Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2024
Released: 2026-04-21
In 2024, 2.6% of police-reported violent crimes in Canada involved a firearm. This was down slightly from 2.7% in 2023. Nevertheless, in 2024, the proportion of violent crimes involving a firearm was higher than 10 years earlier (2.4% in 2014).
The Juristat article "Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2024," published today, presents the most recent police-reported data on firearm-related violent crime in Canada, based on the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and the Homicide Survey.
The rate of firearm-related violent crime posts its largest drop in 10 years
In 2024, police services reported close to 14,500 violent crimes involving a firearm, for a rate of 36.0 firearm-related violent crimes per 100,000 population. This was down 4.2% from 2023 (37.6 incidents per 100,000 population) and represents the largest decrease since 2014. However, the rate of firearm-related violent crime in 2024 was 44% higher than 10 years earlier (25.0 incidents per 100,000 population).
Chart 1
Incidents and victims of police-reported firearm-related violent crime, Canada, 2009 to 2024
The decline in the rate of firearm-related violent crime is largely driven by urban areas in western Canada
From 2023 to 2024, all census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in Alberta and most CMAs in British Columbia saw a large decline in the rate of firearm-related violent crime, which contributed to the decline at the national level. In contrast, from 2023 to 2024, this rate was up 12% in Toronto, the country's most populous CMA. In fact, this was the city's highest rate of firearm-related violent crime (44.8 incidents per 100,000 population) in 15 years.
Chart 2
Police-reported incidents of firearm-related violent crime, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver, 2009 to 2024
Among the provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador (+31%), Ontario (+6.3%) and Quebec (+0.8%) saw increases in their rate of violent crime involving a firearm from 2023 to 2024, while all the other provinces recorded declines. The biggest decreases were in Prince Edward Island (-46%), British Columbia (-22%) and Alberta (-14%).
The territories and rural regions in the Provincial South also see a drop in the rate of firearm-related violent crime
The rate of firearm-related violent crime in the territories reached a peak in 2023 (184 incidents per 100,000 population). This was the highest rate since comparable data became available in 2009. In 2024, this rate was down 14% from the peak in 2023, driven by a 37% decrease in Nunavut.
The rate of violent crime involving a firearm also decreased slightly in rural areas of the Provincial South, down 3.8% from a high of 42.5 incidents per 100,000 population in 2023 to 40.9 in 2024. However, the rate of firearm-related violent crime in the provincial rural north reached a new high of 172 incidents per 100,000 population, up 2.7% from 2023 (168 incidents per 100,000 population).
Despite declines in some rural areas and the territories in 2024, the rate of firearm-related violent crime was still much higher than it was 10 years earlier. Compared with 2014, the rate of firearm-related violent crime was 167% higher in the provincial rural north, 85% higher in the provincial rural south, and 79% higher in the territories.
After years of steady growth, the rate of firearm-specific offences stabilizes
The rate of firearm-related violent crime showed a clear upward trend over the 10 years preceding the decrease in 2024, mostly driven by a rise in firearm-specific offences. These include discharging a firearm with intent, using a firearm in the commission of an offence, and pointing a firearm. From 2014 to 2024, the rate of these crimes more than doubled from 5.4 incidents per 100,000 population to 13.2 incidents per 100,000 population. The increase was particularly notable for discharging a firearm with intent, whose rate more than tripled over this period.
However, from 2023 to 2024, the rate of firearm-specific offences stabilized, though most of the other firearm-related offences fell. For example, there were considerable decreases in certain crimes involving a firearm, such as hostage taking, kidnapping or forcible confinement involving a firearm (-15%), sexual assault (-13%) and robbery (-8.8%).
Chart 3
Police-reported incidents of firearm-related violent crime, by selected offence, Canada, 2009 to 2024
From 2023 to 2024, shooting homicides also decreased (-5.6%). This was the second consecutive annual decline. In 2024, the rate of shooting homicides was 0.69 incidents per 100,000 population; nevertheless, these homicides were more common than stabbing homicides (0.61 incidents per 100,000 population). In 80% of the firearm-related homicides in 2024 in which the identity of the accused was known, the accused person did not have a valid firearm licence for the classification of firearm used.
Chart 4
Homicides, by primary method causing death, Canada, 1974 to 2024
Nearly half of firearm-related violent crimes involve a handgun
In 2024, close to half (49%) of firearm-related violent crimes in Canada involved a handgun. The rate of handgun-related violent crime (17.6 incidents per 100,000 population) fell 4.1% from 2023 to 2024. This was the second consecutive annual decrease, after peaking at 19.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2022. From 2023 to 2024, the biggest decrease was observed in violent crimes involving a rifle or shotgun: this rate dropped from 5.8 incidents per 100,000 population to 5.2 incidents per 100,000 population, a decline of 10.4%.
