Conservatives blast Liberals over rise in extortion, demand tougher sentencing

Three senior Conservative MPs are demanding urgent federal action to combat a surge in extortion and violent crime, blaming what they call a decade of failed Liberal justice policies.

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Three senior Conservative MPs are demanding urgent federal action to combat a surge in extortion and violent crime, blaming what they call a decade of failed Liberal justice policies for creating a public safety crisis.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, public safety critic Frank Caputo, Deputy Leader Tim Uppal, and national outreach chair Arpan Khanna accused the Trudeau and Carney governments of weakening the criminal justice system, enabling repeat offenders, and failing to protect Canadian communities from increasingly organized threats.

“Extortion is up 330 per cent since the Liberals took office,” said Caputo, a former Crown prosecutor. “It has been a fundamental failure of their governance to allow extortion to not only flourish but to skyrocket.” He cited legislation like Bill C-5 and Bill C-75 as examples of Liberal policies that, in his view, dismantled key accountability tools and eroded deterrence.

Tim Uppal, who introduced Private Member’s Bill C-381 to create a mandatory minimum sentence for extortion, said communities across Canada are under siege.

“We have no mandatory minimum sentence for extortion right now. My bill would have changed that — and the Liberals voted it down,” said Uppal. He described cases of families being extorted and targeted with violence simply for owning small businesses or property, with some now choosing to leave Canada altogether.

Arpan Khanna highlighted the scale of the problem in cities like Surrey, B.C., where over 100 extortion cases have been reported in 2025. He criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent visit to the city, accusing him of ignoring the crisis.

“While victims were looking for answers, the Prime Minister walked on the beach eating donuts,” Khanna said. He also raised concerns about media reports of lawyers, journalists, and homeowners being targeted by extortion networks.

The MPs linked the rise in crime to broader Liberal policies on bail reform, weakened sentencing, and immigration enforcement.

Khanna alleged that tens of thousands of non-citizens with serious criminal records have entered the country without adequate vetting, and called for automatic deportation of non-citizens convicted of extortion or similar violent crimes.

Asked whether the Conservatives would support legislation like Bill C-2, which proposes new lawful access tools for police, Caputo said the party supports enhanced enforcement powers if they are designed in consultation with legal experts and respect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He criticized the Liberals for introducing the bill without proper constitutional safeguards.

Legal experts have previously warned that the current edition of Bill C-2 would violate the privacy rights of Canadians.

The MPs also declined to rule out using the notwithstanding clause to override Supreme Court rulings striking down mandatory minimum sentences. Caputo said the party believes in “consequences for repeat violent offenders” and is reviewing all legislative tools.

The Conservatives are calling for an emergency debate in the House of Commons and say a future government under Pierre Poilievre would restore mandatory minimums for extortion, tighten bail eligibility, and reform Canada’s deportation laws.