Diver hospitalized after apparent white shark encounter in Quebec

Advertisement

Advertise with us

MONTREAL - The Canadian Coast Guard says a diver was taken to hospital after being bitten by a shark off Percé, Que., on the eastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

MONTREAL – The Canadian Coast Guard says a diver was taken to hospital after being bitten by a shark off Percé, Que., on the eastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula.

The Coast Guard says it was alerted to the incident at about 10:27 a.m. and paramedics met the vessel when it arrived in Percé.

Local diving centre Plongée Percé says the person received first aid before being transported to hospital for further evaluation.

A great white shark swims past a boat off the coast near Cape Cod, Mass. on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Charles Krupa
A great white shark swims past a boat off the coast near Cape Cod, Mass. on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Charles Krupa

The company says all of its diving activities have been suspended for the rest of the season as a precaution.

The Canadian Shark Attack Registry says this type of incident in Canadian waters is exceptionally rare.

The registry is maintained by the independent non-profit St. Lawrence Shark Observatory and contains 30 reported incidents dating back more than three centuries, only 15 of which are considered confirmed.

The observatory says white shark sightings and detections have become increasingly common in Atlantic Canada in recent years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2026.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Manitoba PC leader Khan survives confidence vote

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Preview

Manitoba PC leader Khan survives confidence vote

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 8:33 PM CDT

Manitoba Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan survived a confidence vote last week.

Caucus communications director Alison Sutherland confirmed the vote was held Friday and that Khan still has “the full confidence” of the PC caucus.

She did not provide further details.

The party under Khan’s leadership is floundering, a recent poll suggests.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 8:33 PM CDT

Wab Kinew as ‘communicator in chief’

Paul G. Thomas 6 minute read Preview

Wab Kinew as ‘communicator in chief’

Paul G. Thomas 6 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew and his party have been riding high in the polls longer than normal for a government one year or less away from its first re-election contest. One reason is his ubiquitous, dominating communications presence as NDP leader and premier.

The argument here is that Kinew has supplemented his prerogatives as premier and party leader (such as appointing cabinet ministers and approving party nominations) with the skilful use of communications to advance his policy agenda, boost his personal popularity and maintain the competitive advantage of his party over the opposition Progressive Conservatives.

Communications has always been a significant part of politics and policy making. However, in the contemporary political and media environments, communications considerations have moved from the background to the foreground of decision-making by political parties, including when they are performing in the role of government. Campaigning and governing now overlap in what has been described as a permanent election campaign.

Political parties use communications strategies for several purposes: to establish an image of the leader which makes a positive emotional connection with voters; to promote a coherent message and to keep party members on message; and to gain favourable media coverage for its policies and other actions on almost a daily basis.

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Discrediting independent media is the game plan

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Discrediting independent media is the game plan

Editorial 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

United States President Donald Trump’s decision to bar several news organizations from White House briefings is, thanks to a court decision, teetering on the edge of collapse.

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Letters, Sept. 28

7 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Other options are closer

Every Winnipeg driver learns this lesson eventually: keep your eyes on the horizon too long and the pothole gets you. Manitoba’s energy debate has the same problem. We keep looking far down the road for the next big project and missing what’s close at hand.

Scott Forbes (Time for 21st-century leadership at MB Hydro, Think Tank, Sept. 24) makes a strong case for more wind and storage. But much of this debate is still measured in thousands of megawatts, generated far from where the power is used.

The more immediate opportunity is close to home.

For the LARPers of Misthaven, adventuring is serious business

Conrad Sweatman 8 minute read Preview

For the LARPers of Misthaven, adventuring is serious business

Conrad Sweatman 8 minute read Yesterday at 5:20 PM CDT

I’m about to have my ass handed to me by a burly man in his late 30s wielding a foam sword.

“Don’t hurt him,” a fellow Live Action Role Player (LARPer) tells my opponent before we spar.

“How could he hurt me?” I think. “It’s foam.”

He patiently explains every mistake I make while effortlessly beating me. It’s meant to be instructive, but inadvertently adds insult to injury. And, yes, I do get a little hurt, though it’s my fault: I smack myself in the face with my own shield, hiding the pain like a kid around older, stronger boys at recess.

Read
Yesterday at 5:20 PM CDT

Jets pick up netminder as relatively new 23-man roster announced

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Preview

Jets pick up netminder as relatively new 23-man roster announced

Mike McIntyre 7 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:25 PM CDT

Let’s get the caveats out of the way: Nothing is set in stone, nor written in permanent ink, and what you see right now could change in the blink of an eye.

With that being said, allow us to introduce you to the 2026-27 Winnipeg Jets — where change is very much in the air.

The 23-man roster submitted to the NHL offices by Monday’s 4 p.m. deadline includes seven players who were not on the team at this time last year. In fact, there could be as many as 10 new faces in the opening-night lineup on Friday against Boston when you factor in three regulars didn’t start the 2025-26 campaign due to injury.

That’s a lot of turnover, which isn’t surprising for a team that finished 26th overall in the standings and was — to most fans and pundits — too old and too slow.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 9:25 PM CDT