'Bon Cop, Bad Cop' director Erik Canuel dies

Erik Canuel. (Annexe Media)

Quebec director Érik Canuel, whose films include Nez Rouge and Bon Cop, Bad Cop, died on Saturday.

He was 63.

Canuel succumbed to secondary plasma cell leukemia, according to the agency Annexe.

He had been battling multiple myeloma for more than seven years, but it was the leukemia that finally took his life, the agency added.

Canuel is the director of several films, including La loi du Cochon in 2001, Nez Rouge in 2003 and Le Survenant in 2005.

In 2003, he also directed Le dernier tunnel, starring Michel Côté and Jean Lapointe, who won two awards for his supporting performance. The film told the story of criminal Marcel Talon, who attempted to rob a bank by digging a tunnel.

However, it was his 2006 action-comedy Bon Cop Bad Cop that proved to be his greatest success, making it the highest-grossing feature film in Canadian history.

The story of police officers David Bouchard (Patrick Huard) and Martin Ward (Colm Feore) spawned a sequel in 2017, directed by Alain Desrochers, and a TV series that has yet to air.

Canuel also directed for television series, including Transplant, Ransom and Flashpoint.

A ceremony is to be held in his memory, but details are not yet known. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 17, 2024.