List of disasters in Canada by death toll
This list of Canadian disasters by death toll includes major disasters (excluding acts of war) that occurred on Canadian soil or involved Canadian citizens, in a definable incident, where the loss of life was 10 or more.
200 or more deaths
Disaster | Type | Location | Deaths | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1918 influenza pandemic | Pandemic | Canada | 55,000+ | 1918–1919 | |
COVID-19 | Pandemic | Canada | 53,000+ | 2020–present | Ongoing |
HIV/AIDS | Pandemic | Canada | 26,000+ | 1981–present | Ongoing |
Canadian typhus | Epidemic | Canada | 20,000+ | 1847–1848 | |
Asian flu | Pandemic | Canada | 7,000 | 1957–1958 | |
Russian flu | Pandemic | Canada | 6,000 | 1890–1891 | |
Newfoundland Hurricane of 1775 | Hurricane | Newfoundland | 4,000 | 1775[1] | |
Hong Kong flu | Pandemic | Canada | 4,000 | 1968 | |
1700 Cascadia earthquake | Earthquake | British Columbia | Unknown, likely several thousand | January 26, 1700 | True figures unknown. Many coastal First Nations villages (such as Kiix-in) were completely wiped out.[2][3][4] |
Tseax Cone eruption | Volcano | British Columbia | 2,000 | ~1700[5] | |
Halifax Explosion | Explosion | Nova Scotia | 2,000 | 1917 | estimate; 1,950 recorded names |
RMS Empress of Ireland | Shipwreck | Quebec | 1,012 | 1914 | St. Lawrence River |
2021 Western North America heat wave | Heat wave | British Columbia and Alberta | 676 | 2021 | 610 excess deaths in BC and 66 excess deaths in Alberta during the week[6][7][8] |
Polio | Epidemic | Canada | 500+ | 1953 | |
RMS Atlantic | Shipwreck | Nova Scotia | 562 | 1873 | Marrs Head, Mosher Island, Meagher's Island |
Swine flu | Pandemic | Canada | 428 | 2009 to 2010 | out of 3 million Canadians infected |
Duke William | Shipwreck | North Atlantic, near English coast | 360 | December 13, 1758 | during the expulsion of the Acadians[9] |
SS Princess Sophia | Shipwreck | Near Juneau, Alaska | 353 | 1918 | en route from Vancouver and Victoria to northern BC and Alaska |
Aeneas | Shipwreck | Newfoundland | 340 | 1805 | Isle aux Morts |
Violet | Shipwreck | England | 300 | December 13, 1758[10] | during the expulsion of the Acadians, near English coast, bound for France |
Sybelle | Shipwreck | St. Paul Island, Nova Scotia | 316 | September 11, 1834 | emigrant ship wreck |
Great Labrador Gale of 1885 | Hurricane | Coast of Labrador, Newfoundland | 300 | October 10, 1885[11][12] | |
SS Pacific | Shipwreck | British Columbia | 298 | 1875 | near Cape Flattery out of Victoria, BC |
Air India Flight 182 | Terrorism | Atlantic Ocean | 268 (Canadians) | 1985 | flight out of Montréal Mirabel International Airport, bomb exploded off the coast of Ireland. 268 out of 329 total fatalities were Canadian. |
Arrow Air Flight 1285 | Aircrash | Gander, NL | 256 | 1985 | As of 2022, it is the deadliest aviation accident to occur on Canadian soil.[13] |
SS Montreal | Shipwreck | Quebec | 253 | June 26, 1857 | burned near Québec.[14] |
Great Lakes Storm of 1913 | Storm | Great Lakes Basin, ON | 250 | 1913 | estimate for Canada and U.S. fatalities |
HMS Tribune | Shipwreck | Halifax, NS | 238 | 1797 | Wrecked at Halifax |
SS Anglo Saxon | Shipwreck | Cape Race, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland | 237 | 1863[15] | Allan Line shipwreck |
Swissair Flight 111 | Aircrash | Nova Scotia | 229 | 1998 | St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia |
Nova Scotia hurricane of 1873 | Hurricane | Nova Scotia | 223 (disputed) | 1873 | The Monthly Weather Review, published by the American Meteorological Society, set the death toll at 223 but the New York Times set the toll at 600 |
Matheson Fire | Fire | Ontario | 223 | 1916 | Official estimate[16] |
SS Hungarian | Shipwreck | Cape Sable, NS | 205 | 1860[17] | Allan Line passenger ship wrecked Cape Sable, NS |
