Are more police officers getting killed in the line of duty? Here's what the data tells us

A occupy Montreal neighbourhood went into lockdown mon after an armed standoff at a hotel in Côte-des-Neiges left wing a constabulary ship's officer, a civilian and a suspect dead. Another officer and a bystander were injured in the attack.

The shooting marked the third time an officer in Canada was killed in less than two weeks, raising questions about whether violence against officers is increasing. It also came one day after two RCMP officers responding to a call for help in Melville, Sask., were shot and injured.

But researchers who track police deaths say the number of officers killed on duty this year remains within the historical range — and officers are less likely to die as a result of violence now than in past decades. 

Piché has collected data on deaths resulting from intentional harmful acts among police officers dating back to the 1960s. He says the number of officers killed by someone intentionally trying to harm them is lower today than it has been in the past.

"We are only six and a half months into 2026, but if the current numbers hold, it would be a below average year," he said.

Montreal on edge after police officer, civilian and suspect killed in midday shootout

So far in 2026, four officers have died in the line of duty, three of them in attacks. 

There were no on-duty police deaths across Canada in 2024 and 2025 — an anomaly in the 64 years of data. In 2023, eight officers died on duty, six of them as a result of intentional violence.

There were 415 on-duty police officer deaths across Canada between 1962 and 2026, for an average of 6.5 such deaths per year.

Ian Lafrenière, Quebec's minister of domestic security, told a news conference in French that what happened in Montreal remains "extremely rare."

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among police officers, followed closely by gunfire. Those occupational dangers are reflected in recent incidents.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Brandon Malcolm, 33, died in a motorcycle crash outside Toronto in April.

On June 9, OPP Const. Tarun Bali was killed while attempting to stop a vehicle near Hearst, Ont. An 18-year-old man who had escaped from a hospital now faces several charges, including dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.

Toronto police Const. Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was shot while officers carried out a search at an apartment building on June 11. A 19-year-old suspect has been charged. 

On June 14, a Toronto police officer was struck by a car and suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. A 12-year-old boy has since been charged with motor vehicle theft and attempted murder.

In addition to the two Saskatchewan officers injured by gunfire on Sunday, Peel Regional Police said a 24-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly fired a gun at an officer in Mississauga, Ont., that morning.

Montreal police identify officer killed in shooting

Greg Brown is a former Ottawa police officer now working as an adjunct professor at Carleton University's department of law and legal studies. 

While every police shooting has unique circumstances, he said, changing attitudes about law enforcement over the last two decades has likely had "a trickle down effect."

Eroding trust has also made it harder for police to recruit new members, he said.

The proliferation of illegal firearms is another challenge, Brown said, exacerbated by what he described as lagging firearm regulations. He cited overcapacity handgun magazines and assault-style weaponry as examples.

"And particularly, in my view, a glorification of gang culture is responsible for some of these shootings," he said. He cited copycats as an emerging issue as well. 

"A lot of things get said in the wake of these moments that aren't necessarily rooted in facts," said Piché. "So we have to be vigilant to that, and attentive to that." 

Piché said a common denominator between some of the incidents might be that they involve young men. "So we could ask questions about what was going on in their lives and what's going on upstream," he said.

"But as of now, I don't think we can draw any definitive conclusions about the causes of all this."

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