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List of disasters in Canada

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Yetanotherdrew (talk | contribs) at 11:34, 5 September 2022 (→1597–1867: added the wreck of HMS Feversham). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For a list organized by the number of fatalities, see List of disasters in Canada by death toll.

This list of disasters in Canada includes major disasters (arranged by date), either man-made or natural, that occurred on Canadian soil.

List

Pre-1597

Pre-colonial period
Date Disaster Type Location Region Notes Ref(s)

1597–1867

Colonial period
Date Disaster Type Location (Modern Name) Region Notes Ref(s)
1689 August 6 Lachine massacre Massacre Lachine, District of Montreal, Canada, New France
(Lachine, Quebec) 		Central Canada
1700 January 26 Cascadia earthquake Earthquake British Columbia West Coast Mw 8.7 – 9.2 megathrust earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone
1700 Eruption of Tseax Cone Volcanic eruption Tseax Cone, British Columbia West Coast One of Canada's worst known geophysical disasters.
1711 October 7 HMS Feversham Shipwreck Scatarie Island, Colony of Acadia, New France
(Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia) 		Maritimes 90 dead
1732 September 16 Montreal earthquake Earthquake District of Montreal, Canada, New France
(Montreal-region, Quebec) 		Central Canada
1775 September 9 Newfoundland hurricane Hurricane Colony of Newfoundland
(Newfoundland and Labrador) 		Atlantic Canada c. 4,000 dead
1782 September 17 Central Atlantic hurricane Hurricane Grand Banks of Newfoundland Atlantic Canada c. 3,500 dead
1797 November 16 HMS Tribune Shipwreck Herring Cove, Nova Scotia Maritimes 228 dead
1805 October 23 Aeneas Shipwreck Isle aux Morts, Colony of Newfoundland
(Isle aux Morts, Newfoundland and Labrador) 		Atlantic Canada 340 dead
1825 October 7 Miramichi Fire Fire Miramichi, New Brunswick, British North America
(Miramichi, New Brunswick) 		Maritimes
1834 September 11 Sybelle Shipwreck St. Paul Island, Nova Scotia Maritimes 316 dead
1854 October 27 Jeannette's Creek train wreck Train wreck Jeannettes Creek, Canada West, Province of Canada, British North America
(Jeannettes Creek, Ontario) 		Central Canada
1857 March 12 Desjardins Canal disaster Train wreck Hamilton, Canada West, Province of Canada, British North America
(Hamilton, Ontario) 		Central Canada 59 dead
1857 June 26 SS Montreal Shipwreck Quebec City, Canada East, Province of Canada, British North America
(Quebec City, Quebec) 		Central Canada 253 dead
1860 February 19 SS Hungarian Shipwreck Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia Maritimes 205 dead
1863 April 27 SS Anglo Saxon Shipwreck Cape Race, Colony of Newfoundland
(Cape Race, Newfoundland and Labrador) 		Atlantic Canada 237 dead
1864 June 29 St-Hilaire train disaster Train wreck Mont Saint Hilaire, Canada East, Province of Canada, British North America
(Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec) 		Central Canada

