You can’t manage BC’s soon-to-be biggest city or its $2 billion budget with a ready, fire, aim approach: Linda Annis
Surrey, B.C. (April 14, 2026): Surrey First Councillor and candidate for mayor Linda Annis says Doug McCallum’s decision to run for mayor should stress every city taxpayer.
Annis said McCallum has a “ready-fire-aim” approach to running the city, resulting in decisions that are never fully costed, or completely thought out.
“Doug McCallum campaigned on getting rid of the RCMP and creating a local police service,” said Annis. “He wouldn’t let Surrey voters have a say, so he pushed ahead and said he could do it quickly and for just 10 per cent more than the cost of having the RCMP. We’re now in year eight of the police transition, and while I definitely support our SPS, the fact is the cost of local policing is not 10 per cent more than the RCMP, and this transition has been anything but quick. Frankly, he and Brenda Locke mismanaged the whole process because details are just not important to them.”
Annis said the SkyTrain line from Surrey to Langley is another example of McCallum’s failure to drill down and look at the details.
“SkyTrain does a terrific job of connecting cities, but it does not do a good job of connecting neighbourhoods,” said Annis. “The 16 km SkyTrain project to Langley is behind schedule and at least $2 billion over budget. It’s costing $375 million per km. Meanwhile, the $1.65 billion LRT line that Doug McCallum cancelled was going to cost $165 million per km, and would have connected our neighbourhoods, and been open by now.”
McCallum’s decision to stop, then re-start the construction of the Cloverdale Ice Complex which former mayor Linda Hepner championed, meant the project was delayed and ultimately cost more, added Annis.
“When you don’t think things through, mistakes are made, projects are delayed, and costs go up,” added Annis. “I want more parks, pools, rinks, and playing fields, but I want them as part of a credible and costed 20 year plan that is less about politics and more about neighbourhoods and families.”
Annis also said she is skeptical of McCallum’s campaign promise of no tax increases for four years.
“When Doug McCallum was mayor, he boasted about his 2.9 percent tax increases, which was total fiction,” noted Annis. “You only had to look at your tax bill to see that all of his extra charges, such as increasing the flat rate parcel tax from $100 to $300, meant people were seeing their taxes go up by as much as 20 percent, something he didn’t want to talk about.”
Annis has called for a top-to-bottom core review of city services and expenses, with an eye to finding at least five per cent in savings and efficiencies, which is why she has committed to no residential or business property tax increases in 2027. She also wants an independent auditor general, which other big cities across the country already have.
“Doug McCallum and Brenda Locke both oppose the idea of an independent auditor general, which says a lot about how they manage your tax dollars,” said Annis. “An auditor general would be independent of any political interference and would ensure transparency and value for money, giving our taxpayers confidence about city finances.”
Annis said McCallum’s limited public safety comments and lack of details at his campaign launch show he is coming late to the issue.
“I’m committed to 300 new police officers over four years, and I was an early advocate of a Surrey Police Service helicopter,” said Annis. “At the same time, I want to see a police training centre in Surrey, real time police access to the city’s 600-plus traffic cameras, and another 600 police security cameras.”
Public safety has to be every city’s biggest priority, Annis said.
“Without a safe city, nothing else matters,” explained Annis. “No matter the issue, at city hall the devil is always in the detail. Unfortunately, Doug McCallum has shown again and again that he is not interested in the details, and when that’s the approach of our mayor, we all pay the price.”