FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, September 26, 2026
SURREY, BC — Mike Starchuk today reaffirmed the commitment he made in Cloverdale in May: protect the Agricultural Land Reserve, stop speculative development on productive farmland, and build an agricultural economy Surrey can eat from. Nearly a third of Surrey is farmland. It is not a land bank.
The plan: a firm “no” from City Hall to exclude applications that take productive land out of the ALR without there being a large benefit to agriculture, and no City support for speculative subdivision on farmland. Farm-to-table procurement, so City facilities, community centres, and events buy from Surrey farms first. Bring back the “Sundays in September” farm to table in restaurants where restaurants are provided free city advertising for their set menus that have 2/3’s of their menu sourced from farms in Surrey. Showcasing our farmers’ products stimulates the local agricultural community and the customer gets the best tasting local produce anywhere in the province. A community garden program that doubles the number of plots. Support for the food banks and the farms that supply them. Promotion of farm visits and local tours. And the Cloverdale Fairgrounds will be revived as a year-round destination for agriculture, rodeo, and community events, developed with the Semiahmoo and Kwantlen First Nations.
Surrey’s farms are a $200 million economy that feeds the region and employs thousands, and they sit under constant pressure from people who see a field and calculate the condos. An Imagine Surrey council will treat farmland as infrastructure, because it is.
“The ALR is not a holding pattern until the right developer shows up,” said Starchuk. “It’s where Surrey’s food comes from, and it’s the reason a kid in Newton can still see a barn from a bus window. We’re keeping it.”
“I ran federally because the environment is the ground every other issue stands on, and in Surrey that ground is farmland,” said Kevin Wilkie, Imagine Surrey council candidate and 30-year resident. “Once a field becomes a parking lot it never comes back. We protect it now, or we explain to our kids why we didn’t.”
“Cloverdale is where I made this promise in May, and Cloverdale is where I’ll be held to it,” said Starchuk. “This October, put out the fire at City Hall and elect a team that will keep Surrey’s farmland farmland.”
Imagine Surrey is committed to strong services, including farmland and food security. Imagine Surrey’s full platform will be released over the coming weeks.
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About Imagine Surrey
Imagine Surrey is a civic party running a full slate of candidates in the October 17, 2026 municipal election. Led by mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk – a former firefighter and Chief Fire Prevention Officer, former City Councillor, and former MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale – Imagine Surrey is committed to making Surrey the City of Champions by delivering: safe streets, fast commutes, smart investments, lower costs, and strong services.
Council candidates: Yousef Aldabainah-Barakat, Chandan Chahal, Perminder Chohan, Narima Dela Cruz, Ashiyana Hanif, William Li, Dr. Margaret Mubanda, and Kevin Wilkie.
Contact
Trevor Loke, Campaign Manager
604-838-5178
[email protected] / [email protected]