BRAMPTON – Peel Regional Police are looking into a man’s death following a canoe capsizing at a lake in Brampton.
Spokesperson Tyler Bell mentioned that police were alerted on Saturday about boaters needing help at Heart Lake Conservation Area, where both a man and woman ended up in the water.
Bell stated that officers and firefighters got to the scene around 9:30 p. m. and rescued a woman in her 30s from the water.
However, he noted that emergency teams couldn’t locate the man, who was also in his 30s, prompting an extensive search-and-rescue operation to begin.
According to Bell, police air support units utilized thermal imaging cameras that night to scan the water’s surface and the area surrounding the lake from above, but they couldn’t find him.
He shared that an underwater recovery team resumed searching on Sunday and discovered the man’s body shortly after 1 p. m.
Bell explained that the conservation area is currently closed, which means no one should have been on the water at that time. As a result, police are treating this incident as suspicious just to be cautious.
“Some things are just not completely lining up,” he said. “Whether or not there’s any criminality involved, we don’t know at this point.”
He added that police took possession of the woman’s vehicle as a precaution while they continue their investigation.
Neither of them were wearing life jackets when this happened, and he’s reminding everyone to always carry safety gear when out on the water.
Bell mentioned it was lucky there were people at the conservation area having a bonfire despite not being allowed there. Otherwise, he said both boaters might have lost their lives.
The police are awaiting a coroner’s report to determine how the man passed away.
This report by The Canadian Press was first April 12, 2026.
Kathryn Mannie, The Canadian Press
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