The death toll from the worst mass shooting in Canadian history has risen to 19, with police saying they expect the number to grow.

The gunman, who at one point masqueraded as a policeman and also painstakingly disguised his car to look like a police cruiser, shattered the peace of a rural community in the province of Nova Scotia during a 12-hour rampage that started late on Saturday (local time), authorities said.

“A gunman claimed the lives of at least 18 people, among them a woman in uniform whose job it is to protect lives even if it endangers her own”, - the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters.