Eight people died on Ontario roads and waterways over the Civic Holiday long weekend, making it the deadliest long weekend the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have seen so far this year.
Five people died in road crashes, while three others died in separate marine incidents, OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said in a video posted to social media Thursday.
Two of the boating deaths happened after a canoe capsized. The third happened in a powerboat collision.
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“We haven’t seen these kinds of numbers since last year,” Schmidt said.
The OPP investigated more than 41,000 collisions across the province this year, according to the social media post.
During the long weekend, OPP officers laid more than 8,200 charges.
The offences included nearly 4,000 speeding tickets, more than 600 seatbelt charges, 188 impaired driving charges and 128 charges for failing to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles.
Schmidt noted the last long weekends which had multiple fatalities included Labour Day in 2025, when six people died in road crashes and one person died in an off-road vehicle collision, as well as Thanksgiving weekend last year, when 10 people died in motor vehicle crashes and three others died in off-road vehicle collisions.
Schmidt said the OPP hopes education and enforcement will encourage people to make good choices behind the wheel.
“Please think about your safety, other people around you and make safe decisions,” he said.
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