Police say another shooting in Surrey, B.C., is believed to be linked to extortion, as these crimes have increased over the past year.

In a release Sunday, Surrey police said three men were arrested following an early-morning shooting incident in the city’s Crescent Beach neighbourhood.

Police were patrolling the area around Crescent Road and 132 Street at about 3:50 a.m. Feb. 1, when they received reports of gunshots and a small fire outside a residence.

While officers located a suspect vehicle nearby, the occupants of the Range Rover fled on foot.

With assistance from police dog services and officers from Delta, three suspects were taken into custody a short time later near 28 Avenue and 140 Street where they were getting into a rideshare vehicle.

Police say the residence, which was occupied at the time, was damaged by gunfire, but there were no injuries. Surrey Fire Services extinguished the small fire near a fence at the property.

The Surrey Police Service Major Crime Section has taken over the investigation.

The three men remain in custody, and no charges have been laid at this stage. Investigators seized two vehicles.

Anyone with information, including CCTV or dash-cam footage, is asked to contact Surrey Police. Tips can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

Police believe the incident may be linked to extortion-related activity.

Earlier in the week, Premier David Eby announced federal support for B.C. police services amid ongoing concerns about extortion-related violence.

After meeting with the federal public safety minister in Ottawa on Wednesday, Eby said Ottawa has committed 20 additional officers and helicopter support to assist police in the province.

He also announced a national summit on the issue, which will be held in B.C.

Eby said police leaders from B.C., Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba, along with national police agencies, will meet within the next two weeks at the Green Timbers facility in Surrey. He said the meeting is intended to improve information-sharing between police forces and ensure all necessary resources are in place.

– with files from Global News’ Amy Judd

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Thousands gathered in Toronto on Sunday to show support for the Iranian people as a deadly uprising sweeps through the Middle Eastern country.

Protesters took to Sankofa Square to demand the fall of the Islamic regime, one of multiple protests in Toronto and across the country over the past several weeks.

Countrywide protests began in Iran on Dec. 28 sparked by an ongoing economic crisis that has sent the country’s currency into freefall.

While protesters were initially focused on Iran’s economy, demonstrators quickly pivoted to calling for a regime change, with some supporting the return of Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi.

Some protesters in Toronto on Sunday said they supported Western intervention in Iran as the government violently cracks down on demonstrations within the country.

The Iranian government says more than 3,000 have been killed since protests erupted but other groups have put the death toll as high as 36,500.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

York Regional Police Service (YRPS) has charged two young men with human trafficking in connection with an investigation into the disappearance of underage girls from Quebec.

Police issued a release Saturday saying they received a tip on Jan. 27 that three missing girls may be in York Region and were possibly being sexually exploited.

Within hours, officers traced the girls to a residence in Richmond Hill. Police say two of the girls were seen leaving the home with a man in a vehicle.

Officers stopped the vehicle and took the man into custody.

Concerned for the safety of the third girl, investigators entered the residence and located her safely.

A male youth was arrested at the scene.

Police say all three girls were under the age of 18.

The two males, one 23 and the other 17, face charges related to controlling, exploiting, or permitting sexual activity involving minors, as well as other offences.

Police believe there may be more victims and ask anyone with information, or who thinks they or someone they know may be a victim, to contact the York Regional Police Counter Exploitation Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6800 or by email at HT@yrp.ca.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers have placed goaltender Calvin Pickard on waivers.

The 33-year-old from Moncton had a 5-6-2 record this season with a 3.68 goals-against average and .871 save percentage.

Pickard was in the second season of a two-year, US$2 million deal.

He served as Stuart Skinner’s backup the previous couple of seasons as Edmonton made back-to-back runs to the Stanley Cup final.

However, he lost his spot to Connor Ingram after Tristan Jarry returned from the injured reserve on Jan. 13 and has not played since Jan. 8.

Pickard was a second-round pick (49th overall) by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2010 NHL draft. He has also suited up for Colorado, Toronto, Philadelphia, Arizona and Detroit across 191 career games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Andrew Rosenfeldt showed little emotion as Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench Justice Heather McMillan Brown read out her verdict acquitting him of second-degree murder in the gunshot death of his girlfriend Nykera Brown on Nov. 15, 2022.

McMillan Brown said “my decision was not the finding that Nykera took her own life, it is a finding that the Crown did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Rosenfeldt did.”

Cathleen Balon, Brown’s mother, stood up and shouted at the judge and Rosenfeldt before leaving the courtroom, which was filled with Brown’s friends and family.

“I kind of figured out what the verdict would be just by what she was talking about, and all I could think about is the system let her down in life, the system let her down in death,” Balon said.

McMillan Brown said her decision came down to three main facts of the case as she could not make a judgement on whether it was more likely Brown or Rosenfeldt pulled the trigger of the gun.

“The only one who could answer that question is Nykera. Tragically, her voice was silenced,” McMillan Brown said.

On the night of Brown’s death, she and Rosenfeldt were with his aunt at their home. Rosenfeldt’s aunt testified hearing them fight throughout the day from her room.

