Local police officials are heartbroken after the latest deaths of two officers on duty in Edmonton.
The shooting deaths of Edmonton police constables Travis Jordan, 35, and Brett Ryan, 30, on Thursday are the sixth and seventh deaths of officers in the line of duty across Canada in the last six months.
On Friday, Barrie Police spokesperson Peter Leon told CTV News speaking about their deaths was admittedly difficult but important during what he calls "unprecedented" times.
"I've been involved with law enforcement for 35 years, and I've never seen a stretch where we've lost so much life," Leon said.
Leon said their deaths hit close to home after a close encounter last month.
In that instance, a Barrie officer was stabbed by a person in distress while attending a wellness check at an apartment complex in Early February.
"Every day, our officers put on the uniform and are called to a scene. There is always danger," Leon added. "There's no such thing as a routine call."
Three of the seven deaths have connections to Simcoe County.
South Simcoe police constables Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell were killed while responding to a disturbance call at a home last fall.
Two months later, OPP Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala of Barrie was killed near Hagersville, about 45 kilometres southwest of Hamilton, while responding to a call about a vehicle in a ditch.
"In this case (Edmonton), obviously they didn't know they were going to be met with gunfire, very similar to the situation in South Simcoe," said Chris Lewis, CTV Public Safety Analyst and former OPP Commissioner. "Ninety-nine per cent of these calls end up with maybe an arrest or walking away without a lot of violence, but never routine. They're obviously calls that can go violent."
The Police Association of Ontario is calling for action as police-related deaths continue rising nationwide.
"All of those instances, they were targeted, and they were ambushed," said Mark Baxter, Police Association of Ontario President. "They never had an opportunity to defend themselves, and it's really shaking the police community."
Canada's special rapporteur on foreign interference David Johnston calls the allegations swirling around his objectivity 'quite simply false,' and said Tuesday he plans to push ahead with his work, launching public hearings next month
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should see to it that mass murderers serve their entire sentences in maximum-security prison.
The number of interactions between killer whales and humans has increased alarmingly in recent years. CTVNews.ca asked an expert to explain the reasons behind the increase in interactions, explore the types of encounters, and examine the implications for both humans and killer whales.
The PGA Tour ended its expensive fight with Saudi Arabia's golf venture and now is joining forces with it, making a stunning announcement Tuesday of a merger that creates a commercial operation with the Public Investment Fund and the European tour.
Across Canada, the average price of rent climbed back up after pandemic lows, with the monthly rate new tenants face now 20 per cent higher than it was two years ago, according to just-released rental data.
While the Liberals insist a Pacific Rim trade bloc should welcome anyone who meets its standards, an internal document suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants China kept out.
The federal government has given an updated deal to a public-service union that signed its collective agreement in the fall in order to match deals reached with the Public Service Alliance of Canada during a strike this spring.
Prince Harry entered a courtroom witness box Tuesday, swearing to tell the truth in testimony against a tabloid publisher he accuses of phone hacking and other unlawful snooping.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
Firefighters battling the 25,000-hectare Shelburne wildfire say the wet weather has helped crews directly attack the blaze, now they’re hoping for a break in the rain.
Hammonds Plains Road reopened to traffic early Tuesday morning more than week after wildfires began in the Halifax area. Officials say the fires in the area are contained, though crews continue to deal with hot spots and flare ups.
Canada's emergency preparedness minister says images of wildfires burning across the country are some of the most severe ever witnessed in Canada and the current forecast for the next few months indicates the potential for continued higher-than-normal fire activity.
One Quebec city that had been threatened by approaching wildfires has lifted an evacuation order, but other parts of the province continue to deal with out-of-control blazes that are taxing firefighting resources.
Insurance industry group Equite Association says vehicle theft in multiple provinces surged last year. Vehicle theft was up by 50 per cent in Quebec year over year, by 48.3 per cent in Ontario, by 34.5 per cent in Atlantic Canada and by 18.3 per cent in Alberta.
Montrealers woke up to hazy sun and smoky skies again Tuesday morning. Northerly winds from wildfires burning north of the city continue to blow smoke into Southern Quebec.
A special air quality statement remains in effect for the National Capital Region because of wildfire smoke blowing across the region. Environment Canada's air quality health index is at its highest level of risk.
The wildfire burning at Centennial Lake, about 150 km west of Ottawa has been significantly reduced and is being held with a burnt area.
The federal government has given an updated deal to a public-service union that signed its collective agreement in the fall in order to match deals reached with the Public Service Alliance of Canada during a strike this spring.
The smell of smoke is in the air throughout the city of Toronto and could get worse before the week is over as wildfires continue to burn in Quebec and northern Ontario.
The actions of the teen who repeatedly slashed a North York massage parlour receptionist 42 times with a sword, killing her and injuring her manager, were an act of terrorism, an Ontario Superior Court Justice found Monday in a 'historical' decision in Canada.
The Ontario government has passed a bill that will dissolve the Region of Peel by 2025.
They buzz. They bite. They carry diseases that can be bad for your health. It seems there’s more mosquitos than ever this year – and people are noticing.
Environment Canada says several groups of people across southwestern Ontario are at a higher risk of experiencing health effects caused by wildfire smoke.
Wellington County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say at least one person is dead following a collision just north of Acton.
Marking the two year anniversary of the alleged terror attack that took the lives of four members of the same family, the board has announced an Anti-Islamophobia Strategy.
On this day in 2021, four out of five members of a London, Ont. family were killed while they were out for a walk and struck by a vehicle, in an apparently deliberate attack.
The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has invoked its mandate after a man accused of assault and property damage was injured during his arrest by London, Ont. police over the weekend.
While firefighters get more forest fires under control in northern Ontario, travel restrictions declared under an emergency order are being expanded in several communities.
A 13-year-old male from Elliot Lake in northern Ontario has been charged with sexual assault again, bringing the total to 10, after another survivor came forward.
Tent caterpillar infestations are a problem in northern Ontario every few summers and it looks like they could be returning this year.
Windsor police say they have arrested a Michigan man for the murder of his estranged wife, who was reported missing last month.
Windsor police say E.C. Row eastbound closed near Howard Avenue and Dougall Avenue after a collision.
Smoke from wildfires burning across Canada is beginning to cause poor air quality in Windsor.
Crown prosecutors say charges against an Alberta woman accused of mailing two puppies and a kitten have been dropped.
An Edmonton man convicted of killing his pregnant wife and dumping her body in a ditch has been granted full parole.
A restaurant in Calgary's Hillhurst neighbourhood is out thousands of dollars after it was broken into over the weekend.
While Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) publicly mulled moving its downtown emergency shelter to a location on 20th Street near the city's core, city documents reveal the wellness centre's present Fairhaven area location was heavily favoured early in the process.
The former site of the city’s bus barns is getting a facelift.
A new pilot project that just rolled out onto Saskatoon streets is off to a rocky start.
The Kiwanis slide, commonly known as the big yellow slide, opened in 1974 but hasn't been in use since 2019 due to structural problems, Explore Edmonton said.
An Edmonton man convicted of killing his pregnant wife and dumping her body in a ditch has been granted full parole.
Crown prosecutors say charges against an Alberta woman accused of mailing two puppies and a kitten have been dropped.
Job action has halted all classes at Capilano University in North Vancouver as the Ministry of Finance enters agreements with CUPE support staff at five post-secondary institutions in B.C.
A B.C. woman has agreed to cancel her nursing registration for at least 18 months after failing to provide round-the-clock care for a patient with “significant” needs.
The search for a 23-year-old man who went missing after a night out in Vancouver last month has come to a tragic end, police confirmed Tuesday.
