Swimming lessons critical, says coroner, after drowning deaths of mother and son

A lifeguard keeps an eye on swimmers at a community pool in Montreal, Monday, June 26, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

A Quebec coroner is emphasizing the importance of swimming lessons in a report into the drownings of a mother and her three-year-old son.

The report says the 34-year-old woman was spending time near the pool at her Montreal home last June when her three-year-old son fell into the deep end while chasing a ball.

The mother jumped in after her child despite not knowing how to swim, and both drowned.

Coroner Edgard Nassif noted that neither were wearing flotation devices, and that the pool’s cloudy water made them harder for nearby family members to spot.

Nassif wrote that while 95 per cent of Canadian-born people know how to swim, the rate is much lower among newcomers and young children.

The coroner recommended that officials in Montreal continue to encourage residents to take swimming lessons, and stressed that people around pools need to be supervised by someone who can swim.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2026.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press