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Policing and public safety were the topics of the day on the NDP campaign trail, as leader Thomas Mulcair touched down in a British Columbia community wracked in recent months by a spate of shootings — many believed to be gang related.

Addressing supporters in Surrey, B.C., on Wednesday, Mulcair vowed that an NDP government would devote $250 million to a police recruitment fund during its first four years in office. This up-front investment would be followed by $100 million in annual, ongoing funding, he added.

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The money would put 2,500 more front-line police officers on the streets in communities across Canada, he said.

“Gangs, street violence, gun violence in Surrey have now reached epidemic levels,” said Mulcair. “Our plan will focus on providing increased, ongoing funding for policing in Canadian communities.”

More than 30 shootings have plagued the fast-growing, Metro Vancouver city since March.