KPU holds land-awakening ceremony for Surrey campus daycare

Elders from the Semiahmoo, Katzie, and Kwantlen First Nations, the territories Kwantlen Polytechnic University campuses reside on, held a land-awakening ceremony on Nov. 13 for the KPU Surrey daycare.

The 61-space facility will be built on the S6 parking lot, facing 126 Street. It will include 36 spaces for infants and toddlers and 25 spaces for children between two-and-a-half and pre-school age.

The facility was announced in 2023, with funding from Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC). Métis children will have priority access to some spaces in the facility. 

A land-awakening ceremony offers an opportunity to reconnect with and honour the land. It is an Indigenous practice regarded as a sign of appreciation. 

The ceremony included blessing the land with medicines sacred to the Semiahmoo, Katzie, and Kwantlen First Nations. 

“It’s no longer going to be a parking lot. It’s going to be a building for children — for our future,” said Sqwayeten Cheryl Gabriel, a Kwantlen First Nation Elder. 

KPU Elder-in-Residence Lekeyten said the ceremony is a way for ancestors to bless the land before machines come and touch the sacred Earth. 

“Single moms and dads can come to university and not worry about leaving class to go pick up their child at a daycare centre — it’s going to be right here,” he said. “KPU will fulfill the dreams of what they want to offer students coming from all over the world.”

President Bruce Choy said the child-care centre will also provide on-campus learning opportunities for students enrolled in the early childhood care and education diploma at KPU.

“Surrey faces a critical shortage of child care, and the demand far exceeds the supply. Once complete, this new facility will provide 61 much needed child-care spaces for children of care, new students, and employees,” he said. 

Choy said the daycare would not be possible without financial support from the federal and provincial governments, as well as MNBC. 

“Today, we mark a very significant moment for KPU,” Choy said.  

Construction for the daycare is set to be complete by 2027 and will be led by Vancouver-based Turner Construction Company, with Public Architecture leading design.

Child-care operations will be supported by Alex House, a non-profit organization that provides neighbourhood housing, and Capilano University. The Surrey Community Child Care Task Force, a joint organization between Alex House and the City of Surrey that is responsible for developing sustainable child-care facilities in the region, will also support operations.

“It’s important that all children feel a sense of belonging starting from birth and throughout their early years,” MNBC Region 2 Director Allan Lavallee said. “By creating a space like this and providing opportunities for Métis child-care professionals to share resources, we’re helping all children feel included and proud of who they are.”

Surrey-Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal said the Liberal government’s first priority when it won the House in 2015 was to foster partnerships with provinces and invest in child-care spaces. 

“When it comes to ceremonies like this, it reminds us that every new beginning should start with respect,” Dhaliwal said. “It means respect for the land we are gathered on and respect for our Elders who [have cared] for these lands for many, many generations, and have given opportunities to immigrants like myself to come here and prosper.” 

Dhaliwal said students need facilities like the daycare to fulfill their goals and that the federal government is “very committed when it comes to empowering women.” 

Surrey-Guildford MLA Gary Begg, who is also the parliamentary secretary for Surrey infrastructure, said he can’t wait to return to the university grounds when the daycare opens its doors in a few years. 

“Coming together to celebrate this project in such a meaningful way is a great start to this important project. I look forward to one day seeing young children here learning about how they are connected to this land and our community,” Begg said.