Police-reported mass casualty events in Canada, 2010 to 2024
Released: 2026-06-18
Mass casualty events—defined as intentional acts of violence where four or more victims sustained minor or major physical injury, or died—accounted for a very small proportion (0.1%) of police-reported violent crime from 2010 to 2024. In all, 5,475 mass casualty events occurred during this period, and of these, 3.3% involved four or more victims who sustained major physical injury or died.
The Juristat article "Police-reported mass casualty events in Canada, 2010 to 2024," released today, presents an analysis of the nature and prevalence of mass casualty events using police-reported data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey. Information about overall violent crime is provided for comparison.
Mass casualty events can have devastating impacts on victims, families and communities. In April 2020, the deadliest intentional act of violence in Canadian history occurred in Nova Scotia, where 22 victims were killed (including one who was expecting a child) and 3 others were injured. The Juristat article follows the Mass Casualty Commission's final report, "Turning the tide together: Final report of the Mass Casualty Commission," which included 130 actionable recommendations aimed at making communities safer from violence, the first of which centred on data collection, research and policy development.
Mass casualty events account for a very small proportion of police-reported violent crime
From 2010 to 2024, victim records were provided for nearly 5.2 million incidents of police-reported violent crime, 0.1% of which were mass casualty events. During this period, the vast majority (84%) of mass casualty events involved victims who sustained only minor physical injury. Meanwhile, 13% involved four or more victims who sustained physical injury and one to three victims who sustained major physical injury or died, and 3.3% involved four or more victims who sustained major injury or died (see Note to readers for information on the level of injury).
Most victims in mass casualty events are men and boys
From 2010 to 2024, there were 26,634 victims of mass casualty events, and most (62%) were men and boys. In comparison, men and boys accounted for 48% of victims of overall violent crime.
Nearly all victims of mass casualty events were physically injured (96%), with the large majority sustaining minor injury (88%). Major injury (6.4%) and death (1.0%) were relatively rare (Chart 1). Women and girls accounted for 38% of victims of mass casualty events, but 46% of victims who died. In all, among victims of mass casualty events, 1.2% of women and girls died and 0.8% of men and boys died.
Chart 1
Victims of police-reported mass casualty events and violent crime, by level of physical injury, Canada, 2010 to 2024
Men and boys account for close to 8 in 10 persons accused in mass casualty events
From 2010 to 2024, 7,402 persons were accused in mass casualty events, and nearly 8 in 10 (78%) were men and boys. Men and boys accounted for a similar proportion of persons accused of violent crime overall (77%). Just over one-third (36%) of mass casualty events involved more than one accused, while this was far less common for violent crime overall (7.0%).
Note to readers
To align with the Mass Casualty Commission's definition of mass casualty events, this release focuses on incidents of police-reported violent crime, excluding incidents of criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death.
It is important to note that police do not report or flag mass casualty events as such when responding to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey; rather, the concept of "mass casualty events" is derived from the injury variable and the number of injured victims in each incident. In the UCR Survey, minor injuries are physical injuries that require no professional medical treatment or only some first aid (e.g., bandage, ice), while major injuries are physical injuries that require professional medical attention at the scene or transportation to a medical facility.
The UCR Survey requires police to provide a victim record for some types of violent crime, while it is optional for others. To allow for comparison with mass casualty events, incidents of violent crime are limited to those with victim records.
Products
The article "Police-reported mass casualty events in Canada, 2010 to 2024" is now available as part of the publication Juristat (85-002-X).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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