Doug McCallum

Doug McCallum is a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Surrey, British Columbia, from 1996 to 2005 and again from 2018 to 2022. Born on April 19, 1944, he was first elected to Surrey City Council in 1993, representing the Surrey Electors Team, which included members of the Social Credit Party of British Columbia. During his council term, he chaired the Finance Committee and served on the Parks and Recreation Commission and Library Board. McCallum won the mayoral election in 1996, campaigning on enhanced public safety and zero-based budgeting to achieve zero-increase property taxes. He was re-elected in 1999 and 2002 but lost in 2005 to Dianne Watts.

In 2018, McCallum returned to politics with his Safe Surrey Coalition, opposing the planned Light Rail Transit system and advocating for an expanded SkyTrain network and a new municipal police force. He won the mayoral election that year but faced criticism in 2020 for banning Uber drivers in Surrey, citing job protection for taxi drivers. In 2021, he was charged with public mischief over a parking altercation but was acquitted in November 2022. McCallum lost the 2022 mayoral election to Brenda Locke and reportedly returned a damaged city-owned SUV after his defeat.