FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
SURREY, BC — Mike Starchuk today set out the affordable housing record of the three legacy parties. On September 15, 2025, the province announced 262 homes for Semiahmoo Town Centre, 202 non-market rentals, 40 supportive homes, and 20 complex-care homes. On November 17, Locke and Linda Annis voted to send all 262 back to staff, and Doug McCallum’s Safe Surrey councillors voted with them. The vote was unanimous. On February 19, BC Housing wrote to council to say the project would no longer proceed, along with a second in City Centre, and that six more, five of them on City-owned land, were deferred. By the mayor’s own count, that is 954 homes and $421 million down the drain thanks to the continued chaos of Brenda, Doug, and Linda. Surrey needs a change.
Surrey knows how to approve towers. It beat the province’s housing target last year. What the old parties have not built is homes for the people who keep the city running. CMHC found that even with vacancies across Metro Vancouver at a 30-year high, only 1% to 2% of the units a lower-income household can afford were empty.
An Imagine Surrey council would have said yes on November 17, and will say yes when City staff recommend homes people can afford. Supportive and complex-care housing belongs on transit arteries with services on site, in every part of the city, and more supportive housing, built with BC Housing and Fraser Health, to cut down on homelessness. A City Land for Housing inventory published in year one and offered to non-profits, co-ops, and Indigenous housing providers, with covenants that keep the homes affordable for decades. Incentives for below-market homes. Renters protected. And a mayor who can get a meeting in Victoria: Starchuk is asking every leader in the October 24 provincial election to commit to restoring the 954 homes BC Housing stopped in Surrey, and an Imagine Surrey council will have the sites and the approvals ready the day the money returns.
Imagine Surrey is asking Brenda Locke, Doug McCallum, and Linda Annis to answer three questions before October 17. Would you vote yes on the 262 homes today? Where in Surrey should supportive and complex-care housing go, by street? And will you ask the next provincial government to restore the 954 homes that you killed?
“Staff said yes. The province was at the table. Council said no to 60 homes and lost all 262, and three months later the province walked away from 954,” said Starchuk. “I would have said yes. I’m the only candidate in this race who would have.”
“I fostered children for 15 years and spent 21 years as a social worker. Complex-care housing is not an abstraction to me. It is the difference between a hospital bed, a jail cell, and a home,” said Dr. Margaret Mubanda, Imagine Surrey council candidate. “Council had 262 homes in front of it and said no. We will do better for you.”
“The old parties have had their turn, and 262 homes people could afford are still an empty lot,” said Starchuk. “This October, put out the fire at City Hall and elect a team that will say yes to homes people can afford.”
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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]