Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2024

Firearm-related crimes account for a small proportion of all violent crimes in Canada. However, they remain a major public safety concern because of the significant impact of these crimes. Firearms are often involved in the most serious crimes, including those linked to organized crime and gangs. Over the past decade, the number of homicide victims who were shot generally surpassed the number of victims who were stabbed.

Police-reported statistics show a general upward trend in firearm-related violent crime since the mid-2010s (Conroy, 2025, Perreault, 2024). Data from the Canada Border Services Agency also show an increase in firearms seizures at borders since 2020/2021.^Note  In addition, new technologies such as 3D printers have led to an increase in unlawfully manufactured firearms.

In recent years, several measures to reduce crime involving firearms have been put in place by provincial governments and the federal government. Specifically, amendments were made to the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act (Public Safety Canada, 2022a). Former Bill C-21, An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms), received royal assent on December 15, 2023 (Public Safety Canada, 2025a; Public Safety Canada, 2023) (see Text box 4).

Using data from the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey^Note  and the Homicide Survey, this Juristat article presents the most recent trends in firearm-related violent crime, a complex and sensitive issue. Also discussed are certain characteristics of these incidents, their victims and the persons accused. For the first time, an analysis of accused persons who have had repeated contacts with the police for firearm-related violent crime is included in this article. These results will help to better identify those most likely to be responsible for a disproportionate share of firearm-related crime. They will contribute to the development of measures and policies targeting those most at risk of repeated contacts, thus offering the best potential for results in addressing firearm-related crime.

This article was produced with funding support from Public Safety Canada.

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The rate of firearm-related crime sees sharpest decline in more than 10 years

In 2024, police services in Canada reported 14,488 firearm-related violent crimes. This was almost 200 fewer crimes than the previous year, during which 14,679 of these crimes were recorded. The rate of firearm-related violent crime (36.0 incidents per 100,000 population) decreased by 4.2% compared with 2023 (37.6 incidents per 100,000 population), the largest drop since 2013.^Note 

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From 2009, when comparable data became available, to 2013, the rate of firearm-related violent crime declined sharply (-30% in four years). However, the rate then began an upward trend, reaching a peak in 2023.^Note  During this period of almost constant increases, only two other years were marked by declines—2018 (-1.1%) and 2021 (-0.9%)—both of which were smaller decreases than that recorded in 2024 (Chart 1).

The proportion of firearm-related violent crimes decreases slightly

Firearm-related crimes account for a small proportion of all police-reported violent crimes (less than 3%). Most often, violent crimes involve no weapons or involve physical force alone. In 2024, 2.6% of violent crimes were firearm-related, a slight decrease from the previous year (2.7%). This was also the lowest proportion recorded since 2014, when 2.4% of violent crimes involved a firearm. Thus, from 2023 to 2024, the firearm-related violent crime rate decreased (-4.2%) more sharply than the overall violent crime rate (-1.0%) (Chart 1).

The rate of firearm-related violent crime declines in most provinces

Overall, 7 of 10 provinces recorded a decline in the rate of firearm-related violent crime from 2023 to 2024. Only Newfoundland and Labrador (+31%), Ontario (+6.3%) and Quebec^Note  (+0.8%) recorded an increase in the rate of firearm-related violent crime compared with the previous year. Among the territories, Yukon (+24%) and the Northwest Territories (+7.3%) also experienced an increase in the rate of firearm-related violent crime compared with 2023 (Table 1).

Prince Edward Island (-46%), British Columbia (-22%), Alberta (-14%) and New Brunswick (-11%) were the provinces with the largest declines in their rates from 2023 to 2024. Prince Edward Island (15.2 incidents per 100,000 population) and British Columbia (20.7 incidents per 100,000 population) had the lowest rates of firearm-related violent crime among the provinces. In the territories, Nunavut experienced a 37% decrease in its rate of firearm-related violent crime (Table 1).

At the provincial level, the rate of firearm-related violent crime was generally higher in the Prairie provinces, with the highest rate being in Saskatchewan (120.1 incidents per 100,000 population), followed by Manitoba (81.3) and Alberta (49.3). The proportion of firearm-related violent crimes was also higher in these provinces. For example, 4.5% of violent crimes in Saskatchewan involved a firearm, compared with 1.0% in Prince Edward Island and 1.4% in British Columbia (the two provinces with the lowest proportions of firearm-related violent crime). Nevertheless, the three Prairie provinces experienced a decline in the rate of firearm-related violent crime from 2023 to 2024 (Table 1).

The rate of firearm-related violent crime in Toronto reaches its highest level in 15 years

While a decline in the rate of firearm-related crime was noted across the country, the opposite trend was observed in Toronto,^Note  Canada’s most populous census metropolitan area (CMA).^Note  In 2024, 2,843 firearm-related crimes were recorded in Toronto, representing a rate of 44.8 firearm-related crimes per 100,000 population. This rate was the highest recorded in Toronto since 2009.

