Newfoundland and Labrador declares gender-based violence an epidemic

Lela Evans, Newfoundland and Labrador's minister of women and gender equality, speaks to reporters in St. John's, N.L., on April 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sarah Smellie

ST. JOHN’S — Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest province to declare gender-based violence an epidemic.

The provincial government announced the move today, following in the footsteps of other jurisdictions including Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Lela Evans, Newfoundland and Labrador’s minister of women and gender equality, says the declaration acknowledges the urgency of the problem and the need for collective action to prevent it.

The province is also establishing a 12-person task force whose members represent government, survivors and Indigenous women.

The move comes days after a jury found a Newfoundland man guilty of first-degree murder in the 2016 disappearance of his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney.

The report into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia concluded that gender-based, intimate partner and family violence are an epidemic in Canada and called for improved funding for intervention and prevention.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2026.

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press