MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- The number of shootings has nearly doubled in Peel Region, west of Toronto, in the first six months of 2026, when compared to the first half of 2025. “Our shootings are up this year,” acknowledges Nick Milinovich, the region of 1.7 million people’s deputy police chief, who adds “the reason for that increase is absolutely connected to extortions, organized crime and the international drug trade.” In the first six months of this year, there have been 103 shooting incidents in Mississauga and Brampton, Ont., involving a firearm being discharged. By comparison, in the first six months of 2025 there were 58 shooting incidents in the two cities located in Peel Region. “We have a team (of officers) exclusively assigned to remove firearms off of the streets and it’s not uncommon for them over the course of a weekend to recover three or four illegal firearms that have entered Canada from the United States,” says Milinovich. ‘What has this country become?’ Data provided to CTV News by Peel Regional Police also shows that while the number of home invasions in Mississauga and Brampton are down from 2024, they remain a persistent problem. During the first six months of 2024, there were 50 home invasions in Peel. That number dropped to 34 in 2025 and is at 36 so far in 2026. “People’s lives are being violated, you’ve got to take this seriously. There’s no chance that we can just let this continue on for another six months. I think we needed to take steps to stop these violent crimes yesterday,” says home invasion victim Sam McDadi. McDadi, a prominent real estate broker whose company is the official brokerage for the Toronto Raptors, agreed to go public with his story in hopes of bringing real change and getting the attention of lawmakers in Ottawa. In the early morning hours of July 2023, McDadi says he was woken out of his sleep by the sound of broken glass inside his Mississauga home. “It was about 5:30 in the morning and I hear this big smash, it’s a window being shattered. I think to myself, ‘OK, my home is getting broken into. Are they coming for me or are they coming for my cars’?” recalls McDadi. A group of criminals quickly entered his home, grabbed two sets of car keys, and drove away with two of his vehicles, smashing through his driveway fence as they fled. It wasn’t until a police officer looked at the security camera footage of the break and enter at the home that McDadi realized how much danger he was actually in. “The officer told me there were seven suspects and it’s believed that each of them was carrying a gun,” admits McDadi. Then in 2025, after participating in a Santa Claus parade, McDadi was the target of a second violent crime. “I got back to my parked my car, it’s in a visitor’s spot at a nearby condo building and two young men walked up to me and said, ‘Give me the keys and get out of the car,’” says McDadi who had little choice but to give in to their demand. Speaking to CTV News from his brokerage office in Mississauga, McDadi says he simply doesn’t feel safe anymore. “This is twice in two years. I’m thinking what has this country become? This isn’t the Canada we signed up for,” says McDadi. Social media influence Milinovich says, “Home invasions are absolutely one of those crimes that create concern in the community and rightfully so.” While concerning, the deputy chief says some of the fears being shared by members of his community don’t reflect the statistical realities. “We’ve had just over 30 home invasions so far this year in a city of 1.7 million people. That’s not to detract to the concerns being shared. Here in Peel and across the Greater Toronto Area, police are invested in addressing home invasions, one is too many,” says the deputy chief. A Statistics Canada report released this month shows that per capita, both non-violent and violent crime is down across the country, though there are still pockets, like in Peel Region, where some crime is on the rise. Along with deterring criminal acts, with boots on the ground, Milinovich says he and others have been pushing for change outside of the policing world, including from lawmakers, and speaking out in favour of Bill C-22, which will give investigators more power to conduct online investigations, and Bill C-14, which promises to keep repeat offenders behind bars for longer. While admitting the significant challenge police forces across the country are facing when it comes to guns and gangs, Peel’s deputy chief believes that social media algorithms are, in part, exacerbating the fear many in the public are reporting. “The way that we consume our information about our community has changed. People are going to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, they see videos of a violent altercation and very quickly one incident becomes everybody’s reality,” says Milinovich. ‘Short runway to get this right’ Though, McDadi believes the clock is ticking for police services, governments, and lawmakers to make significant changes to the justice system to create a stronger deterrent for would be criminals. “Otherwise people are going to live in fear indefinitely. I’ve heard people say, ‘Hey, do I really want to be in Canada anymore? Is it worth the risks for our children? Maybe it’s time we move somewhere safer like in Europe,’ and we don’t want that. Canada is a beautiful country, but we have a short runway to get this right,” says McDadi. “As a police service, how our people feel in our community and the fact they need to feel safe is as important as them statistically being safe,” says Milinovich. When asked what he would say to reassure the public, Milinovich adds that Peel police “are absolutely in this fight with our community together. We feel what the public is feeling, and we’re committed to making a difference.”
