22 drownings in Quebec so far this year prompts urgent calls for water safety

Isaac Olson · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 27, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

After astatine slightest 22 drownings successful Quebec since the commencement of the twelvemonth — including 2 astatine Montreal's Verdun Beach successful caller weeks — the Quebec Lifesaving Society is renewing its calls for caution.

"Follow the instructions, that mode you'll person stories to archer alternatively of tragedies to inflict connected your loved ones," said enforcement manager Raynald Hawkins.

Recreational and athletics swimming are the starring causes of the astir 80 drownings successful Quebec each year. And successful fractional of those cases, the idiosyncratic is unsocial erstwhile it happens, helium said.

That's wherefore 1 should ne'er aquatics alone, helium said. That way, if there's a problem, idiosyncratic tin telephone 911 oregon effort a rescue.

It's besides important that radical not overestimate their swimming ability, helium said.

Adam Di Fulvio, laminitis of Montreal Institute of Swimming, said radical should beryllium doing a information appraisal whenever they are astir water. That means checking for beingness vests, if determination is simply a lifeguard connected duty, however accelerated the h2o is moving — each things to support successful caput nary substance your swimming ability, helium said.

"Be alert of the risks," helium said. "A batch of radical deliberation drowning happens to others, but it happens to everyone."

Wear a beingness vest successful unsupervised areas

When going extracurricular supervised swimming zones oregon into a stream with a current, Hawkins recommends wearing a beingness vest.

At a spot similar Verdun Beach, Hawkins said swimmers should enactment wrong the designated swimming zone.

"As soon arsenic you transverse that line, determination are decidedly currents," helium said. "The infinitesimal you spell beyond the aquatics zone, you're taking a risk."

Hawkins said, erstwhile the City of Montreal established the beach, it conducted hydrographic studies to marque definite the country would beryllium protected from currents. 

"But the information remains, you're successful the river. So of people there's current," helium said.

Hawkins pointed retired that adjacent if the aboveground of the h2o looks calm, determination tin beryllium beardown currents, vortexes and downward suction underneath. 

Falls relationship for 25% of drownings

With clime alteration successful mind, Hawkins said he believes h2o supervision should commencement earlier successful the season.

At the clip of the archetypal decease astatine Verdun Beach connected June 7, the formation had not yet opened and was truthful unsupervised. 

But astatine the clip of the 2nd death, connected Monday, the formation was unfastened and supervised.

"A young antheral mislaid his beingness successful the stream — again, extracurricular the supervised swimming portion astatine Verdun Beach," said borough politician Marie-Andrée Mauger, expressing her condolences connected Facebook to the household and friends of the victim.

"Outside the supervised swimming area, the stream is precise unsafe and swimming conditions are highly risky owed to beardown currents, adaptable depths and uneven footing."

According to the Quebec Lifesaving Society's 2024 study connected drowning, 76 per cent of victims are male. The study says 25 per cent of drownings hap portion radical are not engaged successful a h2o activity, but autumn successful portion walking, hiking oregon working. Di Fulvio said this is wherefore radical should ever beryllium reasoning up astir information erstwhile adjacent water, not lone erstwhile they program connected boating oregon swimming.

Rivers are wherever radical drown the most, accounting for 35 per cent of cases portion little than 1 per cent hap successful supervised swimming areas.

Di Fulvio said men successful the 25 to 50 property radical are often among victims — intoxicant is often involved, arsenic is being unsocial and not having a beingness jacket. He said rivers often assertion lives due to the fact that the h2o is moving faster than radical realize.

"People get caught successful the current. They get pulled away. They get bushed and the h2o takes them," helium said.