The increase in the rate of firearm-related violent crime in Toronto was partly because violent crime increased slightly overall in Toronto in 2024, but also because violent crimes were slightly more likely to have involved a firearm. In 2024, 4.2% of violent crimes in Toronto were firearm-related, up from 3.8% the previous year. Of the other CMAs, only Regina recorded a higher proportion of firearm-related violent crime (Table 2).

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The trend was the reverse in the other two most populous CMAs in the country. Montréal (1.9%) and Vancouver (1.4%) recorded their lowest proportions of firearm-related violent crimes in 2024 since comparable data became available in 2009. In 2023, these proportions were 2.1% for Montréal and 1.8% for Vancouver. In Montréal, this translated into a 10% decrease in the rate of firearm-related violent crime compared with 2023, while the corresponding decrease in Vancouver was 31%. Montréal and Vancouver were the only two CMAs in Canada whose rate of firearm-related violent crime in 2024 was substantially lower than in 2014^Note  (Chart 2, Table 2).

The majority of census metropolitan areas in Alberta and British Columbia show a decline in firearm-related violent crime in 2024

In 2024, just over half of CMAs (22 out of 39) saw their rate of firearm-related violent crime decrease from the previous year. Western CMAs were particularly likely to have seen their rates decline, including Alberta’s four CMAs and five of British Columbia’s seven CMAs. The CMAs of Red Deer (-51%), Chilliwack (-47%) and Lethbridge (-46%) recorded the largest decreases in the rate of firearm-related violent crime compared with 2023 (Table 2).

Conversely, the CMAs of Guelph (+85%), Drummondville (+52%) and St. John’s (+42%) recorded the largest increases in the rate of firearm-related violent crime in 2024 compared with 2023. Nevertheless, these CMAs continued to have lower rates than the CMA average in 2024. It should also be noted that the CMAs with the largest annual changes in 2024, both upward and downward, had fewer than 250,000 residents and record relatively small numbers of firearm-related crimes each year. The rate in these CMAs is therefore more likely to experience significant annual fluctuations.

The rate of firearm-related violent crime continues to rise in the provincial rural north

The provincial north includes Labrador and the northern regions of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, according to the definition agreed on by the Northern Development Ministers Forum and used by the Conference Board of Canada’s Centre for the North. These northern boundaries generally reflect provincial administrative regions (Allen & Perreault, 2015; Statistics Canada, 2022b).

Many earlier analyses have noted higher crime rates the provincial north, and especially in northern rural areas (Allen & Perreault, 2015; Cotter, 2025; Perreault, 2023; Savage et al., 2025). For example, the violent crime rate in northern rural areas was 17,766 incidents per 100,000 population in 2024, about three times higher than in southern urban areas (5,106) (Perreault, forthcoming).

The socioeconomic and demographic profile of rural northern communities differs significantly from that of the provincial urban south. Some socioeconomic issues are more severe in the north than in the south, such as higher unemployment and poverty rates, lower levels of education, residential instability, inadequate or insufficient infrastructure, and substance abuse, all of which are known to have an impact on crime (Ceccato & Abraham, 2022; Kitchen, 2006; Sapp, 2023; Savage et al., 2025; Ukert et al., 2018). In addition, Indigenous Peoples represent a relatively large proportion of the population in rural areas and in the provincial North. Self-reported and police-reported data have consistently shown high rates of victimization and offending among First Nations people, Métis and Inuit (Allen, 2020; Boyce, 2016; Perreault, 2022). This reality cannot be separated from the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization upon Indigenous Peoples that contribute to socioeconomic marginalization, trauma and intergenerational violence (Aguiar & Halseth, 2015; Bombay et al., 2014).

Overall, rates of firearm-related violent crime are generally higher in the northern regions of the provinces than in their southern regions.^Note  In 2024, 3.7% of violent crimes in the provincial rural north involved a firearm, corresponding to a rate of 172,2 incidents per 100,000 population. That rate was almost 6 times higher than in the prcaovincial urban south (31.1 incidents per 100,000 population, or 2.5% of violent crimes) (Table 1).

In the provincial rural north, both the rate and the proportion of firearm-related violent crimes increased from 2023 to 2024. This trend was the opposite of what was observed in the southern regions of the provinces, but also in the provincial urban north and in the territories. For the first time since 2009, the territories had a lower rate of firearm-related violent crime than the provincial rural north (Table 1, Chart 3).

