Canada reported the highest number of homicides in the past 30 years in 2020, CTV News reported Thursday.
A total of 743 homicides were reported last year, the highest number since 1991. This is an increase of 56 homicides from 2019.
The increase in homicides is largely attributable to rising crime rates in Alberta and Nova Scotia, Statistics Canada reported in its homicide survey.
Alberta recorded 39 more homicides in 2020, while Nova Scotia recorded 29 more, according to StatCan.
In 2020 it also produced the worst mass murder in the history of the country. Twenty-two people were shot by a gunman, who was shot dead by the RCMP, in April in Portapique, Nova Scotia.
Overall, the Canadian homicide rate increased slightly (+ 7%) to reach an average rate of 1.95 per 100,000 population. This is the highest national rate in Canada since 2005.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on Canadian society since March 2020,” StatCan said.
“These societal and economic changes have contributed to a shift in crime trends across Canada,” added the Institute of Statistics.
Homicides, however, have remained relatively rare in Canada, noted StatCan.
Although the homicide rate has risen steadily since 2014, it remains below some of the highs recorded in the early 1990s and mid-1970s.