USS Pollux (AKS-2) and USS Truxtun (DD-229) | Shipwreck | Placentia Bay, Newfoundland | 203 | 1942 | Wreck of the USS Pollux resulted in 93 fatalities and USS Truxtun 110; the USS Wilkes (DD-441) also grounded, but there were no fatalities. |
100 to 199 deaths
Disaster | Type | Location | Deaths | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ruby | Shipwreck | near the Azores | 190+[18] | December 16, 1758 | during the expulsion of the Acadians |
Hillcrest mine disaster | Explosion | Hillcrest, AB | 189 | June 19, 1914 | |
Victoria steamboat disaster | Shipwreck | London, ON | 182+ | May 24, 1881 | [19] |
SS Southern Cross | Shipwreck | Newfoundland | 174 | March 31, 1914 | |
SS Florizel | Shipwreck | Cappahayden, NL | 173 | February 23, 1918 | |
1927 Nova Scotia hurricane | Hurricane | NS | 173-192 | August 23–25, 1927 | approximate figure, most deaths occurred at sea |
Miramichi fire | Forest fire | NB | 160 | October 1825 | |
1887 Nanaimo mine explosion | Explosion | Nanaimo, BC | 150 | May 3, 1887 | |
SS Valencia | Shipwreck | Vancouver Island, BC | 136 | January 22, 1906 | |
Franklin's lost expedition | Mass disappearance | Northwest Passage | 129 | 1845–1848 | The final expedition of John Franklin, where the HMS Erebus (1826) and HMS Terror (1813) were lost in the Northwest Passage |
Coal Creek mine disaster | Explosion | Coal Creek, BC | 128 | May 22, 1902 | |
First Springhill mining disaster | Explosion | Springhill, NS | 125 | February 21, 1891 | |
SS Noronic fire | Shipwreck | Toronto, ON | 118 | September 17, 1949 | |
Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831 | Plane crash | Sainte-Thérèse, QC | 118 | November 29, 1963 | |
HMS Acorn | Shipwreck | Halifax, NS | 115 | April 14, 1828 | |
Air Canada Flight 621 | Plane crash | Brampton, ON | 109 | July 5, 1970 | |
HMS Feversham | Shipwreck | Scatarie Island, Main-à-Dieu, NS | 102 | October 7, 1711 |
10 to 99 deaths
- 99 – St-Hilaire train disaster, Richelieu River, Beloeil, Quebec, June 29, 1864 [deadliest train disaster in Canada]
- 99 – Knights of Columbus Hostel fire, St John's, Newfoundland, December 12, 1942
- 84 – Ocean Ranger oil platform sinking, Grand Banks, February 15, 1982
- 81 [Canadian fatalities only] – Hurricane Hazel, Toronto, October 1954
- 78 – SS Newfoundland seal hunt disaster, Newfoundland, March 1914
- 77 – Laurier Palace Theatre fire, Montreal, January 9, 1927
- 76 – Quebec Bridge first collapse, August 29, 1907
- 74 – Third Springhill mining disaster, Springhill, Nova Scotia, October 23, 1958
- 74 – The 2018 North American heat wave resulted in 74 deaths in Quebec[20]
- 73–200 – Great Porcupine Fire, Porcupine, Ontario, July 10, 1911
- 70 – Desjardins Canal disaster, railway bridge collapse, March 12, 1857
- 70 – Frank Slide, Turtle Mountain (Alberta), April 29, 1903
- 64 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402 (CP402) McDonnell Douglas DC-8-43 crashed on landing, Tokyo, Japan March 4, 1966
- 63 [Canadian fatalities only] – Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, January 8, 2020 [fatalities may exclude some holders of Iranian passports ]
- 62 – Rogers Pass avalanche, Rogers Pass, British Columbia, March 4, 1910
- 62 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, Chilliwack, British Columbia, December 9, 1956
- 60 – Britannia Mine Jane Camp landslide, British Columbia, March 22, 1915
- 59 – Despatch shipwreck, Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland, July 12, 1828[21]
- 55 – Point Ellice Bridge disaster, Victoria, British Columbia, May 26, 1896
- 55-58 – 1926 Nova Scotia hurricane, August 8, 1926 [approximate figure, most deaths occurred at sea]
- 54 – 2018 Eastern Canada heat wave[22]
- 52 – Great Western Railway passenger train collides with the tail end of gravel train at Baptiste Creek, Canada West. October 27, 1854
- 52-232 – 1900 Galveston hurricane, September 12–14, 1900 [approximate figure, most deaths occurred at sea]