In the minutes before her death, Brown called her brother, Dregan Brown, who testified Brown said she was breaking up with Rosenfeldt.

In her decision, McMillan Brown noted that Rosenfeldt called police after the shooting. But she also said she found it highly suspicious that he tried to hide the gun and that he lied in multiple police interviews to deflect attention from himself.

McMillan Brown continued saying Brown’s history of mental health struggles in the months leading up to her death played a significant role in her decision. She also acknowledged there is significant evidence Brown was fighting for a better life.

Ultimately, McMillan Brown said ballistics analyst Joe Prendergast’s testimony that it was physically possible for Brown to have shot herself was a large factor in her decision to acquit Rosenfeldt.

That decision, however, offered no closure for Brown’s mother. “I’ve been fighting for three years to be my daughter’s voice. In the end, once again, we are silenced. We’re always silenced, and I’m done being silenced.”

Bolan also said she will push for the Crown to appeal the ruling.

“Anybody that followed this court case knows Andrew wasn’t on trial, Nykera was,” Balon said. “I’m just going to use this to fuel me. I always get off my knees, I’ll wipe off and we’ll just keep going.”

Rosenfeldt was released from custody following the verdict. “Madame Justice McMillan Brown obviously put significant thought into making this decision and it’s a decision that was very, very well-reasoned and based on the facts,” Rosenfeldt’s lawyer,  Chris Murphy, said after the ruling.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

NEW YORK – Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard has been named the NHL’s third star of the month.

Bouchard topped all defencemen and ranked fourth among all skaters with 23 (eight goals, 15 assists) in 15 games to guide the Oilers to an 8-5-2 January.

Only two blueliners in the past 33 years have compiled more points in a single calendar month: Nashville’s Roman Josi with 28 points in March 2022 and Colorado’s Cale Makar with 25 points in November 2023.

Tampa Bay Lightning right-wing Nikita Kucherov and Boston Bruins right-wing David Pastrnak were named the first and second stars.

Kucherov paced the league with 22 assists and 31 points in 13 games to lift the Lightning into first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference on the strength of an 11-1-1 January. January marked Kucherov’s third career 30-point month, making him the eighth player in NHL history to achieve the feat at least three times. He found the scoresheet in 12 of his 13 appearances, highlighted by a league-best 10 multi-point performances.

Pastrnak tied for second in the NHL with 20 assists and 25 points in 14 contests as Boston had an 11-2-1 January to climb into the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. His 25 points were the most by a Bruins player in a single calendar month since March 2018, when Brad Marchand totalled 26 points.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

TORONTO – The CFL’s free-agency process opened with quite a bang Sunday.

The CFL negotiation window — the time when teams can contact pending free agents — opened at noon ET on Sunday. And roughly 16 minutes in, TSN was reporting that American defensive back Jonathan Moxie had agreed to terms with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Starting on Sunday, teams can contact and make binding, registered and non-retractable offers to pending free agents. The window closes next Sunday, after which current teams have a 48-hour period to speak with their own pending free agents.

Before free agency officially opens Feb. 10, players have the right to accept any offer made to them. If they opt not to accept any, they can become free agents and previous binding offers will no longer be valid.

Other agreements reported Sunday included:

— Winnipeg also reaching two-year deals with Canadian receiver Tommy Nield, offensive lineman Jarrell Broxton and defensive lineman Jake Ceresna, both Americans.

— Edmonton coming to terms with offensive linemen Coulter Woodmansey and Brendan Bordner, defensive lineman Malik Carney and quarterback Taylor Powell. Woodmansey is Canadian, the other three are Americans. According to TSN, Carney’s deal is worth $270,000 annually.

— Ottawa agreeing to terms with American running back Greg Bell, who ran for a career-high 1,038 yards last season with Hamilton, and returner James Letcher Jr., another American who spent last season with Montreal. The Redblacks also reach an agreement with Canadian linebacker A.J. Allen, who had 87 tackles last season with Saskatchewan.

— The Toronto Argonauts agreeing to terms on a one-year contract with American defensive back Robert Priester. He was with the Argos from 2022-24 — winning Grey Cups in ’22 and ’24 — before spending last season with Ottawa.

— The B.C. Lions agreeing to a two-year deal with defensive back Demerio Houston. The 29-year-old American, a 2023 CFL all-star, appeared in five games last year with Winnipeg but has 14 career interceptions in 50 regular-season contests with the Bombers (2020-23) and Calgary (2024).

— With Bordner agreeing to a deal with Edmonton, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats reached an agreement in principle with Eric Lofton, an American offensive lineman who spent the last two seasons with Winnipeg.

One player drawing much interest Sunday was American receiver Ayden Eberhardt. The 27-year-old set career highs last year for catches (45), yards (863) and TDs (four) with the B.C. Lions.

Eberhart’s 19.2-yard average per catch was second-highest in the CFL behind Calgary’s Damien Alford (20.4). Alford, 24, of Montreal, signed with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints this off-season.

Three teams were reportedly also interested in Houston. The 29-year-old appeared in five games last year with Winnipeg but has 14 career interceptions in 50 regular-season contests with the Bombers and Calgary.

