Violence on Transit Has Increased Post Pandemic, Police and Union Officials Say

Police officers and paramedics attend the scene of a stabbing onboard a transit bus in Surrey, B.C. on April 1, 2023. The Canadian Press/Shane MacKichan

Violence on public transit and in city spaces across Canada has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld said in relation to a spate of assaults in his city as well as Edmonton, Metro Vancouver and Toronto.

Neufeld said he’s talked to his counterparts in other cities and it’s hard to know what’s driving the violence, but calls related to mental health have been on the rise.