A Deadly March: 27 Lives Lost to Police Actions in Canada in 2025

By Justin Heath

In the first three months of 2025, Canada has witnessed a troubling toll: at least 27 people have been killed in encounters with police, with six of those deaths occurring in March alone. This figure, reported by The Media Co-op on April 1, 2025, underscores a persistent and escalating issue of police violence in the country, raising urgent questions about accountability, transparency, and the systemic factors driving these fatal interactions.

March 2025: A Snapshot of Tragedy

The six deaths recorded in March 2025 add to an already grim year. Among the known cases, one stands out due to its public reporting: Abisay Cruz, a 29-year-old father from Montreal, lost his life on March 30 during an arrest by the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). According to Quebec’s Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendantes (BEI), a 911 call was made at 8:06 AM reporting a person in crisis at a residence in the Villeray—St-Michel—Parc-Extension borough. Officers arrived within minutes, restrained Cruz, and during the encounter, he suffered cardiac arrest. Paramedics were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Neighbours reported hearing Cruz screaming for help, alleging that police neglected his health needs—a claim that has fuelled local outrage and calls for investigation.

Other reported incidents from March include a man who died in RCMP custody in Yellowknife on March 12 following an intoxication arrest, a 42-year-old man who passed away in custody at the Ottawa courthouse on March 17, and a man who died in St. Paul, Alberta, on March 18-19 after an arrest by Alberta RCMP. These cases highlight a recurring theme: many of the deaths involved individuals in custody or during arrests, with at least two described as being in crisis at the time of police intervention. One additional victim was shot, though specific details remain sparse.

The remaining fatalities from January and February—bringing the year’s total to at least 27—include a mix of shootings, falls during police deployments, and in-custody deaths. January saw nine deaths, with two shootings and three falls, while February was the deadliest month so far, with a dozen fatalities. These numbers suggest that March, while significant, is part of a broader, alarming trend in 2025.

A Growing Crisis

The 27 deaths in 2025 follow a year that saw at least 100 police-involved deaths in 2024, according to The Media Co-op. This marks a notable increase from the 97 deaths in 2023 and 117 in 2022, indicating a steep upward trajectory in police use of lethal force. Researchers and advocates argue that this rise cannot be fully attributed to improved reporting alone. As Alexander McClelland, a criminologist at Carleton University, noted in 2023, “There is power in numbers… We can’t make informed decisions about policing without this really basic information.” Yet, Canada still lacks a centralized, public database to track these incidents comprehensively, leaving independent outlets and researchers to piece together the toll.

The demographics of those killed reflect persistent disparities. While detailed racial data for 2025 is not yet fully available, historical trends suggest that Indigenous and Black individuals are disproportionately represented. In 2024, for instance, two of the 13 victims killed in August were Indigenous, including a 15-year-old boy from Samson Cree Nation and a 31-year-old man from Clearwater River Dene Nation.

Broader studies, such as the CBC’s “Deadly Force” database, have shown that Black and Indigenous people—comprising about 10% of Canada’s population—account for over 27% of police shooting deaths when race is identified. Mental health also plays a significant role, with many victims, like Cruz, described as being in distress or crisis at the time of their encounters.

Systemic Failures and Public Outcry

The absence of a formal, systemic mechanism to document police killings in Canada remains a glaring gap. The numbers reported are widely acknowledged as an undercount, with unreported cases and delayed disclosures adding to the uncertainty. Police often control the initial narrative, as seen in the Yellowknife case where RCMP claims of a man showing “signs of intoxication” preceded his death in custody. Oversight agencies like the BEI, Alberta’s Serious Incident Response Team, and Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigate these incidents, but their findings are often slow to emerge and rarely lead to criminal charges against officers.

Public reaction has been one of grief and frustration. In Montreal, Cruz’s death sparked outrage among neighbours who questioned police tactics. Across the country, advocates point to cases like the August 2024 killing of Hoss Lightning, a 15-year-old Indigenous boy shot by RCMP after calling 911 for help, as evidence of a system failing its most vulnerable. The Yellowhead Institute’s Michaela McGuire wrote in September 2024 of the “indifference of Canadians” to such deaths, arguing that they reflect a continuing legacy of colonial violence.

What Lies Ahead?

With 27 lives lost in just three months, 2025 is on pace to rival or exceed the record 69 police-involved deaths in 2022, as reported by the Tracking Injustice project. The question now is whether this mounting toll will spur meaningful change. Calls for a national database, better training in de-escalation, and reforms to address racial disparities have grown louder, yet progress remains elusive.

For the families of Abisay Cruz and the 26 others lost this year, the statistics are more than numbers—they are stories of loved ones gone too soon. As investigations unfold and communities mourn, the pressure builds for Canada to confront the reality of police violence and chart a path toward accountability and justice.

Justin Heath

Justin Heath is a  freelance writer for Veritas Expositae

You can reach him at justin.heath@veritasexpositae.com