- 52 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 Douglas DC-6B crashed near Dog Creek, British Columbia when a bomb blew its tail section away, July 8, 1965
- 48 – Opémiska Community Hall fire, Chapais, Quebec, December 31, 1979
- 47 – Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, July 6, 2013
- 44 – Spanish River derailment, Northern Ontario, January 21, 1910
- 44 – US Military DC-4 crash, 42 US military personnel and 2 civilians, presumably somewhere in Yukon or British Columbia, January 26, 1950
- 44 – 1997 Les Éboulements bus accident, Quebec, October 13, 1997
- 43 – Great Fire of 1922, Timiskaming District, Ontario, October 4–5, 1922
- 43 – SARS outbreak, Toronto, Ontario, February–September 2003 (out of 251 total cases)
- 42 – Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, Cranbrook/Canadian Rockies International Airport, February 11, 1978
- 40+ – HMS Penelope, April 30, 1815, near Cap des Rosiers (many survivors later froze to death)[23]
- 40 – Quebec rockslide, Cap Diamant, September 19, 1889
- 40 – SS Islander (Canadian Pacific Steam Navigation Company), sunk by iceberg, Lynn Canal south of Juneau, Alaska, August 15, 1901
- 40 [Canadian fatalities only] – Titanic, sank April 15, 1912 (Canadian deaths only of 1,517 total)[24]
- 40 – Eastman Bus Crash, Eastman, Quebec, August 4, 1978
- 39 – Hollinger Mining Disaster, Timmins, Ontario, February 10, 1928
- 39 – Almonte train wreck, December 27, 1942
- 39 – Second Springhill mining disaster, Springhill, Nova Scotia, November 1, 1956
- 38 - Sinking of the Commerce in Lake Erie off of Port Maitland, Canada West., May 1, 1850
- 37 – Great Labrador Gale of 1867, October 9, 1867
- 37+ – 1869 Saxby Gale, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, October 4–5, 1869 [most deaths occurred at sea]
- 37 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Douglas C-54 A-10-DC disappeared en route without trace out of Vancouver, British Columbia for Anchorage, Alaska, July 21, 1951
- 37 – Blue Bird Café fire, Montreal, September 1, 1972
- 37 – Britannia Beach flood, British Columbia, October 28, 1921
- 35 – 1959 Escuminac hurricane, Gulf of St. Lawrence, June 19, 1959
- 32 – L'Isle-Verte nursing home fire, L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, January 23, 2014
- 31 – Halifax Poor House Fire, November 7, 1882
- 31 – Dugald train disaster, Dugald, Manitoba, September 1, 1947
- 31 – Saint-Jean-Vianney, Quebec mudslide, May 4, 1971[25]
- 30 – John B. King explosion, near Brockville, Ontario, June 26, 1930, lightning struck a drill boat containing dynamite
- 30 [est.] – Quebec blizzard, March 3–5, 1971 (conservative estimate, all in Quebec)
- 29 – 1929 Grand Banks earthquake and tsunami, Burin Peninsula, November 18, 1929
- 29 – SS Edmund Fitzgerald, Lake Superior November 10, 1975, went down with all hands
- 28 – Regina Cyclone, Regina, Saskatchewan, June 30, 1912
- 28 – LaSalle Heights Disaster, LaSalle, Quebec, March 1, 1965
- 28 [Canadian fatalities only] – North American ice storm of 1998, January 1998
- 27 – SS Viking, explosion, Horse Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador, March 15, 1931
- 27 – Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing bridge collapse, Vancouver, June 17, 1958
- 27 – Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 301 Bristol Britannia crashed in Honolulu, Hawaii, July 22, 1962
- 27 – Edmonton tornado, Edmonton, Alberta, July 31, 1987
- 26+ – HMS Speedy shipwreck in snowstorm, Lake Ontario, October 8, 1804
- 26-28 – Granduc Mine avalanche, Stewart, British Columbia, February 18, 1965 (some references say 28 were killed)
- 26 – Westray Mine methane explosion, Plymouth, Nova Scotia, May 9, 1992
- 24 – Air Ontario Flight 1363, near Dryden, Ontario, March 10, 1989
- 24 – 9/11, September 11, 2001 [Canada fatalities only]
- 23 – Québec Airways DC-3 bomb sabotage, Saint-Joachim, Quebec, September 9, 1949 See Albert Guay
- 23 – Air Canada Flight 797, aircraft fire, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, June 2, 1983
