Tunisian woman killed in Montreal home while on video call with work colleague
Canada Revenue Agency employee’s killing prompts tributes from Prime Minister Mark Carney
Dubai: A 45-year-old Tunisian woman was killed inside her Montreal apartment while taking part in a virtual work meeting, with a colleague reportedly witnessing part of the attack and alerting emergency services, Canadian media reported.
Leïla Ben Salem, an employee of the Canada Revenue Agency and mother of a 12-year-old boy, was attacked on September 22 at her home on René-Lévesque Boulevard East in Montreal’s Ville-Marie district.
Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.
Canadian media, citing sources, reported that a man entered the apartment while Ben Salem was participating in a work-related video conference and repeatedly struck her with a blunt object. A colleague is believed to have contacted emergency services, prompting police to carry out a welfare check at about 3.25pm.
Police found Ben Salem unconscious with serious injuries. Emergency crews attempted to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Montreal police classified the case as a homicide, the city’s 19th of 2026.
The killing drew national attention in Canada, with Prime Minister Mark Carney paying tribute to Ben Salem in the House of Commons.
Carney described her as a valued Canada Revenue Agency employee who was dedicated to serving Canadians and said she had been carrying out that duty when she was attacked. He pledged federal support for law enforcement efforts to bring the perpetrator to justice. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre also offered condolences to her family and colleagues.
The Union of Taxation Employees said it was “shocked and heartbroken” by Ben Salem’s death and offered condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.
Montreal police have continued investigating the circumstances and motive behind the killing. A person of interest was questioned and subsequently released without charge, and police had not announced an arrest in the latest publicly available reports.
Authorities have also not publicly established the relationship, if any, between the victim and the attacker or confirmed whether the killing was linked to intimate partner violence.
