Advocates, experts warn against vilifying trans people in wake of Tumbler Ridge shooting

Commentary 'un-Canadian'

Photo: The Canadian Press

Speaker of the B.C. Legislative Assembly Raj Chouhan speaks at a candle light vigil at the front steps of the legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 in honour of the victims of the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

Advocates and experts are warning about the danger of vilifying an entire demographic based on the actions of one transgender person in the wake of the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

Their comments come after an independent provincial legislator in British Columbia claimed, without evidence, that the shooting rampage that left nine people dead was related to the perpetrator's gender identity.

The post added to a chorus of online posts claiming mass shooters are disproportionately transgender. In fact, the Gun Violence Archive has said less than 0.1 per cent of U.S. mass shootings between 2013 and 2025 were perpetrated by trans people, and Statistics Canada says roughly 0.3 per cent of the population is trans.

Aaron Devor, chair in transgender studies at the University of Victoria, says it is dangerous to paint any group as violent based on the actions of an individual or a small number of individuals, particularly when that messaging comes from elected officials.

He says it can lead to human rights being clawed back, something that's been happening in the United States and — to a lesser extent — here in Canada, where Alberta has limited youth access to gender-affirming care.

Police have said the shooter in Tumbler Ridge was an 18-year-old female who started transitioning six years ago — which Devor says is just one detail about the teenager that is getting a disproportionate amount of attention.

Tara Armstrong, an independent MLA in B.C. who has made speaking out against transgender people a pillar of her public identity, wrote on social media that there was an "epidemic of transgender violence" — a claim that is not backed up by the facts.

Fae Johnstone, executive director of Queer Momentum, says the country's focus should be on the victims of the shooting in Tumbler Ridge, but a mass of online vitriol has compelled her to speak up for her community lest they face even more discrimination.

"The actions of one individual do not represent a whole community and any attempt to politicize this tragedy is fundamentally un-Canadian," she said by phone from Halifax.