At least seven people were killed in police actions in Canada in May 2025. This means at least 42 people have been killed by cops so far this year.

At least eight people were killed in police actions in Canada in April 2025 and 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 of the victims in May were shot by police. Two died in police custody and one person died during and arrest. Two died during police deployments, including one person during a health check. Four of the victims were described as being in some type of distress at the time of the police deployment.

One victim has been identified publicly. He is Mark R Annanack, a 35-year-old Inuk man.

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. 

May 1. Ontario Provincial Police. Collingwood. Custody.

A 65-year-old man died in Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) custody in Collingwood on May 1. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) reports that at approximately 5 PM, OPP officers conducted a traffic stop and arrested two men. Both were transported to the Collingwood OPP Detachment. At approximately 6:30 PM, one of the men was observed to be unresponsive in a cell. The man was transported to hospital by paramedics and pronounced dead there.

The SIU has assigned three investigators and one forensic investigator to examine the death.

May 4. RCMP. Pond Inlet, Nunavut.

A man in distress was killed during an RCMP intervention in Pond Inlet Nunavut on the weekend of May 3-4. Nunavut RCMP have released few details on the deployment, including how the man died. They have only said that he died on May 4.

Nunavut RCMP say they attended a call for assistance for a man in distress who was inside a home, allegedly with a firearm. Police set up operations around the residence and told the public to stay away from the area.

A man later exited the residence with a firearm. RCMP have not confirmed whether police shot the man, only saying, “Throughout the incident, members did try to speak with him. The male ultimately is now deceased and an external investigation has been ordered.”

There is no independent police oversight body in Nunavut. The territory has an agreement with the Ottawa and Calgary police services to investigate incidents involving the RCMP there. Calgary Police Service has already said that they will not do the investigation and the RCMP will now be investigating themselves.

May 6. Mark R Annanack. Nunavik Police Service. Shooting.

Nunavik Police Service (NPS) officers shot and killed Mark R Annanack, a 35-year-old Inuk man, in the Nunavik community of Kangiqsualujjuaq on the evening of May 6.

The bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) reports that at around 10:30 PM, NPS officers allegedly found a wanted person inside a tent and used pepper spray to force the person out. Police claim the person came out with a bladed weapon and an officer used a taser to subdue them. That same police officer then opened fire. The victim, since identified publicly as Mark R Annanack, was taken to a health centre, where he was pronounced dead.

Five investigators have been assigned by the BEI to investigate the killing. They reportedly have body camera footage from the incident.

This killing comes only six months after NPS shot killed Joshua Papigatuk, an Inuk man, and seriously injured his twin brother Garnet Papigatuk in the village of Salluit. In response to protests over those shootings the NPS said it was “working to ‘rebuild trust’ with the community.” Police often make such hollow claims in response to community anger at their violence.

Makivvik, a group that represents the Inuit of Nunavik, has condemned the killings and policing in Nunavik more broadly. They released a statement saying, in part, “Makivvik is calling for immediate and exceptional measures. This latest tragedy is not isolated: it reflects a systemic failure in the way policing is delivered in Nunavik. Despite repeated warnings, commitments, and investigations, police interventions continue to fail our communities. We condemn this fatality, and we demand immediate and measurable accountability.”

May 6. Saskatchewan RCMP. Custody.

The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) is investigating the death of a 44-year-old man in RCMP custody in Melfort on May 6, 2025. They report that at around 9:45 AM, Melfort RCMP responded to a disturbance call at a home on Bemister Avenue West. Police located a man who had allegedly broken a front window of the home, and he was taken into custody and transported to the Melfort detachment. After being assessed by paramedics, the man was briefly taken to hospital. RCMP say they received “a report of a disturbance at the hospital involving the same man.” He was taken into custody and returned to the detachment around 10:45 AM and detained in a cell. Later, at around 5:10 PM that evening, officers found the man unresponsive. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

May 20. Sherbrooke Police Service.

A person has been killed during a Sherbrooke Police Service (SPS) deployment on May 20. The BEI reports that at approximately 3:33 PM a call was made to 911 to check on the health of a person who had allegedly made disturbing comments at a residence on Landry Street.

Police reportedly arrived at the person’s home around 4:03 PM and made attempts to contact the person who was allegedly barricaded inside. A security perimeter was erected by police and neighbours evacuated. Police reportedly contacted the person by telephone and officers from the SPS emergency response group arrived on scene.

The home was breached, and police reportedly discovered an unconscious person in the home. The person was pronounced dead at the scene. The BEI reports that the person died of a gunshot involving a firearm that was not a police weapon.

Neighbours reported hearing gunshots during the deployment. A neighbour interviewed by TVA Nouvelles detailed a hectic scene drawn out over half of a day.: “We heard broken windows. I heard gunshots, there were a lot of police in the area. We knew something was going on at the neighbours’ house. After that, the police bus arrived, there were drones flying around. We were wondering what was going on, it lasted for almost 12 hours, I’d say.”

Another neighbour told Radio-Canada of hearing loud interactions and gunshots: “During the night, I heard that there had been quite a few altercations between the house and the police, because I heard very loud talking, then I heard gunshots around 1:30 a.m.”

Images from the scene show multiple windows completely smashed out.

Six BEI investigators have been assigned to investigate the intervention.

May 30. Sûreté du Québec. Arrest.

A person died during an arrest by Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officers with Montreal Police Service (Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal, SPVM) present on a roadway in Montreal on May 30. The BEI reports that at approximately 7:41 AM a 911 call was made regarding a person in a confused state on the side of the road. SQ officers arrived on the scene around 8:03 AM and located the person. SPVM officers also arrived on the scene and witnessed the intervention of the SQ. It is reported that at some point the person ran onto the median and SQ officers restrained and handcuffed the person. At around 8:12 AM the person lost consciousness. Paramedics arrived around 8:20 AM and transported the person to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The BEI has assigned seven investigators to examine the death.

May 30. Winnipeg Police Service. Shooting.

Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) officers shot and killed a man they found covered in blood and holding a screwdriver in a back alley in St. James on the evening of May 30. WPS Chief Gene Bowers conformed that one or more uniformed officers fired their gun within five minutes of WPS receiving a 911 call about a man who was “acting erratically” in the 200 block of Ferry Road.

Police claim that West District patrol officers responded to a “suspicious call” about an unknown man who was covered in blood and appeared to be attempting to break into houses at 6:11 PM. Police located an adult man they believed fit that description at 6:16 PM. Within five minutes they shot him. Paramedics arrived and provided medical care, and the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He later died there of his injuries.

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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