1867–1916

Early Dominion Period
Date Disaster Type Location (Modern Name) Region Notes Ref(s)
1873 April 1 SS Atlantic Shipwreck Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia Maritimes 535 dead
1873 May 13 Drummond Mine explosion Mining disaster Westville, Nova Scotia Maritimes Considered Canada's first mining disaster – 60–70 dead
1877 June 20 Great Fire of Saint John Fire Saint John, New Brunswick Maritimes
1880 November 12 Foord Pit explosion Mining disaster Stellarton, Nova Scotia Maritimes 44 Dead
1881 May 24 Victoria steamboat disaster Shipwreck Thames River, Ontario Central Canada
1885 February 10 Vale Colliery explosion Mining disaster near Stellarton, Nova Scotia Maritimes 13 killed
1887 Nanaimo mine explosion Mining disaster Nanaimo, British Columbia West Coast 148 dead
1889 September 19 Québec rockslide Geologic collapse near Quebec City, Quebec Central Canada
1892 July 8 The Great Fire of 1892 Fire St. John's, Newfoundland Island, Dominion of Newfoundland
(St. John's, Newfoundland) 		Atlantic Canada
1896 May 26 Point Ellice Bridge disaster Traffic-rail accident Victoria, British Columbia West Coast
1899 June 16 Caledonia Mine explosion Mining disaster Glace Bay, Nova Scotia Maritimes 11 Dead
1900 April 26 Great Hull Fire Fire Ottawa-Hull, Ontario-Quebec Central Canada Kills 7 people and destroys 4000 buildings in Hull (Québec) and Ottawa (Ontario)
1902 May 22 Coal Creek mine disaster Mining disaster Coal Creek, British Columbia West Coast 128 Dead
1902 December 27 Wanstead train disaster Train wreck Wanstead, Ontario
(Wanstead, Ontario) 		Central Canada
1903 April 29 Frank Slide at Turtle Mountain Geologic collapse Turtle Mountain, District of Alberta, Northwest Territories
(Turtle Mountain, Alberta) 		Prairies
1906 September 25 Sternwheeler Columbian disaster Shipwreck At Eagle Rock on the Yukon River, Yukon Northern Canada
1907 August 29 First Quebec Bridge Collapse Engineering disaster Quebec City, Quebec Central Canada
1908 February 7 Port Hood Mine explosion Mining disaster Port Hood, Nova Scotia Maritimes 10 Dead
1910 January 21 Spanish River derailment Train wreck Nairn and Hyman, Ontario Central Canada
1910 March 4 Rogers Pass avalanche Avalanche Rogers Pass, British Columbia West Coast
1910 December 9 Bellevue Mine explosion Mining disaster Bellevue, Alberta Prairies 30 dead
1912 April 15 Sinking of the RMS Titanic Shipwreck Atlantic Ocean, off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland Atlantic Canada
1912 June 30 Regina Cyclone Tornado Regina, Saskatchewan Prairies
1913 November The Great Lakes Storm of 1913 Meteorological storm Ontario Central Canada
1914 June 19 Hillcrest mine disaster Mining disaster Hillcrest, Alberta Prairies
1914 May 29 RMS Empress of Ireland collision Shipwreck Saint Lawrence River in Quebec Central Canada
1915 Britannia Landslide Geologic collapse Britannia Mine, British Columbia West Coast Massive landslide kills 50–60 people
1916 February 3 Burning of Parliament Buildings Fire Ottawa, Ontario Central Canada
1916 July Matheson Fire Fire Northeastern Ontario Central Canada
1916 Second Quebec Bridge Collapse Engineering disaster Quebec City, Quebec Central Canada

