Carl Girouard, 24, was also charged with five counts of attempted murder.Canadian news outlet The Star gives some background on the victims:
Police said an initial probe found that Mr Girouard, who wore medieval clothes during the attack, was not affiliated with any extremist groups.
The two victims were named as François Duchesne, 56, and Suzanne Clermont, 61. Five people were injured.
The attack took place in the historic Old Quebec neighbourhood of the French-speaking capital of the Quebec province.
Police chief Robert Pigeon said the attack was thought to have been premeditated, adding that the suspect, from the Montreal suburbs, came to the city with "the intention of doing the most damage possible".
"Dressed in medieval costume and armed with a Japanese sword, everything leads us to believe he chose his victims at random," Mr Pigeon said.
Police offered only a handful of details about the late-night attack that played out in the cobblestone streets of Old Quebec, a popular tourist destination packed with historic buildings and landmarks.
Quebec City police chief Robert Pigeon said the suspect had been dressed in "medieval" garb and swung a katana-like sword at randomly chosen victims in an attack that stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning.
The suspect was arrested near the Espace 400e business park.
Quebec's Le Soleil newspaper reported he was lying on the ground, barefoot and hypothermic, when he was arrested. He surrendered to police without any resistance, it said.
Residents of Quebec's picturesque capital grappled with grief and shock on Sunday as they mourned the deaths of a beloved neighbourhood hairdresser and a well-respected museum employee slain in what police describe as a deliberate sword attack targeting random strangers.
Impromptu vigils and makeshift memorials sprang up near the stretch of Old Quebec City where police allege a young man went on a 2.5-hour rampage wielding a long, curved sword. Hairdresser Suzanne Clermont, 61, and 56-year-old museum employee Francois Duchesne died in the Halloween-night attack that also left five others injured.
Condolences poured in from across Canada for the victims and their families, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying in a tweet that his "heart breaks" for them.
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