- 23 – Hinton train collision, Hinton, Alberta, February 8, 1986
- 23 – Legionnaire's disease outbreak, Toronto, 2005[26][27]
- 23 – 2020 Nova Scotia attacks, Nova Scotia, April 18–19, 2020
- 22 – Bus crash Swift Current, Saskatchewan, May 28, 1980[28]
- 22 – 2008 Canada listeriosis outbreak, 2008 (out of 57 total cases)
- 21 – Canoe River train crash, Valemount, British Columbia, November 21, 1950
- 21 – MV Flare bulk carrier shipwreck, Cabot Strait, January 16, 1998
- 20 – Beauval Indian Residential School fire, Beauval, Saskatchewan, September 20, 1927
- 19 – Dorion level crossing accident, Dorion, Quebec, October 7, 1966
- 18 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, March 10, 2019 [Canadian victims only]
- 17 – School bus train collision, Lamont, Alberta, November 29, 1960[29]
- 17 – Windsor–Tecumseh tornado, Windsor, Ontario June 17, 1946[30]
- 17 – Cougar Helicopters Flight 91, off Newfoundland, March 12, 2009
- 16 – Protection Island mining disaster, September 10, 1918: elevator cable break[31]
- 16 – Humboldt Broncos bus crash, April 6, 2018
- 16 - Carberry highway collision, Carberry, Manitoba, June 15, 2023
- 15 – Ottawa & New York Railway Bridge (south channel crossing) bridge collapse, Cornwall, Ontario, September 6, 1898
- 15 – Orleans air disaster, Orleans, Ontario, May 15, 1956
- 15 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 307 Douglas DC-6B aircrash, near Cold Bay, Alaska, August 29, 1956
- 15 – 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami [Canadian victims only]
- 15 – Les Éboulements bus accident, Quebec, June 1, 1974
- 14 – "Barrie" tornado outbreak, May 31, 1985
- 14 – École Polytechnique massacre, shooting rampage, December 6, 1989
- 13 – Sand Point, Ontario, head-on train collision, February 9, 1904
- 13 – Quebec Bridge second collapse, September 11, 1913
- 13 – MS Arctic Explorer shipwreck, off St Anthony, Newfoundland, July 3, 1981
- 12 - Boating tragedy Lake of Two Mountains, L'Île-Bizard, Quebec. Twelve NCC (Negro Community Centre) children drown, July 13 1954.
- 12 – M.F.V. Enterprise and MV Patrick Morris sinking (the latter was responding to a mayday call from the former), northeast of Cape Breton Island, April 20, 1970
- 12 – Cormier-Village Hayride Accident, Cormier-Village, New Brunswick, Oct 1989
- 12 – Pine Lake tornado in Alberta, July 14, 2000
- 12 – First Air Flight 6560 a Boeing 737 crashes near Resolute Bay, Nunavut, August 20, 2011
- 11 – Canadian Pacific Airlines De Havilland DH-106 Comet 1A CF-CUN "Empress of Hawaii", crashed on takeoff from Karachi, Pakistan, March 3, 1953 (first passenger jetliner involved in a fatal accident)[32]
- 11 – Collision between a van and an eighteen-wheeler, between Stratford and Perth, Ontario, February 6, 2012. (ten of the killed were Peruvian migrant workers)[33]
- 11 – St. George bridge derailment, St. George, Ontario, February 27, 1889
- 10 – Metropolitan Store explosion, Windsor, Ontario, October 25, 1960[34]
- 10 – Rupert Hotel Fire, Toronto, December 23, 1989[35]
- 10 – Toronto van attack, Toronto, April 23, 2018
- 10 – 2022 Saskatchewan stabbings, Saskatchewan, September 4, 2022
- 10 – Port Colborne explosion, Port Colborne, Ontario, August 9, 1919
See also
- Index of Canada-related articles
- List of Deadliest Canadian Traffic Accidents (by death toll)
- List of disasters in Antarctica by death toll
- List of disasters in Australia by death toll
- List of disasters in Canada (by date)
- List of disasters in Croatia by death toll
- List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll
- List of disasters in New Zealand by death toll
- List of disasters in Poland by death toll
- List of disasters in the United States by death toll
- List of anthropogenic disasters by death toll (worldwide)
- Volcanism of Canada
References
- "The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1996". www.nhc.noaa.gov.
