At least nine people were killed by police in December 2025. This means that at least 94 people were killed by cops this year.

At least nine people were killed by police in Canada in November 2025 and at least four people in October. At least eight were killed in September, while at least five people were killed in August, and at least 11 in July. At least six people were killed in June and seven in May. At least eight people were killed in April and six people were killed in March. 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.

Six of the victims in December were shot and killed. Two victims, both women, were killed by police vehicle strikes, both by the Surrey Police Service (SPS) within the space of only 11 days. One person was killed during an arrest. One victim has been described as being in crisis at the time of the police encounter. Alacie Iqaluk,a six-year-old Inuk girl, has been identified publicly.

The details below are based on police reports, reports from oversight agencies, media reports, 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 deaths documented here, three people died in falls during police deployments. However, the limited, and we might suggest secretive, nature of oversight body reporting means that we cannot confirm that police had any interaction with the victims or were even in close proximity to them when the falls occurred.

As well as the known cases, there are instances of police-involved deaths that have no public reporting. For example, the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) lists two investigations for which they provide no reporting: December 3, involving the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), and December 26, involving the Chilliwack RCMP.

December 5. Greater Sudbury Police Service. Shooting.

A Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) officer shot and killed a man on the morning of December 5. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) reports that GSPS officers were deployed to the area of Clinton Avenue and Queen Street in the Flour Mill neighborhood to investigate a report of a break and enter in progress at approximately 5:30 AM. Upon arrival, officers reportedly encountered a man with an axe. Police claim the man made contact with one of the police cruisers with the axe. One officer shot the man. The victim was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police claims have not been independently confirmed publicly.

The SIU has assigned four investigators and three forensic investigators to examine the killing. One subject official and two witness officials have been designated.

December 6. Toronto Police Service. Shooting.

A Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer shot and killed a man at the Danforth GO Station in the early morning of December 6. The SIU reports that police received a call from a person regarding a man allegedly armed at the Danforth Station around 1:40 AM. TPS officers were deployed and soon after arriving, they reportedly encountered a man on a stairwell leading up to Platform 3. One officer shot the man multiple time. The victim was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and parts of southwestern Ontario.

The SIU has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the killing. One subject officer and four witness officers have been designated.

December 10. Sûreté du Québec. Saint-Hyacinthe. Shooting.

Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officers shot and killed a woman in crisis after tasing her, in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, on December 10. The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) reports that at approximately 7:04 AM, a 911 call was made regarding a person in crisis at their home on Lussier Avenue near the intersection with Cayouette. Police officers reportedly arrived at the scene around 7:20 AM and made contact with a woman who was allegedly holding a knife. Police claim the woman moved toward them and a taser was deployed against her. At least two police officers then opened fire, shooting the woman. She was transported to hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The BEI has assigned five investigators to examine the killing. Police claims have not been independently confirmed publicly.

Policing is not care. Police are not an appropriate response to health crises.

December 11. Peel Regional Police Service. Mississauga. Shooting.

A Peel Regional Police officer shot and killed a 19-year-old man in Mississauga, Ontario, on December 11. It is reported that police were called regarding an alleged stabbing in the area of Winston Churchill Boulevard and Britannia Road West at about 2:30 PM. On arrival it was determined a 39-year-old man was stabbed by a family member in a residence nearby and the stabbing victim was seeking help at a neighboring home. Tactical unit and K9 officers went to the wounded man’s home. They entered the residence and deployed a conducted energy weapon (taser) on the youth. One officer shot the young man. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The stabbing victim was taken to hospital.

December 13. Niagara Regional Police Service. Welland. Shooting.

Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) officers shot and killed a 26-year-old man in Welland, Ontario, on the evening of December 13. The SIU reports that NRPS tactical officers were deployed at about 9:15 PM to a residence in the area of Ontario Road and King Street to assist in the arrest of a man wanted by Peel Regional Police regarding an alleged domestic-related incident involving a firearm that occurred in Mississauga on December 12. Police claim that there was an exchange of gunfire between police and the man. Police deployed gas into the home and the man exited. Police claim there was another exchange of gunfire and the man was struck. EMS provided medical care and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. One officer was reportedly struck by gunfire, taken to hospital, and released.

The SIU has assigned four investigators and three forensic investigators to examine the case. Police claims have not been independently confirmed publicly.

December 14. Surrey Police Service. Vehicle Strike.

Surrey Police Service (SPS) struck and killed a woman with a police vehicle on the evening of December 14. The woman was a pedestrian when she was struck by police driving their vehicle around 7:20 PM between 64 and 66A avenues near the intersection of 152 Street and 64 Avenue. The victim died at the scene.

December 19. Prince Rupert RCMP. Arrest.

A man was killed during an arrest by RCMP officers in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on December 19. The Independent Investigations Office of BC reports that at about 2:25 PM police responded to a call regarding an alleged assault at a home in the 500 block of Pillsbury Avenue. When officers arrived, they attempted to take the man into custody. Some type of “physical interaction” occurred, and the man then went into medical distress. Emergency Health Services attended and took the man to a hospital for treatment, where he was subsequently pronounced dead.

December 25. Surrey Police Service. Vehicle Strike.

Surrey Police Service officers struck and killed a woman with their vehicle in the morning of December 25. The killing happened at the Chevron station at 132 Street and 108 Avenue in the city’s Gateway neighborhood at about 6 AM. The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) reports that the Surrey Police Service officers were leaving the gas station when they hit the woman.

Paramedics arrived and took the woman to hospital with life-threatening injuries. She subsequently died there.

December 20-30. Alacie Iqaluk. Nunavik Police Service. Shooting.

Family members report that six-year-old Alacie Iqaluk was shot and killed by Nunavik Police Service (NPS), in a police deployment in which her father, Andrew Naluktuk (35) was also shot. The shooting occurred in Inukjuak, Quebec, on December 20. Alacie Iqaluk died of her injuries ten day later.

Lucy Nowra, Andrew Naluktuk’s cousin, reports that Alacie Iqaluk was shot in the head while she was in bed with her mother. Nowra says that police fired five shots.

According to the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, a 911 call was reportedly made regarding a person in a residence who posed a danger to the other occupants at approximately 3:30 AM. NPS arrived on the scene at approximately 3:36 AM. Police claim they encountered a person with a firearm outside the residence and a shootout occurred. These claims have not been independently confirmed publicly.

Andrew Naluktuk was arrested. Alacie Iqaluk was seriously injured inside the residence. Both were medevacked to a hospital in Montreal.

In a message to media, Lucy Nowra stated, “This has been an incredibly painful time for us, and out of respect for her and our privacy I won’t be sharing further graphic details.”

In an earlier message, Nowra said, “People in Inukjuak are concerned about the repeated use of force by police, especially lethal force. People want to understand what leads to these incidents and whether all other options were truly exhausted. Our community wants safety, but we also want policing that respects Inuit lives, culture, and the realities of Nunavik.”

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).

Please subscribe to The Media Co-op's newsletter!