Surrey city council's regular meeting was all-in for Canada on Monday, March 10 beginning with everyone in chambers standing to sing the national anthem.
With four large Canadian flags draped on the wall behind council, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said the "on again, off again" tariff war started by U.S. President Donald Trump has her "increasingly concerned about the uncertainty around those tariffs. It is becoming a plague on our healthy economy and having detrimental effects on the livelihoods of our families on both sides of the border.
"I can tell you there are already people looking at moving their businesses south of the border and that is a huge concern," she said. Locke later told the Now-Leader she doesn't have an exact number but she's personally spoken with three businesses that are looking at property in Washington State. "They're not doing it because they want to leave Canada, they're doing it because they feel they must do it for the fiscal reality that they're in right now. That's concerning, because once people start to leave you never know how that's going to end up."
"It's not just here, it's happening right across the country."
Surrey is the only city in Canada to share two land border crossings with the U.S.
"We are a border town in Surrey – we're hit first and worst, so we're very concerned about that," Locke said at the meeting. "I have been meeting with PacifiCan – that's a federal government body. I'm making sure that we have a relationship with them because ultimately they will be helping us deliver rapid response on how we can support both workers and businesses."
Later on in Monday night's meeting council approved a city staff recommendation to award a $1,267,042.56 contract to First Truck Centre Vancouver Inc. to supply Surrey with two compressed natural gas-fuelled tandem-axle dumps trucks along with winter maintenance equipment, but not before Councillor Doug Elford asked if they were procured through the U.S. and "if we were to face tariffs, what would the impact be on a purchase like this?"
Surrey's general manager of engineering Scott Neuman confirmed the trucks were procured from the U.S.
"We do our procurement where we post throughout Western Canada and unfortunately there's no Canadian manufacturers of these types of vehicles. In regards to the tariffs, the fee or the quote was already secured prior to the tariffs so staff don't believe there's a risk on the City in light of that, for these two purchases," Neuman told council. "Going forward though, we could look at increased costs for future vehicles if you would."
City manager Rob Costanzo noted that the City of Surrey is "one of the largest" producers of renewable natural gas and so these trucks complement its fleet's transition to compressed natural gas. "So it's a really good news story for the city," he told council. "In the long term, these vehicles reflect a savings to the City in the magnitude of $150,000 plus just through the use of that renewable natural gas."
Also during Monday's meeting council considered a corporate report concerning 2025 public art street banners, with staff recommending that the City of Surrey engage with artists Angie Quintanilla Coates and Lay Hoon to complete the design for banners to be installed on some 100 street poles "near significant cultural destinations" in Surrey.
But council sent the report back to city staff for a re-working, at Locke's request, to ensure the banners carry a Canada-first message. "Given current global circumstances, particularly those affecting trade and national unity," Locke said, "I believe it is important to explore a Canada-first theme for our public banners, especially at this time."
By referring the report back to staff, Locke said, "we can consider ways to incorporate a strong Canadian focus while respecting and building on artists' excellent work. I want to emphasize that this request in no way diminishes the merit of Ms. Coates' and Ms. Hoon's design; rather it seeks to enhance their vision by combining Surrey's cultural vibrancy with a broader celebration of national identity."
