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The union representing police officers in Surrey says it’s concerned about the city’s proposed policing budget for 2026, as it includes tens of millions of dollars less than originally requested amid an ongoing extortion crisis and the police force’s expansion across the city.
However, the city’s mayor says the proposed funding is the result of the Surrey Police Service’s underspending last year.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the City of Surrey and Surrey Police Board say they’ve “reached an agreement” on a budget of $284.5 million, which they’ve put forward to council for approval.
That’s nearly $47 million less than the police board’s original request of $331.5 million — a move that Ryan Buhrig, president of the Surrey Police Union, describes as “reckless.”
“You cannot demand more policing, more visibility, and more capacity, while simultaneously gutting the resources needed to deliver it,” Buhrig said in a statement from the union.
The SPS has been taking over from the RCMP since it became the police of jurisdiction in November 2024. (Ben Nelms/CBC, Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
Surrey has been ground-zero in the region for extortion, with the first known cases occurring in November 2023. Since then, the SPS, together with other police agencies and various levels of government, have scrambled to try and keep up with the pace of the crime.
So far this year, Surrey police say there’ve been 53 extortions reported as of Feb. 16, as well as 11 related shootings and two related arsons.
The SPS has also been taking over from the RCMP since it became the police of jurisdiction in November 2024 — first in the Whalley/City Centre and Newton areas, and most recently in South Surrey. The force announced Wednesday that it will be assuming responsibility for Cloverdale on April 1, with the full transition anticipated to be complete by 2027.
According to the provisional budget document released by the City of Surrey last December, the requested funding of $331,515,621 for 2026 is “required for adequate and effective policing and law enforcement in Surrey.”
That proposed amount is a $91.3-million increase from the 2025 budget of $240,140,000.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke pictured during an anti-extortion meeting in Surrey in November 2025. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
At the time, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said she wouldn’t support the request, calling the increase “extraordinarily excessive” and that it would require an 18-per-cent property tax hike if approved.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, Harley Chappell, chair of the Surrey Police Board, said the “revised budget approved by the police board today represents an $85M increase in what was spent in 2025.”
Chappell said the budget requested last year was “based on information available at the time” but after year-end spending reports were made available earlier this year, “it became clear that SPS would have the same amount it needs to grow as planned in an adjusted budget.”
Locke echoed this during a presser Thursday afternoon.
“So, the starting point for [this] budget is very similar — we’re still increasing that budget by over $85 million,” Locke said.
She said the police union reached out to her and she looks forward to speaking with them.
Locke added the city is funding “exactly the number of police officers they asked us to — 189 officers are being funded.
“And so, I’m sure once they fully understand the budget they will see it differently.”
CBC News has reached out to the Surrey Police Union for comment.