Surrey museum still searching for a new home

Surrey museum still searching for a new home Published 9:30 pm Wednesday, July 15, 2026 They still don’t have a home.

Surrey museum still searching for a new home Published 9:30 pm Wednesday, July 15, 2026 They still don’t have a home. The B.C. Vintage Truck Museum has been searching for a new location since 2023.

The museum’s seemingly insurmountable quest to find a new space—they have 40-plus vintage trucks and more than 5,000 pieces of automotive memorabilia—began after the City of Surrey notified the all-volunteer run museum their lease would not be renewed when it expired in 2027. According to an October 2023 City of Surrey corporate report, the museum’s roof is “beyond economical repair” as the cost to replace it exceeds the value of the building. As such, the truck aficionados—and all their vintage vehicles—orginaily noted they had to be out by November 2027, after their lease ends.

In the report, the city wrote it may redevelop the spot the museum is currently sitting on or sell the southwest-corner lot of Fairgrounds’ property. Mike Breed, a volunteer with the Surrey Heritage Society, the not-for-profit organization that runs the truck museum, said it’s not all bad news anymore. In the three years since that report, the city has agreed to let the museum stay in its current spot for the time being and they are allowed to repair the roof as they see fit.

This will get them through until a permanent home can be found. “We went to the city three years ago about the need to repair the roof,” he said. “They got prices—absolutely exorbitant figures, absolutely crazy figures—and they would not touch it.

And rightfully so. An old building like this, why would you put $700,000 or 800,000 into it?” Breed agrees with the city’s decision.

“Thankfully, the city told us we can do our own patching and fixing, as needed, for leaks,” he added. “It’s gotten so bad, that when it does rain, we’ve got buckets everywhere.” Breed noted they now have a retired roofer who’s joined their volunteer ranks.

The roofer plans to patch and repair some of the more serious issues to help get the museum through until a new home is found. “We are hoping we have a future here on the ‘Grounds,” he added. “Depending on how the plans go to redevelop the ‘Grounds, maybe there’s a place for us in a different building?”

Breed said their new plan for a future home has now been stretched out to five more years. “I feel that we are comfortable for that amount of time,” he explained. “I believe we can find something in that amount of time.”

He also noted they are out of space. With the collection filling up every corner of the sprawling museum, a new location would have been needed anyway. Paul Orazietti, executive director of the Cloverdale BIA, said the B.C. Vintage Truck Museum is a “great addition” to Cloverdale and the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.

He said the museum is another jewel in the crown of both Surrey and B.C. heritage. “The museum is real B.C. history. It’s not replaceable.

It’s one of a kind. There are some very valuable and rare vehicles there.” Noting the museum is “unique” in B.C., he added it’s part of B.C.’s trucking history and would work well remaining Cloverdale as part of a “heritage area” that includes the heritage railway, the Museum of Surrey and its heritage campus, and the Fairgrounds itself.

“It would elevate the City of Surrey’s entertainment district to a provincial level,” Orazietti explained. “A museum like this enshrines our history. So from that perspective, the truck museum is indispensable and it makes sense for it to be a part of the future of the Fairgrounds.”

Truck museum members have logged more than 115,000 volunteer hours since 2012 both restoring and preserving vintage vehicles and their history for future generations. The B.C. Vintage Truck Museum is located on the south-west corner of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. It’s open every Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more info, visit bcvintagetruckmuseum.org.