mossop says this is over double the amount of people that would say this about their municipalities or townships — including 35 per cent in Metro Vancouver.

“Surrey stands out as the worst of us,” he explains.

Surrey’s municipal election is on Saturday, Oct. 15, where eight candidates are running for mayor.