Surfing from Vancouver means a trip. Reaching Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, takes a ferry crossing of up to two hours from the mainland and then a drive of about three more. Tiger Bay's head of development, Tony Petricevic, made the case for a mainland surf park to Pique Newsmagazine in 2022: "rather than going surfing a few times a year," surfers could go "a few times in a week." British Columbia has been an obvious wave pool market for years, and our directory still lists no open surf park anywhere in Canada.
That is starting to change. The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) has received a Form and Character, Environmental Protection, and Natural Hazards Protection Development Permit application for the South Britannia surf park and commercial buildings, which it is processing as one Comprehensive Development Permit. The SLRD's record of the application is dated July 29, 2026, and it follows the Zoning and OCP Amendment Bylaw approval the project received on May 28, 2025. The Globe and Mail reported that site work began in late August 2026.
What is being built
The surf park is part of Phase One. According to The Globe and Mail, it is a heart-shaped, six-acre Wavegarden lagoon near the middle of the site, with a beach house holding a restaurant, bar, cafe, retail, meeting space, wellness facilities, surf cabins and a surf academy. The residential, retail and amenity phases follow, and the paper reported that they are not expected to be advanced until after the surf park is complete.
Petricevic told the paper that, to respect the existing surf community, the team worked with groups such as Surf Canada and the Olympic training team to make sure they were on board. The surf park and beach house were designed by Vancouver's Michael Green Architecture with engineering firm Stantec, with Wavegarden supplying the wave system; the master plan is by Ecosign Mountain Resort Planners and Placemark Design.
The wave
South Britannia is a Wavegarden Cove, the same platform running at The Wave near Bristol, Lost Shore in Scotland, Alaia Bay in Switzerland, and DSRT Surf in California, which opened bookings in September 2026. That is the most useful thing to know about it, because a Cove is a known quantity. It produces up to 1,000 waves an hour, from reforming waves for beginners to barreling waves for pros, and it can run different levels in different parts of the pool at once.
The Squamish Chief reported capacity of up to 80 surfers at a time across the six-acre lagoon. Neither the developer's site nor the SLRD's application page gives a module count. That figure matters: Wavegarden says more modules make longer waves and a wider variety of them, though they also mean fewer waves per hour.
Britannia Beach has done this before
In 2022, Ka'ana Wave Co ran a pop-up surf park at Britannia Beach to launch its technology.
Ka'ana went on to back East Point Reef Club at Bridal Falls, near Chilliwack, which is built around its CM7 surf pool technology. As of 11 October 2026, its eatery and general store are open, and surf and spa are both listed as coming soon. So British Columbia has now hosted a temporary wave pool, has a standing wave in progress, and has a full-size destination lagoon under way. Neither of the permanent projects is open yet. You can see the full picture on our Canada page.
The community is the business model
The surf park anchors a much larger plan. South Britannia is a master-planned community on a former quarry site on the shore of Howe Sound, and the approved plan allows up to 1,050 homes: 900 market units plus 150 rental and affordable apartments, alongside hotels, waterfront lodging, cabins, glamping, retail, and a transit hub. The developer's phasing puts the surf park, beach house, cabins, and trails in Phase One from 2026 to 2029, homes and the surf hotel in Phase Two from 2030, and full build-out in Phase Three from 2035.
Tiger Bay concluded that the surf park was financially feasible and that it made the overall project more feasible too, because it made way for other commercial components, The Globe and Mail reported. We track the same pattern at The Desperado in Waco, Veranda West in Utah, and DSRT Surf in the California desert.
Read the date carefully
The date has moved before. When Tiger Bay unveiled the surf park proposal at a September 2019 open house, the Squamish Chief reported an anticipated 2023 opening; in December 2023, Daily Hive reported that it could open sometime in 2027; the current target is 2029.
Update, 11 September 2026: The Globe and Mail reported on 8 September that site work began in late August, and that the surf park is expected to open in 2029. That moves this from a paper filing to a project where, in the paper's words, "shovels are now in the ground."
That report describes the lagoon as six acres, the figure in earlier coverage. Connect CRE's report on the permit application, published on 5 August 2026, described a seven-acre surf park.
Two steps are next. The SLRD says the Comprehensive Development Permit "is anticipated to go to the SLRD Board for consideration of approval/issuance in the fall 2026", and as of 11 October 2026 its application page lists the status as "Under review by staff". Connect CRE also reported that surf cabins, wellness facilities and workforce accommodation are expected to follow through a supplementary development permit, completing Phase One.
This piece covers the 2026 permit filing. For current status, wave specs, access, and the opening date as it moves, our South Britannia Surf Park profile is the page we keep updated. For everything else in the pipeline worldwide, see the opening tracker and the full directory.
Rendering courtesy of South Britannia / Tiger Bay Development.
