British Columbia Premier David Eby says officials from four provinces will meet in Surrey, B.C., to discuss a wave of extortion cases with the head of the RCMP national team handling the phenomenon that has seen homes and business riddled with gunfire.
Eby says the meeting involving B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario will happen within two weeks, but did not give a firm date.
He says Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to commit more federal resources for the RCMP in B.C. to tackle the extortion wave, with the funding to help more anti-gang police take part in extortion cases.
Eby says the meeting in Surrey, which is grappling with numerous extortion files, is to ensure “there are no gaps in information-sharing” and that resources are properly allocated to ensure investigations result in arrests and prosecutions.
He met Carney on Wednesday before their trilateral meeting with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Ottawa, which is hosting a First Ministers’ Conference.
Eby’s announcement comes after Surrey’s council passed a motion this week urging Ottawa to declare a national state of emergency over the extortion wave.
The head of British Columbia’s anti-extortion task force said last week that it was “actively hunting” suspects in 32 files across the Lower Mainland.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2026.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
