Calgary police chief warns of 'new normal' as shootings surge 59 percent

Calgary's police chief is sounding an alarm over what she calls a troubling "new normal" for officers on the front lines, citing a sharp increase in shootings, more drugs on city streets, and growing organized crime activity in 2026.

Chief Katie McLellan pointed Wednesday to a 59 percent increase in shootings so far this year, with 51 firearm-related incidents recorded as of Aug. 13, up from 32 over the same period in 2025. The increase is one part of a broader trend of escalating violence officers are encountering daily.

"We're seeing higher risk situations where individuals are using violence towards their officers, and we're seeing that more and more frequently," McLellan said. Calgary Police Service receives roughly 40 "officer in trouble" calls each month. There have been 51 assaults against Calgary police officers so far in 2026, not including assaults against peace officers.

The number of crime-related guns seized by Calgary police has more than doubled in 2026. Officers seized 442 firearms during the first seven months of 2026, compared with 214 during the same period in 2025. Cocaine seizures have climbed to more than 42,000 grams so far this year, up from around 17,000 in 2025. Methamphetamine seizures have also increased, reaching more than 31,000 grams compared with nearly 28,000 in the same period last year.

While some categories of crime have declined in 2026—including break-and-enters, vehicle thefts, property crime and minor assaults—it's the severity of assaults and frequency of serious crimes that has McLellan especially concerned. She pointed to last week's shooting of a Calgary police officer near Edworthy Park as an example of the increasingly volatile situations officers face. On Aug. 10, during a traffic stop on a black truck in Spruce Cliff, an occupant exited the vehicle and opened fire, striking an officer twice. The suspect fled into Edworthy Park, exchanging gunfire with responding officers and firing rounds at a CPS HAWCS helicopter—something McLellan said she does not recall ever happening before in her decades-long career.

"That is the new normal, and it's not a good new normal," she said. "I worry. That's one of the things that keeps me awake at night, is our members' well-being and the situations that they're currently exposed to."

McLellan cited Calgary's population growth—the city approaches 1.8 million residents—as one factor in the challenges police face. About 20 percent of offenders involved in this year's shooting incidents have been youths, with organized crime groups increasingly exploiting young people. As HighOnCity reported in June, four shootings in three days had already shaken the city earlier this year.