Article content continued

Ralston is the MLA for Surrey-Whalley, the riding that includes the area around Surrey City Centre.

The idea of promoting Surrey as the region’s “second downtown” isn’t new, and predates Ralston’s time in provincial politics. He remembers discussion of that subject when he was a Surrey city councillor in the 1980s and 1990s.

In January 1990, The Vancouver Sun reported on a plan to make Surrey’s Whalley area into what then-mayor Bob Bose called “the province’s second city centre.”

“It will rival the downtown centre of Vancouver,” Bose said at the time.

There’s a “compelling” case for promoting Surrey as a “second downtown,” especially as Vancouver becomes even more expensive and crowded, said Jock Finlayson, executive vice-president of the B.C. Business Council.

“In our view here at the Business Council, the future of the Lower Mainland economy is pretty critical to the future of the entire province, so we’re pleased the B.C. government is perhaps going to play more of a leadership role in trying to shape the environment for economic development here in Metro, because we need it,” Finlayson said.

With Surrey’s location near the American border, it’s also expected to play an important role in the so-called “Cascadia mega-region,” which encompasses the urban centres of B.C., Washington and Oregon. Earlier this year, when the Washington state Department of Transportation released a business case analysis for a high-speed rail connection linking Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. The plan considers placing the northern terminus for the route in Surrey.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum also indicated his support for the quantum project. In an emailed statement Tuesday, McCallum wrote: “City council and I look forward to working closely with the B.C. government to expedite this visionary project that will benefit not only the people of Surrey, but all who call B.C. home.”

“Surrey’s City Centre has established itself as a hub for innovation,” he wrote. “Our location, along with our expertise and experience, make Surrey the ideal place to advance technology and innovation in the province.”

dfumano@postmedia.com

twitter.com/fumano