Infographic: Homicide in Canada, 2020
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Description: Infographic: Homicide in Canada, 2020
Nationwide, there were 743 homicides, at a rate of 1.95 per 100,000 population.
- 568 male victims
- 171 female victims
Province or territory | Number of homicides in 2020 | Change in number of homicides from 2019 |
---|---|---|
Canada | 743 | 56 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 4 | -1 |
Prince Edward Island | 1 | -1 |
Nova Scotia | 35 | 29 |
New Brunswick | 14 | -3 |
Quebec | 87 | 10 |
Ontario | 234 | -19 |
Manitoba | 62 | -10 |
Saskatchewan | 60 | 5 |
Alberta | 139 | 39 |
British Columbia | 98 | 8 |
Yukon | 0 | -1 |
Northwest Territories | 6 | 4 |
Nunavut | 3 | -4 |
1 in 5 homicides in Canada was gang-related.
The number of gang-related homicides decreased in 2020 to the lowest rate since 2016.
In Canada, 277 homicides were committed with a firearm, or more than 1 in every 3 homicides. Almost half (49%) of these were committed with a handgun.
Year | Method of death | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Shooting | Stabbing | Beating | Other | |
rate per 100, 000 population | ||||
1990 | 0.70 | 0.77 | 0.47 | 0.40 |
1991 | 0.97 | 0.80 | 0.51 | 0.40 |
1992 | 0.87 | 0.74 | 0.53 | 0.42 |
1993 | 0.68 | 0.67 | 0.40 | 0.42 |
1994 | 0.68 | 0.53 | 0.37 | 0.46 |
1995 | 0.59 | 0.62 | 0.41 | 0.35 |
1996 | 0.72 | 0.66 | 0.44 | 0.28 |
1997 | 0.65 | 0.56 | 0.38 | 0.35 |
1998 | 0.50 | 0.62 | 0.41 | 0.30 |
1999 | 0.55 | 0.47 | 0.41 | 0.32 |
2000 | 0.60 | 0.49 | 0.42 | 0.25 |
2001 | 0.55 | 0.55 | 0.39 | 0.26 |
2002 | 0.49 | 0.58 | 0.40 | 0.32 |
2003 | 0.52 | 0.45 | 0.39 | 0.33 |
2004 | 0.54 | 0.64 | 0.43 | 0.30 |
2005 | 0.69 | 0.61 | 0.44 | 0.26 |
2006 | 0.59 | 0.64 | 0.37 | 0.23 |
2007 | 0.57 | 0.57 | 0.36 | 0.23 |
2008 | 0.60 | 0.61 | 0.37 | 0.23 |
2009 | 0.54 | 0.62 | 0.35 | 0.26 |
2010 | 0.51 | 0.49 | 0.34 | 0.26 |
2011 | 0.46 | 0.61 | 0.38 | 0.28 |
2012 | 0.49 | 0.47 | 0.33 | 0.24 |
2013 | 0.38 | 0.56 | 0.29 | 0.19 |
2014 | 0.44 | 0.53 | 0.29 | 0.18 |
2015 | 0.50 | 0.60 | 0.38 | 0.17 |
2016 | 0.62 | 0.48 | 0.32 | 0.22 |
2017 | 0.73 | 0.56 | 0.30 | 0.19 |
2018 | 0.68 | 0.50 | 0.32 | 0.21 |
2019 | 0.70 | 0.57 | 0.27 | 0.24 |
2020 | 0.73 | 0.62 | 0.34 | 0.18 |
Despite representing about 5% of Canada’s total population in 2020, Indigenous peopleNote 1 accounted for 28% of homicide victims and 37% of accused persons. The homicide rate of Indigenous people was seven times higher than the rate of non-Indigenous people.
Indigenous | Non-Indigenous | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Male | Female | Male | Female | |
rate per 100,000 population | ||||
Homicide victimsNote 2 | 16.50 | 3.76 | 2.14 | 0.69 |
Persons accused of homicideNote 2 | 18.53 | 3.46 | 1.84 | 0.24 |
One-quarter of homicide victims were identified as visible minorities, 50% of whom were identified as Black.
Homicide rate for every 100,000 people living in the 5 largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs)
Census metropolitan area | Rate per 100,000 population – 2019 | Rate per 100,000 population – 2020 |
---|---|---|
Toronto | 2.03 | 1.62 |
Montréal | 1.04 | 0.97 |
Vancouver | 1.51 | 1.64 |
Calgary | 1.57 | 2.53 |
Edmonton | 2.21 | 3.19 |
Canada | 1.83 | 1.95 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Homicide Survey.
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