- Meissner, Dirk (18 January 2015), "Earth will rip open like a zipper, expert says, when overdue Vancouver Island quake strikes", Toronto Star, retrieved 19 January 2015
- "Prepare for next tsunami, says chief". Raven's Eye, Vol. 8, No. 9, 2009.
- "Haida Gwaii Quake Brings Home the Importance of Quileute Relocation Legislation" Archived 2016-08-23 at the Wayback Machine. Indian Country Today Media Network, November 6, 2012.
- D. Higgins, Michael (2008). "The Cascadia megathrust earthquake of 1700 may have rejuvenated an isolated basalt volcano in western Canada: Age and petrographic evidence". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 179 (1–2): 149. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2008.10.016. ISSN 0377-0273.
- "Number of deaths recorded during B.C.'s heat wave up to 808, coroners say". CTV British Columbia. 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
- Potestio, Michael (2021-07-21). "Estimate on number of suspected heat-related deaths rises to 808". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
- Johnson, Lisa (2021-07-06). "Alberta saw spike in reported deaths during heatwave, causes still under investigation". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
- Letter from Captain William Nichols dated December 16, 1758 says 360 passengers aboard the Duke William: London Magazine XXVII, p. 655.
- Letter from Captain William Nichols dated December 16, 1758 says 300 passengers aboard the Violet: London Magazine XXVII, p. 655.
- "THE GALE OFF LABRADOR; FURTHER DETAILS OF ITS DESTRUCTIVE WORK.SUFFERINGS OF THE SHIPWRECKED CREWS--OVER 75 LIVES LOST AND 80 VESSELSWRECKED--HEROIC DEEDS". New York Times. 1885-11-08.
- Coastal Flooding: Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
- Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF N950JW Gander Airport, NL (YQX)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
- Marine Disasters
- Anglo Saxon wreck 1863 Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Heritage Foundation of Canada Archived 2012-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
- On the Rocks: Shipwrecks of Nova Scotia - Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax, Nova Scotia Archived 2007-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Lockerby, Earle (Spring 1998). "The Deportation of the Acadians from Ile St.-Jean, 1758". Acadiensis. XXVII (2): 45–94.
- ""THE "VICTORIA" BOAT DISASTER 1881" - London - Ontario Provincial Plaques on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
- Hauen, Jack (5 July 2018). "Highlighting differences with Quebec, Ontario coroner announces investigations of three heat-related deaths". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- Brief History of the Workington brig Despatch / Dispatch Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
- "50 people now dead due to sweltering Quebec heat wave". Global News. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
- "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (4987). 11 July 1815.
- "The Demographics of Titanic Passengers".
- "CBC News Indepth: Forces of nature - Flooding".
- Alamenciak, Tim (July 24, 2013). "Toronto sees spike in legionnaires' disease cases". Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
- "People's Daily Online -- Legionnaires' disease claims another life in Toronto". english.people.com.cn.
- "Canada's worst bus crash". Montreal Gazette. April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
- Pruden, Jana. "Survivors recall 'The Tragedy'". www.edmontonjournal.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- 1946 Windsor–Tecumseh, Ontario tornado
- Lindsay, AScT, Shari (2004), Coal Mine Underground Workings Atlas, Nanaimo, BC: Pacific Spatial Systems
- Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland DH-106 Comet 1A CF-CUN Karachi-Mauripur RAF Station". aviation-safety.net.
- "Ontario crash kills 11, including migrant workers". CBC News. 2012-02-07.
- Windsor Fire and Rescue Services History Archived 2012-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
- "The horror of the Rupert Hotel fire still lingers". Spacing.ca. December 24, 2014.
External links
- Canadian Disasters: an historical survey by Robert L. Jones
- SOS! Canadian Disasters, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada
- Maritime Museum of the Atlantic: Marine Heritage Database
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