Homicide rate in Canada surges, driven by gun violence in Alberta, Nova Scotia
CBC
New data from Statistics Canada shows the national homicide rate has surged to levels not seen in more than a decade — an increase driven in large part by violence in Alberta and the deaths of 22 people in Canada's worst-ever mass murder last year in Nova Scotia.
Numbers released Thursday show the national homicide rate has surged to levels not seen in more than a decade.
Nationally, police reported 743 homicides in 2020, including the 22 victims of the Nova Scotia attacks.
It's the highest number of homicides recorded in Canada since 1991, and 56 more than in 2019, pushing Canada's homicide rate up seven per cent from 1.83 homicides per 100,000 population in 2019 to 1.95 per 100,000 population in 2020.
That marks the highest national homicide rate since 2005.
The Toronto CMA continued to have the highest number of homicides in Canada with 105 victims in 2020, yet saw the greatest year-over-year decline in homicides of all CMAs, with 25 fewer victims last year.
Consequently, the largest provincial decline in the number of homicides was observed in Ontario.
In Nova Scotia, a single attack contributed to a stark change in the numbers.
There were 35 homicides in 2020, the highest number in the province since data became available in 1961. The provincial homicide rate was 3.57 per 100,000 population.
In April 2020, Gabriel Wortman committed multiple shootings and set fires at multiple locations in Nova Scotia, killing 22 people and injuring three others.
The attack contributed to the uncharacteristically high homicide count and rate for Nova Scotia and is also reflected in the increase in firearm-related homicide for the province, Statistics Canada said.
While the motivations for each crime are complex, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on crime patterns across Canada, Statistics Canada said.
In 2020, the Crime Severity Index (CSI), which measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime in Canada, fell by eight per cent.
In contrast, homicide rates increased.
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