In August, a total of 459 homes sold in three areas of Surrey: namely, Central Surrey, Cloverdale, and North Surrey, according to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. This doesn’t include the 187 houses that were bought in the same month in White Rock and South Surrey.

Surrey is easily the biggest market served by realtors belonging to the board, which also covers North Delta, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission.

But while B.C.’s second-largest municipality is seen by many as a place mostly for home purchases, Surrey has another dimension that Mike Bose wants to highlight.

Bose is a fourth-generation farmer; according to him, Surrey is unique in that parks, farms, and land for development are each a third of the city’s acreage.

“In Surrey, there’s a very strong desire within the voting public to preserve our productive agricultural lands and to enhance the lands that aren’t producing, to have greater food security,” Bose told the Straight by phone.

Bose, a nephew of former Surrey mayor Bob Bose, is running for council in the November 15 civic election.

Although public safety, transportation, and electoral reform are seen as the top election issues, Bose said he expects the environment and food security to also figure in the campaign.