1917–1966

Pre-Centennial Period
Date Disaster Type Location Region Deaths Notes Ref(s)
1917 July 25 Dominion No. 12 Colliery explosion Mining disaster New Waterford, Nova Scotia Maritimes 65
1917 December 6 Halifax Explosion Wartime explosion Halifax, Nova Scotia Maritimes World War I
1918 January 23 Allan Mine explosion Mining disaster Stellarton, Nova Scotia Maritimes 88
1918 September 10 Protection Island mining disaster Mining disaster Nanaimo, BC West Coast 16 Nanaimo elevator cable snaps
1921 Debris flood Flood Britannia Creek, BC West Coast 37 Debris flood torrent kills 37 people in Britannia Beach
1922 October 4 and 5 The Great Fire Fire Timsikaming District, Ontario Central Canada
1925 February 2 Charlevoix–Kamouraska earthquake Earthquake Charlevoix-region, Quebec Central Canada
1927 January 9 Laurier Palace Theatre fire Fire Montreal, Quebec Central Canada
1929 November 18 Grand Banks earthquake and tsunami Tsunami and earthquake Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland Atlantic Canada
1938 December 6 Princess Pit rake disaster Mining disaster Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia Maritimes 21
1942 December 12 Knights of Columbus Hostel fire Fire St John's, Newfoundland Atlantic Canada
1942 December 27 Almonte train disaster Train wreck Almonte, Ontario Central Canada
1946 June 23 Vancouver Island earthquake Earthquake Vancouver Island, BC West Coast
1949 September 17 SS Noronic fire Fire/shipwreck Toronto, Ontario Central Canada
1950 1950 Red River flood Flood Manitoba Prairies
1952 January 14 McGregor Mine explosion Mining disaster Stellarton, Nova Scotia Maritimes 19
1952 July 9 No. 20 Colliery explosion Mining disaster Glace Bay, Nova Scotia Maritimes 7
1954 Hurricane Hazel Hurricane Ontario Central Canada
1956 May 15 Villa St. Louis disaster Aircrash Ontario Central Canada
1956 December 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 Aircrash British Columbia West Coast
1958 June 17 Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing collapse Engineering disaster Vancouver, BC West Coast
1958 October 23 Springhill mining disaster Mining disaster Springhill, Nova Scotia Maritimes
1959 June 20 Escuminac disaster Hurricane New Brunswick Maritimes
1963 November 29 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831 Aircrash Sainte-Thérèse-de-Blainville, Quebec Central Canada
1964 March 27 Port Alberni Tsunami Tsunami Port Alberni, BC West Coast
1965 January 9 Hope Slide Geologic collapse Hope, BC West Coast
1965 March 1 LaSalle Heights disaster Explosion LaSalle, Quebec Central Canada
1966 October 7 Dorion level crossing accident Rail disaster Dorion, Quebec Central Canada

