Newton, Surrey

Newton
Town centre of Surrey
East facing view of 72 Avenue in Newton.
Newton Location of Newton within Metro Vancouver
Coordinates: 49°08′00″N122°50′29″W / 49.1333°N 122.8413°W / 49.1333; -122.8413
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Lower Mainland
Regional District	Metro Vancouver
City	Surrey
Government
•  Mayor	Brenda Locke
•  MP (Fed.)	Sukh Dhaliwal (Liberal)
•  MLA (Prov.)	Jessie Sunner (NDP)
Population  (2016)
• Total	149,040 [1]
Time zone	UTC−8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)

Newton is a town centre of the city in Surrey, British Columbia. It is the location for the previous Surrey City Hall and Courthouse, two local Surrey Public Library branches, and a Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus. The studios of radio station Red FM are also located here.

History

Prior to the arrival of European settlers, what is now Newton was the territory of Coast Salish peoples of the Katzie, Kwantlen, and Semiahmoo first nations. ^[2]

Newton is named after settler Elias John Newton (January 29, 1841 – August 1, 1907), a saddler and harness-maker, who settled in the area in 1886 after being raised in Richmond, Ottawa, Ontario. His real name was Villeneuve (which translates to "New Town" from French), but surrounded by anglophone neighbours, he translated his last name to its English equivalent. ^{[3] : 189}

In the 19th century, much of the coniferous forest in Newton was logged to provide space for farms. Settlement increased greatly at the end of World War I, when settler farmers built farms surrounding the stumps remaining from previous logging. ^[4]

The BC Electric Railway stimulated Newton’s growth and helped to establish the corner of 72 Avenue and King George Boulevard when they opened the Newton Station in 1910. ^[5]

Newton Elementary opened in 1914, with further city services opening later in the 1970s and 80s. ^[4]

Geography

For planning purposes, the City of Surrey generally considers Newton's borders to be: 120 Street on the west; Colebrook Road to the south, and 152 Street to the east. The northern boundary varies between 80 and 88 avenues.

To the south of Newton is Boundary Bay; the northern portion of it is called Mud Bay, also the name of a park and the lands adjacent to it. ^{[6] [7]}

Newton Mural by Danny Fernandez. From left to right the mural features the Newton Wave Pool, men walking in Surrey's Vaisakhi parade, and a Skytrain heading to Newton (despite no such skytrain route existing).

Newton sits roughly 100 meters (318 feet) above sea level. Newton has a land area of roughly 48.69 km² (18.80 mi²).

Demographics

Newton has the largest population of all the city's town centres, ^[9] as well as the most ethnically diverse population; over half of the population is ethnically South Asian (predominantly Punjabi). ^[10] As of 2016, the population of Newton stands at 149,040. ^[11]

Faith in Newton, Surrey (2021) ^[12]

   Sikh (51.5%)

   Christian (16.4%)

  No religion (13.9%)

   Muslim (8.7%)

   Hindu (8.1%)

   Buddhist (0.9%)

   Jewish (0.1%)

  Other faiths (0.4%)

Ethnic groups in Newton (2016) Source: [1]		%
Ethnic group	South Asian	58%
	European	25%
	Filipino	5%
	Chinese	3%
	Arab	3%
	Aboriginal	2%
	Other	4%
Total %		100%

Languages spoken in Newton (2016) Source: [1]		%
Language	English	54%
	Punjabi	33%
	Hindi	2%
	Arabic	1%
	Tagalog	1%
	Other	8%
Total %		100%

Culture

Surrey's annual Vaisakhi parade takes place in Newton. It is the largest outside of India, with the Surrey RCMP estimating an attendance of more than 500,000 people in 2024. ^{[13] [14]}

Transportation

Translink operates bus service throughout Newton, with two bus stations and two RapidBus lines. The R1 King George Blvd RapidBus runs to Newton Exchange from Guildford Exchange, with stops at King George and Surrey Central skytrain stations. ^[15] The R6 Scott Rd connects Scott Road Skytrain Station, North Delta, and Newton. ^[16] In addition to Newton Exchange, Scottsdale Exchange is located in the Scottsdale area of Newton.

Industry

Newton is home to the majority of Surrey's industrial base. ^[2]

See also

• Surrey-Newton provincial electoral district
• Surrey-Panorama Ridge provincial electoral district
• Newton-North Delta federal electoral district

Notes

1. "Newton Neighbourhood Profile" (PDF). City of Surrey. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 28, 2019.
2. "Newton | City of Surrey". www.surrey.ca. February 4, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
3. Akrigg, G.P.V.; Akrigg, Helen B. (1986), British Columbia Place Names (3rd, 1997 ed.), Vancouver: UBC Press, ISBN   0-7748-0636-2
4. "1.3 History" (PDF). Newton Town Centre Plan: 12. June 2020.
5. "Newton". surrey.ca. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
6. "Mud Bay". BC Geographical Names .
7. "Mud Bay (locality)". BC Geographical Names .
8. "Artists transform a dingy alley in Surrey, B.C., into an arts hub". CBC. April 21, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
9. "Surrey Population Estimates and Projections". City of Surrey. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
10. "City of Surrey Community Profile: Newton" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2006.
11. "Newton Neighbourhood Profile" (PDF). City of Surrey. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
12. "Surrey--Newton Profile table". Statistics Canada. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023.
13. "Surrey, B.C., Vaisakhi parade draws Sikhs from around the world". CBC. April 20, 2024.
14. Crawford, Tiffany (April 20, 2024). "Surrey Vaisakhi Parade draws 550,000 participants | Emergency services deal with 'hazardous situation'".
15. "TransLink announces launch of new RapidBus service | Urbanized". dailyhive.com. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
16. "TransLink to launch new Surrey-Delta RapidBus by 2023 | Urbanized". dailyhive.com. Retrieved November 21, 2024.

External links

• City of Surrey website