New numbers from Statistics Canada show that the national homicide rate in Canada was down slightly in 2016 from 2015. However, the nearly flat average masks the fact that some regions had increased murders, while others saw declines.
According to the latest Crime Severity Index released this week, Canadian police reported 611 homicides across the country last year. That’s actually two more than in 2015, but increases in population mean that the per capita rate edged down.
Toronto had the greatest number of murders of any Canadian city last year, with 96 reported. However, because of its large population, the homicide rate is relatively low at 1.55 per 100,000 people. That’s actually lower than the national average rate of 1.68 homicides per 100,000 population.
So, if not the biggest city, then where is the murder capital of Canada? Thunder Bay.
- It turns out that Thunder Bay, with eight murders last year, had the highest homicide rate at 6.64 homicides per 100,000 in 2016.
- The city with the second highest per capita murder rate was Edmonton, where 47 murders last year earned it a homicide rate of 3.38 per 100,000 (or roughly half of Thunder Bay’s.)
- Regina with 8 homicides, or a rate of 3.23, rounds out the top three cities for the most per capita killings in 2016.
Conversely, there were no murders at all reported last year in Trois-Rivières, Kingston or Greater Sudbury.
Ontario (+32) and Saskatchewan (+10) saw the largest increases in the number of homicides in 2016. On the flip side, there were large decreases in the number of murders reported in Alberta (-17), Quebec (-12) and British Columbia (-10).
See also:
- The worst serial killers in Canadian history
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