1970–2016

Post-Centennial Period
Date Disaster Type Location Region Notes Ref(s)
1970 July 5 Air Canada Flight 621 Aircrash Ontario Central Canada
1971 May 4 Saint-Jean-Vianney landslide Geologic collapse Saint-Jean-Vianney, Quebec Central Canada
1972 September 1 Blue Bird Café fire Fire Montreal, Quebec Central Canada
1977 June 21 Saint John city hall fire Fire Saint John, New Brunswick Maritimes
1979 February 24 No. 26 Colliery explosion Mining disaster Glace Bay, Nova Scotia Maritimes 12 dead
1979 November 10 Mississauga train derailment Rail disaster Mississauga, Ontario Central Canada
1980 January 1 Opemiska Community Hall fire Fire Chapais, Quebec Central Canada
1982 February 15 Ocean Ranger sinking Shipwreck Grand Banks of Newfoundland Atlantic Canada
1985 May 31 1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak Tornado outbreak Southern Ontario Central Canada
1985 December 12 Arrow Air Flight 1285 Aircrash Gander, Newfoundland Atlantic Canada
1986 February 8 Hinton train collision Rail disaster Alberta Prairies
1986 June 14 Mindbender crash Roller Coaster Crash Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Alberta Prairies
1987 July 31 Edmonton Tornado Tornado Edmonton, Alberta Prairies
1989 October 8 Cormier Village hayride accident Traffic accident New Brunswick Atlantic Canada
1989 December 6 École Polytechnique massacre School shooting Montreal, Quebec Central Canada
1992 May 9 Westray Mine disaster Mining disaster Plymouth, Nova Scotia Atlantic Canada
1992 August 24 Concordia University massacre School shooting Montreal, Quebec Central Canada
1996 July 19–20 Saguenay flood Flood Saguenay-region, Quebec Central Canada
1997 April Red River flood of 1997
(Red Sea Flood) 		Flood Manitoba Prairies
1997 2nd Les Éboulements bus accident Traffic accident Quebec Central Canada
1998 January 5–9 Great Ice Storm of 1998 Meteorological storm Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick Eastern Canada Massive ice storm hits Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick
1998 September 2 Swissair Flight 111 Aircrash Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia Atlantic Canada
1999 September 3 87-vehicle pileup on Highway 401 near Windsor, Ontario Traffic accident Windsor, Ontario Central Canada
2000 May Walkerton Tragedy Civic works failure Walkerton, Ontario Central Canada
2000 July 14 Pine Lake tornado Tornado Pine Lake, Alberta Prairies
2003 April 24 2003 Etobicoke gas explosion Explosion Etobicoke, Ontario Central Canada
2003 September 29 Hurricane Juan Hurricane Halifax-area, Nova Scotia Atlantic Canada
2006 April 8 Shedden massacre Massacre Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario Central Canada
2006 September 13 Dawson College shooting School shooting Montréal, Quebec Central Canada
2006 September 30 De la Concorde overpass collapse Engineering disaster Laval, Quebec Central Canada
2008 January 12 2008 Bathurst Boys in Red accident Traffic accident Bathurst, New Brunswick Atlantic Canada
2009 March 12 Cougar Helicopters Flight 91 Aircrash off of Newfoundland Atlantic Canada
2011 June 2011 Assiniboine River flood Flood Manitoba Prairies
2011 May 15 Slave Lake fire Wildfires Slave Lake, Alberta Prairies
2011 August 20 First Air Flight 6560 Aircrash near Resolute, Nunavut Northern Canada
2011 August 21 Goderich Tornado Tornado Goderich, Ontario Central Canada
2012 February 26 Burlington derailment Rail accident Burlington, Ontario Central Canada
2013 June 20 – July 12 2013 Alberta floods Flood southwest Alberta around Calgary Region Prairies
2013 July 6 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster Rail accident Lac-Mégantic, Quebec Central Canada
2013 September 18 Ottawa bus–train crash Rail-traffic accident Ottawa, Ontario Central Canada
2014 January 23 L'Isle-Verte nursing home fire Fire L'Isle-Verte, Quebec Central Canada
2014 October 22 Ottawa Parliament shooting Terrorism Ottawa, Ontario Central Canada
2015 July La Ronge wildfire Wildfires La Ronge, Saskatchewan Prairies 13,000 people evacuated [1]
2016 January 22 La Loche shootings Spree shooting La Loche, Saskatchewan Prairies
2016 March 29 2016 Magdalen Islands Mitsubishi MU-2 crash Aircrash Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Magdalen Islands, Quebec Atlantic Canada
2016 May 1 – June 14 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Wildfires Fort McMurray, Alberta Prairies