Before the window opened, a league source told The Canadian Press that Edmonton had restructured American defensive back Chelen Garnes’s rookie contract. The Elks redid his second year (2026) and extended Garnes through 2027, with the new deal being worth $200,000 in hard money with a maximum value of $210,000.

Garnes had 62 tackles and an interception last year and was Edmonton’s nominee for the CFL’s outstanding rookie award. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity as Edmonton hadn’t announced the move.

Also, the Grey Cup-champion Saskatchewan Roughriders signed American running back A.J. Ouellette — who was a pending free agent — to a one-year extension. The five-foot-eight, 208-pound Ouellette was the CFL’s second-leading rusher last season with 1,222 yards and a team-high nine TDs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

MONTREAL – Bernard Drainville is officially entering the race to succeed François Legault as leader of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec.

The former environment minister launched his campaign for the party’s top spot on Sunday morning in the riding of Lévis, where he has served as a legislator since 2022.

Drainville says he chose to run because Quebec “needs a nationalist voice,” but acknowledges the CAQ has lost Quebecers’ confidence in recent years, saying the party has strayed from its roots.

He is also doubling down on a would-be “third link” between Quebec City and Lévis, reviving an issue that drew backlash several years ago to the point that Legault cancelled his proposal for a car tunnel under the St. Lawrence River.

So far, Drainville’s only declared opponent is Christine Fréchette, the former energy and economy minister who launched her candidacy a week earlier in Trois-Rivières.

Fréchette now has the support of virtually half the cabinet and other Quebec national assembly members, while Drainville is backed by one cabinet minister and eight other legislators so far.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A precautionary boil water advisory has been issued for the Town of Badger, N.L., due to flooding and the potential impact on the community’s drinking water system.

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced on Saturday at 9:30 p.m., that residents are advised to bring all water intended for consumption to a vigorous rolling boil for at least one minute before use.

This includes water used for drinking, brushing teeth, food preparation, cooking, washing fruits and vegetables, making ice, preparing beverages and preparing infant formula or cereal.

Officials say household water would not need to be boiled for washing, cleaning or bathing.

Residents are encouraged to use safe alternate sources of water for drinking, cooking and other consumption during the advisory.

The boil water advisory will remain in effect until the integrity of the water system has been confirmed and testing shows the water is safe to consume.

For more information, residents are asked to check the Government Services Centre in Grand Falls-Windsor website.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A 5-year-old boy and his father must be released by Tuesday from the Texas center where they’ve been held after being detained by immigration officers in Minnesota, a federal judge ordered Saturday in a ruling that harshly criticized the Trump administration’s approach to enforcement.

Images of Liam Conejo Ramos, wearing a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack, being surrounded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers sparked even more outcry about the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, who sits in San Antonio and was appointed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, said in his ruling that “the case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”
Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro said in a social media post that Liam and his father were released Friday. Castro said he picked them up from the detention centre and escorted them back to Minnesota.

“Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack,” Castro wrote, thanking supporters who called for the boy’s release and vowing to continue advocating for detained families.

Biery had previously ruled that the boy and his father could not be removed from the U.S., at least for now.

Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who is originally from Ecuador, were detained in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights on Jan. 20. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.

Neighbors and school officials say that federal immigration officers used the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would answer. The Department of Homeland Security has called that description of events an “abject lie.” It said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a running vehicle in their driveway.

The government says Arias entered the U.S. illegally from Ecuador in December 2024. The family’s lawyer says he has a pending asylum claim that allows him to remain in the country.

Their detention led to a protest at the Texas family detention center and a visit by two Texas Democratic members of Congress.

In his order Saturday, Biery said: “apparent also is the government’s ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence,” suggesting the Trump administration’s actions echo those that then-author and future President Thomas Jefferson enumerated as grievances against England’s King George.

Among them: “He has sent hither Swarms of Officers to harass our People” and “He has excited domestic Insurrection among us.”

Biery included in his ruling a photo of Liam and references to two lines in the Bible: “Jesus said, ’Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,” and “Jesus wept.”

He’s not the only federal judge who has been tough on ICE recently. A Minnesota-based judge with a conservative pedigree described the agency as a serial violator of court orders related to the crackdown.

Stephen Miller, the White House chief of staff for policy, has said there’s a target of 3,000 immigration arrests a day. It’s that figure which the judge seemed to refer to as a “quota.”

Spokespersons from the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The Law Firm of Jennifer Scarborough, which is representing the boy and his family, said in a statement that it was working “to ensure a safe and timely reunion.”

“We are pleased that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal,” they said.

During Wednesday’s visit by Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett, the boy slept in the arms of his father, who said Liam was frequently tired and not eating well at the detention facility that houses about 1,100 people, according to Castro.

Detained families report poor conditions like worms in food, fighting for clean water and poor medical care at the detention center since its reopening last year. In December, a report filed by ICE acknowledged they held about 400 children longer than the recommended limit of 20 days.

– with files from Global News’ Prisha Dev

© 2026 The Canadian Press