The riding was first created out of the two-member Surrey district, which had been in existence since 1966, and first returned members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the 1986 election. Surrey had always been a battleground between the NDP and Social Credit, trading back and forth between the two parties. The riding was represented by Premier Rita Johnston, who was a prominent Cabinet minister in the Vander Zalm government between 1986 and 1991.
In 1991, Penny Priddy defeated Johnston in a realigning election that saw Social Credit experience massive defeats all across the province. During the NDP government from 1991 to 2001, Priddy emerged as a prominent Cabinet minister in portfolios such as Women's Equality, Tourism and Culture, Health, Labour and Children and Families.
Although the riding was won by the Liberals during their 2001 landslide victory, it has been a relatively safe NDP seat since the 2005 election. The riding is home to a large South Asian community, whose population grew tremendously in the city Surrey starting in the early 1990s. The shift towards the NDP can largely be attributed to the party's inroads in the Indo-Canadian community.
Demographics
Population, 2001
50,281
Population change, 1996–2001
16.4%
Area (km2)
21
Population density (people per km2)
2,388
Geography
1999 redistribution
Surrey-Newton has its entire southern half removed.
History
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graph of provincial election results in Surrey-Newton (minor parties are combined into "Others")
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