A new report from Statistics Canada shows that the national homicide rate has increased for a third consecutive year and that almost a quarter of murders in 2021 were gang-related.
There were 788 homicides in the country last year, up 3% from 2020. At 2.06 homicides per 100,000 population, it is the highest rate in Canada since 2005.
Saskatchewan had both the highest homicide rate and the highest gang-related murder rate. The province’s homicide rate is up 9% from 2020.
Manitoba recorded the second highest rate, while Ontario and British Columbia also recorded large increases.
In Quebec, 88 people were killed last year, including 48 in Montreal, compared to 87 in 2020. The homicide rate per 100,000 population was 1.02 in the province in 2021.
Alberta and Nova Scotia saw significant declines, with the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia contributing to its decline the following year.
Homicides remain relatively rare in Canada, said Statistics Canada, and in 2021 represented less than 0.2% of all violent crimes reported by police.
The cities of Regina, Winnipeg and Thunder Bay in Ontario had the highest homicide rates.
Data released on Monday showed 184 of the homicides were gang-related. The agency said it was the highest rate since data on gang killings was first collected 16 years ago.
There were 13 additional gang-related homicides in Ontario compared to the previous year. British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and the Yukon also saw an increase in gang-related killings.
The rate of Indigenous victims across the country remained disproportionately high, six times higher than that of non-Indigenous people. Forty-five Indigenous women were victims of homicide in 2021, three more than the previous year.
In Saskatchewan, 77% of those killed were Aboriginal people, who make up only about 18% of the province’s population. Alberta and Manitoba also had a high number of Aboriginal victims.
Blacks and South Asians also had higher risks of being victims of homicide. Ontario recorded 138 homicides where the victims were racialized, up 50 from 2020.
Statistics Canada added that firearms were the most common weapon used in homicides. Toronto recorded the highest number of homicides involving a firearm at 61, followed by Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton.
Stabbings accounted for 32% of homicides.