On Feb 10, ten people died, including the shooter, after a woman opened fire at a high school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, and then turned the gun on herself, police said. The shooting in the small western Canadian community is one of the deadliest mass-casualty events in recent national history, bringing an incident more commonly reported in neighboring countries to Canadian soil.
Below is a chronological list of some of Canada's largest mass killing incidents in recent decades, with the location, date and the casualties reported in each case:
- April 2025 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Eleven people were killed and dozens injured when a man with a history of mental health issues drove an SUV through a crowd at a Filipino community festival.
- September 2022 - Weldon, Saskatchewan - A stabbing spree left 10 people dead and injured 18 others across 13 sites spanning the James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby community of Weldon.
- April 2020 - Portapique, Nova Scotia - A gunman who at one point posed as a police officer killed at least 16 people during a 12-hour rampage, marking the country's worst modern-era mass shooting.
- July 2018 - Toronto, Ontario - A man walked down a busy Toronto street and fired at random into restaurants, killing two people and wounding 13 before turning the gun on himself.
- January 2017 - Quebec City, Quebec - A man opened fire during evening prayers at a mosque, killing six people and wounding five; twelve others were treated for minor injuries.
- January 2016 - La Loche, Saskatchewan - A student killed his two brothers at home and then opened fire at a remote community high school, killing two more people and wounding seven others.
- April 2014 - Calgary, Alberta - The son of a long-serving member of Calgary's police force was arrested after five people at a house party were stabbed to death.
- December 2014 - Edmonton, Alberta - A man killed eight people, including his wife, before killing himself.
- June 2014 - Moncton, New Brunswick - A gunman killed three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and wounded two others.
- March 2005 - Mayerthorpe, Alberta - A man killed four RCMP officers who went to his home to execute a warrant to repossess property; the man then killed himself.
- April 1999 - Ottawa, Ontario - A former employee of Ottawa's urban transit service killed four colleagues and wounded two others before taking his own life.
- April 1996 - Vernon, British Columbia - A man killed nine relatives gathered for the wedding of his estranged wife's sister and wounded two others before killing himself.
- December 1989 - Montreal, Quebec - A gunman killed 14 students, all female, and wounded 13 at the Ecole Polytechnique before committing suicide.
The list above presents incidents spanning several decades and multiple provinces, each with distinct circumstances and casualty counts as reported. The events include attacks at public gatherings, places of worship, schools, and confrontations involving law enforcement officers.
These entries reflect the reported facts for each case: locations, dates, the method or setting of the attack where specified, and the numbers of fatalities and injuries recorded in contemporaneous reports.
As authorities continue to investigate individual incidents, official details and characterizations of motives or contributing factors are determined by investigators and reported by law enforcement agencies. This compilation does not attempt to assign causation beyond the factual accounts of what occurred at each listed incident.
Note: The initial Feb 10 event in Tumbler Ridge involved a female shooter who subsequently took her own life; police confirmed ten fatalities including the shooter. No further details about motive or additional circumstances are reflected here beyond official statements referenced above.