Police and officials survey the scene after shots were fired at the U.S. consulate in Toronto on Tuesday.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Mark Carney said federal and local police forces will work together to catch the individuals who fired multiple shots at the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto on Tuesday, in what the RCMP are calling a national-security incident.
“We’ll use the full weight of resources and ensure that the perpetrators feel the full weight of justice,” Mr. Carney told journalists as he arrived Tuesday for Question Period on Parliament Hill.
In an earlier post on X, Mr. Carney called the incident involving the U.S. consulate – one of seven in Canada – a “reprehensible act of violence and attempt at intimidation.”
The RCMP said police will be stepping up patrols and security around the consulate, the U.S. embassy in Ottawa and the Israeli consulate in Toronto.
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, in a post on social media, said the attack on the consulate was “deeply troubling,” and he was grateful no one was hurt.
He said his team is engaging with Toronto police and Canadian authorities. “We have full confidence in their investigation,” his post said. “Our work continues, we will not be intimidated.”
Chief Superintendent Chris Leather with the RCMP in Ontario told reporters that police consider the occurrence at the consulate on University Avenue “a national-security incident.”
“I think it’s fairly obvious, based on the incidents that have occurred here in Toronto and elsewhere, that these consulates deserve a heightened amount of vigilance at this time, in hopes we can take the temperature down in the coming days and weeks,” he said.
Toronto police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo, also at the news conference, said police are mindful of a recent series of incidents in which bullets were fired at three Toronto-area synagogues in just over one week.
“It is not lost on us that the city has unfortunately experienced similar types of events, extremely serious and very concerning shootings at synagogues, and this very much factors into how we will approach this matter as well,” he said.
Toronto police say two suspects pulled up in front of the U.S. consulate in a white Honda CR-V and opened fire with a handgun before fleeing the scene. Police say security will be increased at embassies and consulates in both Toronto and Ottawa.
The Canadian Press
Police speaking at the news conference said a white Honda CR-V pulled up outside the consulate at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Two men got out of the vehicle, and a handgun was used to fire multiple shots at the fortified building, Deputy Chief Barredo said.
Although there were people inside the consulate, the deputy chief said they may not have noticed the shots. “That’s how strong this building is,” he said.
However, police who turned up on the scene found shell casings in the area, he said.
Police said it was too early to say whether the shooting was connected to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford condemned the shooting.
“I can reassure the consul-general and our U.S. friends and allies that we’re going to throw everything at this,” Mr. Ford told a news conference at the provincial legislature.
The Premier said he had spoken to the commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, which is now working collaboratively with other levels of government, including municipal police and the RCMP.
“They’re going to catch these criminals and we’re going to hold them accountable and they’re going to face the full extent of the law,” Mr. Ford said.
A person looks out of a window as police survey the scene after shots were fired at the consulate. Police who turned up on the scene found shell casings in the area, Deputy Chief Barredo said.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, responding to the attack, described political violence as unacceptable and wrong.
“I hope the perpetrator is arrested, convicted and jailed for a long time,” he said in a post on X.
The Conservatives also questioned the government about the potential domestic fallout from the Iran war during Question Period Tuesday.
They pointed to the recent shootings at synagogues in Toronto and the presence of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members in Canada. The IRGC is an Iranian military force listed as a terrorist entity by the Canadian government in 2024.
“Liberals are allowing foreign conflicts to spill onto our streets and Canadians are paying the price,” Conservative MP Tamara Kronis said.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the government is working to ensure IRGC members are removed and noted that Iranian regime officials are under sanctions in Canada.
With a report from Stephanie Levitz in Ottawa