Outgoing Mayor Brenda Locke says BC provincial election cost her the race
In an interview with the Vancouver Sun, Locke says momentum shifted in the final two to three weeks of the campaign after Premier Eby called a snap provincial vote.
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The Vancouver Sun reports that outgoing Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap provincial election disrupted her re-election campaign. In a wide-ranging interview, Locke said her internal polling had been steady until the provincial vote was announced, after which she felt a clear shift in the final two to three weeks of the campaign.
"This was never a 'change' election until the premier called the provincial election and caused voter confusion," Locke told the Sun.
A Leger poll taken before the October 17 vote found, according to the Sun, that 64 per cent of Surrey residents said they were looking for change. Locke and her Surrey Connect slate ran on a platform of continuing the work of the previous four years.
The vote count
Doug McCallum won the mayoral race with 42,745 votes, which is 31.8 per cent of all votes cast, according to the City of Surrey's official results. Locke received 30,886 votes, or 23.0 per cent. Five other candidates split the remaining votes, which Locke said was the core challenge for her side.
Locke told the Sun the vote split was decisive. "The people that voted against Doug McCallum far far exceeds the number that did," she said.
The arena and other projects
Locke told the Sun she expects McCallum to move quickly to cancel the 10,000-seat sports and entertainment arena project that her council had underway, along with other large capital projects. McCallum has said publicly that he will not use any public money for a large arena. His promise tracker on this site records two arena-related commitments: no public money for a large arena, and a forensic audit of the land deals connected to it.
"He did that when he got in the last time, and I imagine he'll be looking at doing that again because he's made some pretty significant, costly promises that he has to fund," Locke said.
She said she also hopes the incoming council will continue with fully funded projects that were already under construction, including the new Newton Community Centre.
The policing transition
Locke was elected in 2022 on a promise to keep the RCMP and halt the transition to a municipal police force that McCallum had started. Her council voted to stop it, but the province enforced the change. Surrey took the province to court.
Locke told the Sun: "We spent $1 million and got a quarter of a billion dollars from that court case."
What happens next
McCallum and the new council are scheduled to be sworn in at Surrey City Hall on Monday, November 2, at 7 pm. Surrey residents who want to follow what the council does with the arena and other promises can check the promise tracker on this site.
Questions this story answers
What did Brenda Locke say about why she lost the Surrey mayoral race?
In an interview with the Vancouver Sun, Locke said that Premier David Eby's decision to call a snap provincial election changed the campaign in its last two to three weeks. She said her internal polling had been steady on the issues voters cared about until that point, when momentum shifted. She said it became a change election after the provincial call, which she had not anticipated.
How many votes did Doug McCallum and Brenda Locke each receive?
According to the City of Surrey's official count, Doug McCallum received 42,745 votes, which was 31.8 per cent of all votes cast. Brenda Locke received 30,886 votes, which was 23.0 per cent. The City recorded 134,393 ballots cast in the mayoral race.
When does Doug McCallum take office as Surrey's mayor?
The inauguration ceremony for Mayor-elect Doug McCallum and the incoming council is scheduled for Monday, November 2, 2026, at Surrey City Hall. After the ceremony, the new council will hold its first regular council meeting. The term runs from November 2, 2026.
What did the Leger poll find about what Surrey voters wanted?
According to the Vancouver Sun, a Leger poll taken before the municipal election found that 64 per cent of Surrey residents said they were looking for change. Locke and her Surrey Connect slate ran on a promise to continue the progress of the previous four years, which put them on the opposite side of what the majority of polled residents said they wanted.
What is Brenda Locke's view of Doug McCallum's plans for the arena project?
Locke told the Vancouver Sun she expects McCallum to move to cancel the 10,000-seat sports and entertainment arena project that was underway during her term. McCallum has said he will not use public money for any large arena. His tracker on this site lists two promises related to the arena: no public money for a large arena, and a forensic audit of the land deals connected to the project.
What happened with the Surrey policing transition during Locke's term?
Locke was elected in 2022 on a promise to keep the RCMP and halt the transition to a municipal police force that McCallum had started. Her council voted to stop the transition, but the province overrode that decision and enforced the change. Locke told the Vancouver Sun that Surrey then took the province to court, spending $1 million in legal costs, and won $250 million from the settlement.
Does Brenda Locke plan to run for office again?
Locke told the Vancouver Sun she has no immediate plans to run again. She said she would spend time with family, volunteer and follow what happens at city hall, but added she would never rule it out entirely, given that she had previously said she would not run again before the 2022 election.
Where can Surrey residents follow the promises Doug McCallum made during the campaign?
The promise tracker at /bc/surrey-2026/tracker lists every commitment McCallum and the incoming councillors made during the 2026 campaign, along with a record of what has happened since the vote. The tracker covers promises on taxes, public safety, transit, the arena and other issues.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- Vancouver Sun: Disappointed Brenda Locke reflects on her time as Surrey's mayorvancouversun.com
- City of Surrey: Official election resultselectionresults.surrey.ca
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