OTTAWA — Days after a shooter opened fire on a school in rural British Columbia, a memo addressed to Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that “false claims” and “misinformation” was circulating online regarding violence and those who identify as transgender.

Officials also flagged that the incident risked giving rise to criticisms around firearm regulations.

The document, released partially redacted to National Post under federal access-to-information legislation, was dated three days after the shooting of nine mostly school-aged children that injured dozens more at a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., located in the province’s interior.

Prepared for the prime minister by the Privy Council Office, the document includes an appendix of analysis of the “sentiment” that was being expressed by the public and online in the immediate aftermath, which noted the spread of “grief, shock, and national mourning” as well as calls to support victims.

“Early signs of polarization are emerging,” the note read, “particularly on social media, where identity-related narratives, policy debates, and misinformation are beginning to fragment public discourse.”

It specified that polarization was being observed on social media when it came to the shooter’s identity, from “identity-based political commentary” and “disputes over police handling of gender identity” as well as “hostile exchanges between ideological groups.”

“False claims and misinformation involving transgender violence have...

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