‘Everybody is sad’: Memorial held for Sûreté du Québec investigator killed in line-of-duty crash
Posted April 29, 2026 9:23 am.
Last Updated April 29, 2026 6:09 pm.
Quebec provincial police held a memorial in Montreal Wednesday for Sgt.-Investigator Anaïs Fortin-Cozzens, who was killed in a collision in the line of duty last month.
Fortin-Cozzens, a member of the Sûreté du Québec’s major crimes division in Gatineau, died after a three-vehicle crash in Portneuf-sur-Mer on the night of March 31.
Police from across Canada and family members of the 36-year-old Fortin-Cozzens came together at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal to honour her.
“We are sad. Everybody is sad. The family, the police community is sad,” said SQ spokesperson Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau.
Fortin-Cozzens’ vehicle collided with a pickup truck and a third vehicle while she was on her way to headquarters. The SQ sergeant-investigator suffered critical injuries and was transported to hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
“It’s a head-on collision, so she was in her lane and a pickup truck deviated from his lane,” explained Bilodeau.
The driver of the pickup truck was seriously injured but survived. Two other people in the third vehicle sustained minor injuries.
Fortin‑Cozzens leaves behind her partner, Sgt. Valérie Bergeron‑Roy – also a member of the SQ – and their three children aged two, four and nine.
“The two of us always had plans A, B, and C, but losing you was never one of them,” Bergeron‑Roy told the packed memorial Wednesday.
Nearly a thousand officers formed a guard of honour in Fortin-Cozzens’ memory. An SQ pickup truck was in front of the cathedral with white flowers laid in the truck bed.
“Today, it’s a hard moment,” said Quebec Domestic Security Minister Ian Lafrenière. “My message on behalf of the premier and all the Quebecers was to thank all the police officers. All those men and women wearing their uniform on a daily basis to save and protect us. I was here to tell them thank you and that we will always remember Anaïs.”
A few kilometres away, flags were lowered to half‑staff at the SQ headquarters in memory of the officer and mother.
“We are really sad about what happened,” said Dominic Roberge, president of the Quebec Provincial Police Association (APPQ). “We’re supporting the family, thinking about the colleagues, thinking about all the colleagues we lost during our years of service. But it’s also, we’re proud of seeing everybody gathering together, showing their support and solidarity.”
Portneuf-sur-Mer is about 300 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, in the province’s Côte-Nord region.
—With files from La Presse Canadienne
