At least eight people were killed in police actions in Canada in April 2025. This means at least 35 people have been killed so far this year.

Six people were killed in police actions in Canada in March 2025. A dozen people were killed by police in February, the deadliest month of Canadian police violence since August 2024, when 13 people were killed. In January 2025, at least nine people were killed by police. These deaths include people who were directly killed by police, as in police shootings, and people who died during police deployments or in police custody.

In 2024, at least 100 people were killed in police actions. There were at least 97 police-involved deaths in Canada in 2023, while in 2022, there were at least 117 police-involved deaths.

Two victims in April were shot. Three were killed during arrests or in custody. One died in a vehicular pursuit, one died in a fall, and one reportedly took his own life during a police deployment. Three victims were reported to be in distress or crisis at the time of the police encounter. One victim has been identified as Indigenous. One victim has been identified as Black. Two victims have been identified as women. Five of the incidents occurred in Ontario.

The details below are based on police reports, reports from oversight agencies, and in some cases information from families. As always, because there are no formal, systemic mechanisms for documenting and reporting police killings publicly in Canada, all numbers presented for police-involved deaths represent an undercount. In addition to the known cases, there are instances of police-involved deaths that have no reporting. 

 

April 13. Ontario Provincial Police. Minden Hills.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the death of a 60-year-old man in Minden Hills, Ontario, on April 13. They report that at approximately 5:30 PM, an individual called police to report that they were concerned for the well-being of a man. Police were told that the man had left his property with a firearm. Sometime after Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers arrived on scene, in the area of Highway 1 and Highway 17, there was allegedly an exchange of gunfire between an officer and the man, who was in some bushes. The man was found dead, and his fatal injury was reported to be self-inflicted.

The SIU has assigned three investigators and three forensic investigators to examine the case.

 

April 15. Niagara Parks Police. Fall.

A person described as a Black man between 30 and 40 years of age is believed dead in a fall or jump into Niagara Falls during an encounter with Niagara Parks Police on the evening of April 15. The SIU reports that at approximately 9:13 PM, Niagara Parks Police received a call about a man on the edge of Horseshoe Falls near the Table Rock Welcome Centre. A police officer responded and attempted to communicate with the man. A short time later, the man entered the Falls. The man is presumed dead, although his body has not yet been located or identified.

 

April 18. Sûreté du Québec. Port-Cartier. Arrest. Tasers.

A person in crisis was killed during an intervention involving the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) in which tasers were deployed in Port-Cartier, Quebec, on April 18. The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) reports that at approximately 12:30 AM, a call was made to 911 for a person in crisis who had left a location armed with a bladed weapon. Police attempted to find the person with the use of a dog and handler.

At around 1:36 AM, the person was reportedly located by the police. At around 1:48 AM, police reportedly lost visual contact but came into contact with them again at around 2:56 AM. At around 3:00 AM, the person allegedly inflicted injuries on themself.

Police officers used electric shock weapons “on several occasions” during the intervention, according to the BEI. At around 3:12 AM, the person was reportedly “overpowered.”

Paramedics began first aid around 3:25 AM. The victim was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

The BEI has assigned six investigators to examine the case.

 

April 20-22. Toronto Police. North York. Shooting.

A 16-year-old boy from Toronto was shot by two Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers in North York on April 20 and died in hospital on the morning of April 22. The shooting came after a traffic stop and police claim there was an exchange of gunfire.

The SIU reports that at approximately 11 PM on April 20, a officer stopped a red Infiniti in the area Sheppard Avenue West and Bathurst Street because of a missing front license plate. The SIU says there were six people in the car that was pulled over. Several occupants exited the vehicle before the shooting started.  

Nearby surveillance video appears to show the moment gunfire erupts, however, it is grainy. It does show one officer on the road next to the driver’s window before scrambling to the front of the car’s hood. From there, one officer reaches up and fires into the car at least three times while another officer pulls out their gun and aims into the car. Three other people are scene on the sidewalk. Two of them run to hide behind a police cruiser as shots are fired and another crouches for cover on grass near the sidewalk.

Images from the scene show the Infiniti riddled with bullet holes, including in several windows. At least 10 shots were reportedly fired.

The SIU has designated two Toronto police officers as the subject officers in their investigation. They have also designated two police officer as witnesses. In addition to the occupants of the vehicle there are believed to be other witnesses on the street at the time. Five investigators and two forensic investigators have been assigned by the SIU.

 

April 24. Peel Regional Police. Pearson International Airport. Shooting.

A 30-year-old man in distress was shot and killed by Peel Regional Police at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 on the morning of April 24. The SIU reports that the shooting occurred a bit before 7 AM, after police received a call about a dispute involving two or three people. It is reported that the group knew each other and were at the airport to travel. Three officers responded to the call and police claim they tried to mediate a dispute for around 10 minutes. They claim one man took out a firearm and two officers fired their weapons, striking the man. The SIU has confirmed that the victim did not fire his weapon at police.

The man in distress had been in an SUV at Terminal 1 departures, but the shooting happened outside of the vehicle, according to the SIU. Images from the scene show at least 14 police evidence markers, typically laid to mark bullet casings, to the outside rear of a Jeep Cherokee with its trunk open.

Six investigators and three forensic investigators have been assigned to the case by the SIU.

None of the police claims have been publicly confirmed.

 

April 24. Sûreté du Québec. Saint-Hyacinthe. Vehicular Pursuit.

A woman was killed when the vehicle she was a passenger in crashed into the Yamaska ​​River in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, during a police pursuit by the SQ on April 24. The BEI reports that SQ patrol officers tried to stop a motorist for an alleged traffic violation at approximately 12:22 AM. A police pursuit ensued which ended when the vehicle apparently plunged into the Yamaska ​​River after hitting a cement railing at around 12:23 AM. The driver was able to get out of the car and swim to shore, where he was arrested. The SQ dive team arrived on the scene around 10:10 AM and at approximately 11:23 AM found the body of a woman inside the vehicle.

The BEI has assigned five investigators to examine the death. The BEI is not an independent agency and will depend on the Montreal Police Service for assistance.

 

April 27. Ontario Provincial Police. Custody.

The SIU is investigating the death of a 46-year-old woman in Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) custody over the weekend of April 26-27 in Kenora. They report that at approximately 11 AM on April 26, a woman was arrested in the area of Water Street on an outstanding warrant. She was transported to the Kenora detachment and detained in a cell. In the early morning of April 27, she went into medical distress. Paramedics transported her to hospital where she was put on a ventilator. At 5:17 PM, she was pronounced dead.

The SIU has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the case.

 

April 28. Saskatchewan RCMP. James Smith Cree Nation. Arrest.

The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is investigating a 29-year-old man’s death in an arrest on the James Smith Cree Nation on the morning of April 28. They report that Melfort RCMP were called about a man discharging bear spray inside a home before 8 AM. A second caller reportedly told the RCMP that the man “may have used an illicit substance” and was now in the basement of that home. When officers arrived the man allegedly ran away but was found in the backyard and arrested. Soon afterwards, the man went into medical distress. Officers called EMS and administered naloxone. EMS arrived, but the man was declared dead at the scene. His family has been notified.

Jeff Shantz is a long-time anti-authoritarian organizer, researcher, and writer who lives and works on Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo territories (Surrey, British Columbia).

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