This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
This is a list of events in Canada for which one of the commonly accepted names includes the word massacres. Massacre is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "the indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people or (less commonly) animals; carnage, butchery, slaughter in numbers". It also states that the term is used "in the names of certain massacres of history". Thomas W. Gallant definition of Massacres; deliberate slaughter of a large number of people in a violent way, especially when they cannot defend themselves.[1][2] The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Canada and its predecessors. Some events in which numerous individuals were wounded are also included.
Name | Date | Location | Dead / Injured / Captives | Mechanism of injury | Perpetrator suicide | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lachine massacre | August 5, 1689 | Lachine, Quebec | est. 24 to 250 | First Nations violence | na | Total population of Lachine estimated at 375. Part of King George's War |
Port-la-Joye massacre | July 11, 1746 | Port-la-Joye, Île Saint-Jean. The location now known as Hillsborough River (Prince Edward Island). | 34 / 0 | First Nations violence | na | Acadian and Mi'kmaqs killed 34 unarmed British (27 soldiers and 7 sailors). Part of King George's War |
Grand-Pré massacre | February 10, 1747 | Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia | 67 / 0 / 40 | Military and allies | na | Acadian and Mi'kmaqs took est. 40 prisoners after attack. Part of King George's War |
Dartmouth massacre | May 13, 1751 | Dartmouth, Nova Scotia | bet. 7 and 20 / 0 / bet. 6 and 14 | First Nations violence | na | One of seven raids by Mi'kmaqs on British and New England forces, usually very violent with deaths and scalpings. Part of Father Le Loutre's War |
St. Francis massacre | October 4, 1759 | Odanak, Quebec | 30–200 / unk / bet. 7 and 20 | Military and allies | na | Raid by Robert Rogers' Rangers, which was pursued and depleted before crossing back into New England. Part of French and Indian War |
Bloody Falls massacre | July 17, 1771 | The location now known as Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park near Kugluktuk, Nunavut | 20 | First Nations violence | na | Alleged massacre between indigenous peoples |
Bute Inlet massacre | April 30, 1864 | Bute Inlet, British Columbia | 19 | First Nations violence | na | Massacre of road workers in a series of attacks by indigenous peoples |
Cypress Hills massacre | June 1, 1873 | Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan | 23 | Civilian violence | na | Mass murder perpetrated by American bison and wolf hunters, and American and Canadian whisky traders and cargo haulers, against a camp of Assiniboine people. One of the main contributing reasons for the formation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. |
Black Donnellys massacre | February 4, 1880 | Lucan Biddulph, Ontario | 5 | Civilian violence | na | Murder of five members of the Donnelly family by an armed mob, after which their farm was burned down. The event was the culmination of long-standing conflict between the family and other residents. None of the mob were ever convicted. |
Frog Lake Massacre | April 2, 1885 | Frog Lake, Alberta | 9 | Military | na | Part of the North-West Rebellion |
Buffalo Narrows massacre | January 30, 1969[3] | Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan | 7 | Axe | Seven members of the Pederson family were murdered with an axe in their beds by Frederick Moses McCallum.[4] | |
Lennoxville massacre | March 24, 1985 | Lennoxville, Quebec | 5 | Long gun, hand guns | No | Part of the Quebec Biker war, 4 convicted of first degree murder |
École Polytechnique massacre | December 6, 1989 | Montreal, Quebec | 15 | Long gun | Yes | Perpetrator killed 14 women and injured 14, before taking his own life. School shooting. |
Concordia University massacre | August 24, 1992 | Montreal, Quebec | 4 | Hand gun | No | School shooting. 4 killed, 1 injured.[5] |
Mark Chahal massacre | April 6, 1996 | Vernon, B.C. | 9 | Estranged husband murdered wedding party.[6][7] | ||
Shedden massacre | April 8, 2006 | Shedden, Ontario | 8 | Multiple firearms | na | Gang killing of own gang members. |
Claresholm highway massacre | December 15, 2011 | Claresholm, Alberta | 4 | Yes | 21-year-old man shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and two young men who were passengers in the same vehicle. The man also shot the female driver, before taking his own life.[8] | |
2019 Markham home massacre | July 28, 2019 | Markham, Ontario | 4 | Knife | No | 23-year-old perpetrator is charged after allegedly killing four family members by cutting their throats in a Markham home.[9] |