It’s not uncommon for Canadians to respond to reports of school shootings in the U.S. with a sense of comfort that at least such things rarely happen on our side of the border.
While we should always remember that Montreal was the site of one of the first horrific educational institution shootings with the killing of 14 women at École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989, similar “active shooter” incidents of gun violence resulting in the deaths of random students and educators in Canada since then can be counted on one hand. In the U.S., according to security.org, a website that analyzes such data, an average of six active shooter events occur in K-12 schools each year, and 796 people were killed and 1,740 injured from all types of gun violence at K-12 schools in the U.S. between 1999 and 2025. It may be of little comfort to those who lost loved ones in Tumbler Ridge last week, but there is still no comparison between our two countries when it comes to safety at school or elsewhere.
Another stark difference is the ability to set aside partisan animosity to honour victims and help hold up a community together. That’s exactly what the world saw at the Feb. 13 vigil in Tumbler Ridge, with the attendance of all federal political party leaders, the Governor General and Lieutenant Governor of B.C., and provincial government and local officials, and what will be a photographic image for the ages: Prime Minister Mark Carney and Leader of the Official Opposition Pierre Poilievre holding hands in a line with others as part of that vigil.
By participating in and proving to be true class acts at the vigil, our elected officials and dignitaries gave Canada another reason to be proud. It’s not that we always want politicians to be on the same page, of course, but this is a case when witnessing unity and collective compassion is extremely powerful and the only appropriate response.
For the rest of us, events in Tumbler Ridge remind us of the importance of reaching out to community members and holding them up in whatever way we can through their struggles and grief.
People wanting to contribute to the long-term healing of Tumbler Ridge residents impacted by the events of Feb. 10 can do so through the Tumbler Ridge Community Resilience Fund of the Northeast B.C. Community Foundation at nebccf.ca.