Chart 5
Police-reported incidents of firearm-related violent crime, by type of firearm, Canada, 2009 to 2024
In recent years, there has been a clear upward trend in crimes involving firearm-like weapons (e.g., pellet guns or air guns) or unknown firearms. In 2018, police reported 5.9 incidents per 100,000 population involving these firearms, representing one in five firearm-related violent crimes (20%). In 2024, this rate almost doubled (11.3 incidents per 100,000 population) and these were the types of weapons used in 31% of violent crimes involving a firearm.
Almost 3 in 10 violent crimes attributable to gangs or organized crime involve a firearm
Firearms are often used in violent crimes attributable to gangs or organized crime. In 2024, close to 3 in 10 (29%) firearm-related violent crimes attributable to gangs or organized crime involved a firearm. Gang-related crime is relatively rare, representing 4.0% of all firearm-related violent crimes in 2024. However, this proportion was 39% for firearm-related homicides.
Overall, firearm-related violent crimes are much more likely than other violent crimes to be committed by more than one accused person. In 2024, almost one-quarter (24%) of violent crimes involving a firearm were perpetrated by two or more accused persons acting together, compared with 5.7% of incidents involving no firearm.
Persons accused of violent crimes are more likely to have a recent history of violence
In 2024, nearly 6 in 10 (58%) persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime were identified by police as the accused in at least one previous violent crime (involving a firearm or not) that occurred during the period from 2018 to 2024—compared with 39% of persons accused of a violent crime not involving a firearm.
Persons accused of the most serious crimes, such as homicide and robbery, and those involved in a crime linked to gangs or organized crime were most likely to have prior contact with the police for violent crimes involving a firearm. Moreover, the violent crimes reported by police in 2024 were more severe when the crimes had been committed by an accused with a recent history of violent crime involving a firearm.
Chart 6
Average severity of most recent violent crime attributed to an accused person, by type and number of previous contacts with police since 2018, Canada, 2024
Note to readers
The data in this release are mostly from the Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) trend database. Coverage of the Incident-based UCR Survey for the period from 2009 to 2022 is estimated at 99% of the Canadian population. Only police services that have consistently participated in the UCR Survey are included so that comparisons can be made over time. In this release, data from the Service de police de la Ville de Québec are excluded due to concerns about the data quality for the variable "most serious weapon present." Analyses based on the UCR trend database also exclude data from the Saint John Police Force. Data on homicides are derived from the Homicide Survey, which has collected police-reported data on the characteristics of all homicide incidents, victims and accused persons in Canada since 1961.
For the purposes of this analysis, a firearm-related violent crime refers to a crime where a firearm was present during the commission of the offence and police determined that the firearm was relevant to the crime, whether or not it was used. Crimes involving a firearm-like weapon, such as an imitation weapon or a pellet gun, are also included in the analysis. Firearm-specific offences—such as discharging a firearm with intent, pointing a firearm and using a firearm during the commission of an offence—are also counted as crimes involving firearms, including cases in which information on the weapon was unknown. The number of incidents corresponds to the number of victims, in addition to the crimes for which the police did not provide a victim record. One incident may involve multiple offences. To ensure data comparability, the figures in this release are based on the most serious offence in the incident. Firearm-related crime data released in the past were generally based on the number of victims rather than the number of incidents; these data can therefore differ slightly from the data in this release.
For the purposes of the UCR Survey and the Homicide Survey, a firearm is any barrelled weapon from which any shot, bullet, or other missile can be discharged and is capable of causing serious bodily injury or the death of a person. Different types of firearms are distinguished as such by the two surveys (presented in descending order of seriousness according to the hierarchy for determining the most serious weapon):
Fully automatic firearm: Any firearm that allows continuous and rapid firing of bullets with one pull of the trigger.
Sawed-off rifle or shotgun: Any rifle or shotgun with a barrel length that has been altered to less than 457 millimetres or with an overall weapon length of less than 660 millimetres.
Handgun: Any firearm designed to be held and fired by the action of one hand.
Rifle or shotgun: Any long-barrelled firearm with a barrel length equal to or greater than 457 millimetres or with an overall length of 660 millimetres or more.
Firearm-like weapon: Any weapon capable of propelling any object through a barrel by means of gunpowder, compressed carbon dioxide, pumped air, or any other means. Includes, for example, flare guns or pellet guns. For UCR data, this category also includes all unknown types of firearms.
In Quebec, the information management system used by the majority of police services produces a relatively high proportion of unknown values for the variable "most serious weapon present." Therefore, caution should be used when comparing data from Quebec with data from other provinces and territories.
For the purposes of this analysis, urban areas include police services that serve a territory where most of the population lives within a census metropolitan area (CMA) or census agglomeration (CA). Rural police services serve a territory where most of the population lives outside a CMA or CA. A CMA or CA may be served by more than one police service.
Percent change calculations are based on unrounded numbers.
Products
The article "Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2024" is now available as part of the publication Juristat (85-002-X). The infographic "Violent crime involving a firearm in Canada, 2024" (11-627-M) is also released today.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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