Infographic: Homicide in Canada, 2021

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Release date: November 21, 2022

Infographic: Homicide in Canada, 2021 — Description: Homicide in Canada, 2021

Nationwide, 788 homicides were reported by police in 2021. Compared with 2020, the national homicide rate increased by 3% to 2.06 homicides per 100,000 population.

Table 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 1. The information is grouped by Province or territory (appearing as row headers), Number of homicides in 2021 and Change from 2020 (appearing as column headers).
Province or territory Number of homicides in 2021 Change from 2020

Canada 788 +29

Newfoundland and Labrador 8 +4

Prince Edward Island 0 -1

Nova Scotia 23 -14

New Brunswick 11 -3

Quebec 88 +1

Ontario 277 +37

Manitoba 61 -1

Saskatchewan 70 +6

Alberta 118 -23

British Columbia 125 +25

Yukon 4 +4

Northwest Territories 1 -5

Nunavut 2 -1

Gang-related homicides continued to account for nearly a quarter (23%) of all homicides in 2021.

Two in five victims of homicide were killed by shooting in 2021.

According to data from the past five years, homicides by shooting take the longest to solve.

Table 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 2 Percentage solved after 100 days (appearing as column headers).
Percentage solved after 100 days

Homicides by shooting 46.5%

Homicides by stabbing 84.0%

Homicides by beating 69.6%

In 2021…

One-quarter of victims (25%) were identified as Indigenous.^{Note 1}

The proportion of women who were killed by their spouse or intimate partner in Canada was approximately seven times higher than the proportion of men (44% and 7%, respectively).

The rate of homicides was almost 1.3 times higher in rural communities than in urban areas (2.58 versus 1.97 per 100,000 population).

Approximately one-third (32%) of victims were identified as racialized persons.^{Note 2}

**Source:** Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Homicide Survey.

Notes

Footnote 1.

Indigenous includes those identified by police as First Nations persons (either Status or non-Status), Métis, Inuit or as an Indigenous person but whose group is unknown.

Return to note 1 referrer

Footnote 2.

The concept of “racialized” is measured using the “visible minority” variable in this release. The variable “visible minority” comes from the *Employment Equity Act* and refers to whether a person is a visible minority or not. The Act defines visible minorities as “persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.”

Return to note 2 referrer

Table 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 1. The information is grouped by Province or territory (appearing as row headers), Number of homicides in 2021 and Change from 2020 (appearing as column headers).
Province or territory	Number of homicides in 2021	Change from 2020
Canada	788	+29
Newfoundland and Labrador	8	+4
Prince Edward Island	0	-1
Nova Scotia	23	-14
New Brunswick	11	-3
Quebec	88	+1
Ontario	277	+37
Manitoba	61	-1
Saskatchewan	70	+6
Alberta	118	-23
British Columbia	125	+25
Yukon	4	+4
Northwest Territories	1	-5
Nunavut	2	-1

Table 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 2 Percentage solved after 100 days (appearing as column headers).
	Percentage solved after 100 days
Homicides by shooting	46.5%
Homicides by stabbing	84.0%
Homicides by beating	69.6%

More information

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Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 11-627-M

Frequency: Occasional

Ottawa

Date modified:: 2022-11-21

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Infographic: Homicide in Canada, 2021

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