Calgary’s top cop is sounding the alarm over what she describes as a troubling “new normal” for officers on the front lines, as the city grapples with a sharp increase in shootings, more drugs on the city’s streets and growing organized crime activity in 2026.
Speaking to Postmedia Calgary on Wednesday, Calgary police chief Katie McLellan pointed to a 59 per cent 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 just one part of what McLellan describes as a new trend of increasing violence that officers are dealing with on a daily basis.
“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.
The Calgary Police Service receives roughly 40 “officer in trouble” calls each month, and there have also 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 also more than doubled so far in 2026, according to CPS statistics. Officers seized 442 firearms during the first seven months of 2026, compared with 214 during the same period last year.
Calgary Police Organized Crime Unit shows to media in Calgary on August 11, 2026, some of the items recently seized after a lengthy investigation.
Police are also seizing larger quantities of some illicit drugs.
So far in 2026, officers have seized more than 42,000 grams of cocaine, up from around 17,000 in 2025. Methamphetamine seizures have also increased, reaching more than 31,000 grams so far this year, compared with nearly 28,000 in 2025.
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 in Calgary this year that has the chief especially concerned.
McLellan pointed to last week’s shooting of a Calgary police officer and its “chaotic” nature as an example of the increasingly volatile situations officers are encountering. “It transpired so quickly and it was so volatile and so violent,” she said.
Police were conducting a traffic stop on a black truck in the southwest community of Spruce Cliff, near Edworthy Park, on Aug. 10 when an occupant exited the vehicle and opened fire, striking an officer twice.
The suspect fled into Edworthy Park, exchanging gunfire with more officers who had responded to the scene. He also fired rounds at a CPS HAWCS helicopter — something McLellan said she does not recall ever happening before in her decades-long career in policing.
“That is the new normal, and it’s not a good new normal,” she said, adding the increasing violence facing officers weighs heavily on her.
“I worry,” she said. “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.”
What’s behind increasing violence?
McLellan said Calgary’s population growth is one factor contributing to the challenges facing police, as the city approaches 1.8 million residents.
“Lots of new people come into the city; lots of people (are) living in the city,” she said. “Unfortunately, not are all good citizens. There are criminals who are here, and we’re seeing more organized crime.”
Of particular concern, McLellan said, is the involvement of young people in this new trend.
The chief said about 20 per cent of offenders involved in this year’s shooting incidents have been youths, with organized crime groups increasingly exploiting vulnerable young people to carry out criminal activity.
Family and friends hold a candlelight vigil for 16-year-old homicide victim Jal Acor Jal who was shot and killed by another youth in 2022.
“There’s a lot of vulnerable youths out there . . . (and) organized crime figures, who are exploiting youths because they don’t want to go to jail,” the chief said.
Addressing the problem will require more than enforcement, McLellan said, calling for collaboration between parents, school boards and other partners alongside CPS on prevention, education and intervention efforts.
“We need to be present and pivotal in our youth in our city, because a lot of them are hitting that crossroads . . . where if they make the wrong decision, it’s not going to end well,” McLellan said.
Police staffing remains a concern
McLellan previously identified staffing pressures as a top priority for 2026, with CPS looking to hire 660 additional officers over four years.
She said Wednesday that recruitment efforts are beginning to show progress.
“For the first time in a long time, we’ve actually got our classes full, and we’ve actually got a waiting list,” she said, crediting the CPS recruitment team for its efforts.
The Calgary Police Service is expected to bring forward its multi-year budget request this fall, which is anticipated to include significant funding requests to help the force address ongoing staffing pressures.
John Orr, president of the Calgary Police Association, said the union is increasingly concerned about the dangers facing officers amid what he described as chronic understaffing.
“It’s certainly concerning to see the increase in violence towards police officers,” Orr said.
“We have a situation where frontline police officers are working more hours than they have ever worked out of necessity; they are facing an increased call load of an ever-growing city; and, now they’re facing higher rates of violence towards them, as well as coming across many more dangerous situations involving firearms.”
Orr said there is no simple short-term solution, but argued adding officers would give CPS greater capacity to conduct proactive policing rather than primarily responding to calls.
“We’re seeing a significant increase in the number of shootings in the city, in the amount of times our members are coming across firearms in the city, and all of these things are in front of a backdrop in which the Calgary Police Service is woefully understaffed.”
Orr also called for changes to Canada’s bail system, arguing repeat violent offenders are too often released back into the community.
“The courts need to recognize that the current bail system in Canada doesn’t work. We’re seeing repeat violent offenders . . . released into the community, where they continue their violent behaviour,” he said.
“We really need to take a hard look at what what’s become a bit of a catch-and-release system.”