Workplace Fatalities in 2025 Underscore Importance of Strengthening Injury Prevention Efforts

HALIFAX, NS: Twenty-two Nova Scotians died at work or because of their work in 2025, a reminder that the human cost of unsafe work remains real and devastating.

Each of these deaths represents a family, a workplace, and a community forever changed. They underscore why prevention must remain a shared responsibility across the system.

“Every life lost is a devastating tragedy for families, workplaces and communities, and my deepest condolences go to those who are grieving,” says Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration Nolan Young. “These are not numbers on a page. They are parents, partners, friends and coworkers, and we must honour them by learning from every incident. We are committed to working with employers, workers, safety leaders and our partners to strengthen prevention, enforce safety standards, and do better, so that every person who heads to work in Nova Scotia can come home safely at the end of the day.”

WCB CEO Karen Adams says no one should ever lose their life because of their job. 

“Every fatality is someone who should have come home safely, and each death leaves friends and family forever impacted,” says Adams. “Prevention saves lives and WCB is deeply committed to helping create safer workplaces in Nova Scotia to stop tragedies like these from happening. Our thoughts are with the loved ones grieving these deaths.”

Occupational disease deaths increased compared to 2024. Four of these deaths were due to cancers that became eligible for presumptive coverage for firefighters in 2022, when presumptive coverage was expanded from six to 19 types of cancer.

Starting this year, presumptive cancer coverage will also be extended to wildland firefighters and fire investigators, ensuring even more workers and families are supported.

In 2025, the 22 workplace deaths included:

• 7 acute traumatic incidents – the same number of acute deaths as in 2024.
• 13 deaths linked to occupational disease – up from six in 2024.
• 2 health-related fatalities – a decrease from seven in 2024.

There are three classifications for workplace fatalities in Nova Scotia: 

• Acute (a sudden workplace incident such as a fall, collision, or drowning),
• Occupational disease (including work-related diseases such as lung cancer), and
• Health-related (a medical event occurring at work that may or may not be linked to the job, like a heart attack or stroke).

While Nova Scotia’s injury rate remains at an all-time low of 1.21 per 100 covered workers, no workplace death is acceptable.

That’s why WCB and the Government of Nova Scotia introduced Safer Workplaces Together, a joint action plan focused on data-driven prevention, shared accountability, and targeting the highest-risk sectors.

The strategy brings government, employers, workers, and safety partners together to stop injuries before they happen and build safer workplaces across Nova Scotia – working as one team to prevent future tragedies and ensure people come home safely at the end of the day.