Surrey Central - History and Demographics

History and Demographics

The Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, 1995 adopted during the 35th Canadian Parliament's 1st Session and the subsequent Representation Order, 1996, increased the number of electoral districts in British Columbia from 32 to 34, and increased the total number of seats in the House of Commons of Canada from 295 to 301. British Columbia's two new electoral districts, as created by the Electoral Boundaries Commission, were Surrey Central and Vancouver Kingsway. Surrey Central was created using the Surrey portion of the abolished Surrey—White Rock—South Langley and the southern and eastern portion of the geographically reduced Surrey North.

Data from the 1991 census placed the population of the new Surrey Central electoral district at 112,682 people. That figure was used to estimate that there were 82,322 electors during the 1997 election, about 14% higher than the average federal electoral district in British Columbia. For the 2000 election, the population estimate was adjusted using data from the 1996 census to 149,468 people (97,421 electors), making it the most populous electoral district in Canada. The 2001 census provided a more complete profile of the electoral district, showing it to have 179,165 people. The largest ethnic minority was South Asian at 28% of the population and 39% reported a mother tongue that was neither English or French. The two largest religious groups were Protestant at 25% and Sikh at 22%.

The Surrey Central electoral district existed until the June 2004 election which had new electoral districts in accordance with Representation Order, 2003. The total number of seats in the House of Commons had been increased from 301 to 308, giving British Columbia two more electoral districts. The reapportioning sent the western side, between the municipal boundary and King George Highway, to Newton—North Delta, and the southeastern portion, between Fraser Highway, 72nd Avenue and 160th Street, to South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale. A small portion was sent back to Surrey North but the majority of Surrey Central, including Barnston Island, formed the new Fleetwood—Port Kells electoral district.