Surrey councillor promises to hire 300 new police in mayoral bid

Less than a year ahead of the province’s next municipal elections, Surrey Coun. Linda Annis is making public safety one of the top priorities in her run for mayor.

At a public event over the weekend, Annis promised to boost hiring for the Surrey Police Service (SPS) if she is elected mayor.

She says that she would hire 300 more police officers over the next four years.

“I want to increase the size of the Surrey Police Service by 300 new officers over the next four years. That’s 75 new officers each year for the next four years,” she told media.

While acknowledging the cost of a potential hiring boost, she says it is necessary as Surrey will surpass Vancouver in population size in a few years.

“It’s also a time to look ahead. In a few short years, Surrey will be bigger than Vancouver and will also be home to more than 1 million residents,” she explained.

Annis hopes her plan will make the community safer in light of the increasing incidents of extortion and intimidation in Surrey.

She says that public safety has become the city’s biggest priority.

“The cost would be approximately $13 million each year. Policing is definitely expensive, but the fact is, without public safety, nothing else matters,” she said.

She adds that more police officers are also needed as the transition from the RCMP to SPS is coming to an end, after what she calls years of political delays.

As of late November, the SPS is investigating more than 100 extortion cases, 44 of which include gunfire.

The British Columbia municipal elections will be held on October 17, 2026.