Surrey, BC – The City of Surrey has been ranked by the Financial Times’ fDi Intelligence division among the Top 10 Mid-Sized Americas Cities of the Future. Surrey ranked eighth and marks the second time Surrey has ranked in the Top 10, rising two spots from 2019/20. The Americas Cities of the Future 2020/21 report ranks the competitiveness of cities across North America and South America, including the Caribbean and Central America.
“We’re proud that Surrey continues to be a world-class city for investment and innovation,” said Mayor Doug McCallum. “Our continual growth as an investment destination is supported by our diverse business network and strong innovative environment. These initiatives, along with our newly streamlined development and permitting process, have helped to keep Surrey resilient through the pandemic and ensures we are not starting from a stand still as we emerge from COVID.”
The rankings are based on fDi’s Benchmark and fDi’s Markets tools, which analyzes quality and cost competitiveness of the cities across 700 data points. The fDi Strategy category further includes a judging process for COVID response initiatives, investment wins, investor aftercare initiatives, promotion of investment decisions, and digital and multimedia activities.
The City’s vision is to become the regional nexus for commerce and a nationally recognized centre for innovation. Despite the pandemic, the City’s Economic Development division has attracted over $26 million in capital investments and created 250 jobs in 2020.