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.
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[update], 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. |
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 |