Table 5
Logistic regression model: Odds of manslaughter versus murder charges being laid or recommended in relation to an incident of homicide, by select characteristics of the incident, the victim and the accused, 2014 to 2021


Table 5
Logistic regression model: Odds of manslaughter versus murder charges being laid or recommended in relation to an incident of homicide, by select characteristics of the incident, the victim and the accused, 2014 to 2021
Table summary
This table displays the results of Logistic regression model: Odds of manslaughter versus murder charges being laid or recommended in relation to an incident of homicide. The information is grouped by Selected characteristics (appearing as row headers), odds ratio and 95% confidence interval , calculated using from and to units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Selected characteristicsTable 5 Note 1 odds ratioTable 5 Note 2 95% confidence interval
from to
Indigenous identity of victim
Indigenous person 1.538Note *** 1.199 1.973
Non-Indigenous person reference
Gender of victim
Man reference
Woman 0.350Note *** 0.263 0.465
Gender of accused person
Man 0.485Note *** 0.348 0.676
Woman reference
Incident had a related offence
Yes 1.521Note *** 1.195 1.935
No reference
Accused person had a previous criminal conviction
Yes 0.672Note ** 0.524 0.861
No reference
Primary motivation for the incident
Argument or quarrel 1.308Note * 1.016 1.683
Frustration, anger, or despair 0.479Note *** 0.326 0.703
Any other motive reference
Cause of death
Shooting or stabbing reference
Any other cause 7.324Note *** 5.688 9.432
Note *

significantly different from reference category (p < 0.05)

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Note **

significantly different from reference category (p < 0.01)

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Note ***

significantly different from reference category (p < 0.001)

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Note 1

The characteristics shown on this table are those that showed a significant relationship to the outcome being tested (charge of manslaughter being laid or recommended). Other characteristics were initially included in the model but were determined not to have a significant relationship. These characteristics are: Indigenous identity of the accused person; the accused person was a family member or current or former spouse, common-law spouse, or intimate partner of the victim; the accused was involved in illegal activates (e.g., drug trafficking) at the time of the homicide, and the accused was known or suspected to be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicating substances. Only significant characteristics were retained in the final model.

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Note 2

Odds ratio represents the odds that an outcome (e.g., a charge of manslaughter) will occur given a particular exposure or characteristic, compared to the odds of the outcome occurring in the absence of that exposure or characteristic. An odds ratio higher than 1 indicates a characteristic associated with an increased probability for the outcome to occur, while an odds ratio below 1 indicate a decreased probability.

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Note: The model is based on a subset of all homicides reported to police between 2014 and 2021: those with a single victim and a single accused person, where the gender and the Indigenous identity of the victim and accused were known, and where charges were laid or recommended by police, and after removing records with missing or unknown values for variables included in the final model (n = 2,281). Indigenous identity is reported by the police and is determined through information found with the victim, such as Status cards, or through information supplied by the victims' families, community members, or other sources (i.e., such as band records, or forensic evidence such as genetic testing). There may be some homicides in a given year's total that occurred in previous years. Homicides are counted according to the year in which they are reported to Statistics Canada. Excludes persons whose gender was reported as unknown by police. See "Data sources and methodology" for more details about the linkage and methodology.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Homicide Survey.
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