A man disguised as a police officer went on a shooting rampage in Canada's Nova Scotia province, killing 16 people, in the deadliest such attack in the country's history, officials said, adding that the suspected gunman was also dead.

On Sunday, several bodies were found inside and outside a residence in the small town of Portapique, about 100 km north of Halifax, what police called the first scene, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said in a news report.