2017–present

Pre-Bicentennial Period
Date Disaster Type Location Region Deaths Injures Notes Ref(s)
2017 January 29 Quebec City mosque shooting Mass shooting Quebec City, Quebec Central Canada 6 5 [2]
2017 April 5 – 2017 May 2017 Quebec floods Flood Quebec Quebec 2 Unknown [3]
2017 July 6 – September 15 2017 British Columbia wildfires Wildfires British Columbia West Coast Provincial state of emergency declared [4]
2017 September 30 2017 Edmonton attack Terrorism Edmonton, Alberta Prairies 0 5 [5]
2018 April 6 Humboldt Broncos bus crash Bus crash near Tisdale, Saskatchewan Prairies 16 13
2018 April 23 Toronto van attack Vehicle-ramming attack North York City Centre, North York, Toronto, Ontario Central Canada 10 16
2018 July 1 – July 5 2018 Eastern Canada heat wave Heat wave Eastern Canada Eastern Canada ~54 Unknown 54 people killed in Quebec [6]
2018 July 22 2018 Toronto shooting Mass shooting Toronto, Ontario Central Canada 3 0 3 deaths include 2 murders (victims) and 1 suicide (perpetrator) [7]
2018 August 15 – 2018 British Columbia wildfires Wildfires British Columbia West Coast Unknown Unknown Provincial state of emergency declared [8]
2018 September 21 2018 United States–Canada tornado outbreak Tornadoes Dunrobin, Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Gatineau, Quebec Eastern Canada 0 31 ~$300 million damage ,[9][10]
2019 May – 2019 August 2019 Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick floods Flood Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick Eastern and Central Canada [11]
2020 January 15 – present COVID-19 pandemic Pandemic Canada National 38,688 (as of 21 April 2022) [12][13]
2020 April 18 – 2020 April 19 2020 Nova Scotia attacks Mass shooting, arson Nova Scotia Eastern Canada 23 3 [14]
2020 May 17 Canadian Forces Snowbirds jet crash Aircrash Kamloops, British Columbia West Coast 1 1 1 injured, 1 casualty (Capt. Jenn Casey from Nova Scotia) [15]
2021 June 25 – 2021 July 7 Western Canada Heatwave Heatwave Western Canada Prairies and West Coast 595[16]
2021 June 30 Lytton wildfire Wildfire Lytton, British Columbia West Coast 2 Several Over 90% of Lytton destroyed [17]
2021 November 14 British Columbia Floods Floods lower half of British Columbia West Coast 4 at least 10 Provincial state of emergency declared
2022 January 13 Ottawa Eastway Tank Explosion 2022 Fire Ottawa, Ontario Eastern and Central Canada 6 2 Industrial explosion [18] [19] [20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "'Unprecedented' wildfires force out 13,000 Sask. evacuees". 2018 CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC News Saskatchewan. July 6, 2015. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Dienst, Jonathan; Schecter, Anna R.; Blankstein, Andrew; Saliba, Emmanuelle; Connor, Tracy (January 31, 2017). "Quebec 'Terrorist Attack': College Student Alexandre Bissonnette Charged". Comcast Corporation. NBC News. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "After 2017's devastating floods, Quebec communities face tough questions about building on flood plains". Cbc.ca. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Provincial state of emergency declared". News Gov BC. Government of British Columbia. July 7, 2017. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  5. ^ "Male suspect arrested in connection with vicious knife attack on EPS officer and subsequent vehicle-pedestrian collisions". Edmonton Police. Edmonton Police Service. October 1, 2017. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "50 people now dead due to sweltering Quebec heat wave". Global News. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  7. ^ "Toronto shooting: Gunman kills woman and child in Greektown". BBC. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  8. ^ "Provincial state of emergency declared | BC Gov News". News.gov.bc.ca. August 15, 2018.
  9. ^ "6 tornadoes hit Ottawa-Gatineau region, Environment Canada says". Cbc.ca. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  10. ^ Adriano, Lyle. "Ottawa-Gatineau tornadoes cause nearly $300 million in insured damage". Insurancebusinessmag.com.
  11. ^ Pringle, Josh (December 19, 2019). "Ottawa River flooding the top weather story of 2019". Ottawa.
  12. ^ Public Health Agency of Canada (September 13, 2020). "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak updates, symptoms, prevention, travel, preparation". Canada.ca.
  13. ^ "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak updates, symptoms, prevention, travel, preparation". Canada.ca. 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  14. ^ "Here's what we know about the victims of the Nova Scotia mass shooting | Globalnews.ca". Globalnews.ca.
  15. ^ "Canadian Forces Snowbirds jet crashes in Kamloops, B.C., killing 1, injuring another". Cbc.ca. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  16. ^ "Nearly 600 people died due to record-setting B.C. heat wave this summer". vancouversun. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  17. ^ "'Most homes' in Lytton, B.C., destroyed by catastrophic fire, minister says". Cbc.ca. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  18. ^ "'The Merivale explosion — what we know, and how it all happened". Cbc.ca. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  19. ^ Eastway explosion: A timeline of a disaster and the days that followed, Ottawa Citizen, January 21, 2022
  20. ^ Emergency dispatches offer new perspective on Eastway Tank explosion response, Cbc.ca, July 4, 2022
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