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A recent study of a cohort of accused persons revealed a particularly high rate of recidivism in the provincial rural north. Specifically, 28% of accused persons in the rural north in 2014 were identified as accused in at least 10 other crimes in the following nine years (Savage, 2025), suggesting that a small number of individuals are responsible for a disproportionate share of crime in the north. Although the study in question looked at crime as a whole, trends for firearm-related violent crime offenders are similar (see the section entitled “Persons accused of firearm-related violent crime who had repeated contacts with police” at the end of this article).

Handguns involved in nearly half of firearm-related violent crimes

Handguns were involved in almost half (49%) of firearm-related violent crimes in 2024. More specifically, police reported a rate of 17.6 violent crimes involving a handgun per 100,000 population in 2024, down 4.1% from the rate recorded the previous year (18.3 incidents per 100,000 population). In comparison, the rate of violent crimes involving firearm-like weapons or unknown types of firearms was 11.3 incidents per 100,000 population. The rate of violent crimes that involved a rifle or shotgun followed, with 5.2 incidents per 100,000 population (Table 3, Chart 4).

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The proportion of firearm-related violent crime involving a handgun has declined, from 56% in 2014.to 49% in 2024 However, the decrease in the proportion of violent crimes involving a handgun does not mean that these crimes are on the decline, but rather that there were larger increases in the number of crimes involving other types of firearms. The number of violent crimes involving a handgun has increased by 46% since 2014, from 4,839 incidents to 7,068 incidents in 2024. By comparison, the number of violent crimes involving a rifle or shotgun rose by 52% (from 1,377 to 2,098 incidents), and the number of violent crimes involving a fully automatic or sawed-off firearm increased by 98% (from 390 to 774 incidents). Violent crimes involving a firearm-like weapon or an unknown firearm^Note  increased the most; the number of these incidents rose from 2,029 incidents in 2014 to 4,548 in 2024 (+124%) (Table 3).

Firearm-like weapons and unknown firearms include airsoft guns, BB guns, pellet guns or air guns. For a crime to be considered a crime involving a firearm, these weapons must have been used in a threatening, intimidating or criminal manner. This category may also include replica firearms and unlawfully manufactured firearms, including those made using 3D printers, which are a growing source of concern (Public Safety Canada, 2025b; Public Safety Canada, 2025c).

Handguns involved more often in urban than in rural areas

Urban and rural areas differ in the type of weapon most often involved in firearm-related violent crime. In the provincial urban south, nearly 6 in 10 firearm-related violent crimes (59%) in 2024 involved a handgun. Conversely, this proportion was 16% in the provincial rural north, where firearm-related violent crime most often involved a firearm-like weapon or an unknown type of firearm (42%), or a rifle or shotgun (33%). Such differences can be expected given the higher rates of rifle or shotgun ownership in rural areas (Doherty & Hornosty, 2008; Gomez et al., 2020).

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Typically, more urbanized provinces had a higher proportion of firearm-related violent crimes involving handguns. In Ontario, for example, 7 out of 10 firearm-related violent crimes (71%) involved a handgun in 2024. Conversely, this proportion was 7% in Nunavut. However, the Northwest Territories was an exception: 46% of firearm-related violent crimes in 2024 involved a handgun, the second-highest proportion among the provinces and territories (Chart 5).

Presence of a firearm declines in most crime categories

The rate of firearm-related violent crime fell in most crime categories from 2023 to 2024. These decreases largely reflect a decrease in crime overall. Still, the proportion of crimes involving a firearm also fell slightly for most crime categories, especially among the most serious crimes.

The rate of firearm-related attempted murder, homicide and other offences causing death fell by 9.1% from 2023 to 2024 (from 1.77 incidents per 100,000 population in 2023 to 1.61 in 2024). The rate of sexual assault involving a firearm fell 13% (from 0.34 incidents per 100,000 population in 2023 to 0.30 in 2024), as did rates of firearm-related robbery (from 8.7 to 7.9 incidents per 100,000 population, or -8.8%) and hostage-taking, kidnapping, forcible confinement or human trafficking (from 0.61 to 0.52 incidents per 100,000 population, or -15%). In contrast, discharging a firearm with intent and the “other violent crimes” category saw a slight increase in 2024 (Table 4).

While the firearm-related crime rate declined from 2023 for most violent crime categories, the longer-term trend is different. Compared with 10 years earlier, only firearm-related robberies (-21%) and hostage-taking, kidnapping, forcible confinement or human trafficking (-10%) decreased. Most other violations recorded increases. For example, increases have been seen since 2014 for firearm-related attempted murder, homicide and other offences causing death (+29%); sexual assault (+108%); and assault (+64%) (Table 4).

Discharge of a firearm with intent accounts for nearly one in five violent crimes involving a firearm

The Criminal Code includes a number of violent offences explicitly relating to firearms. Specifically, discharging a firearm with intent,^Note  pointing a firearm and using a firearm in the commission of an offence are, by definition, firearm-related violent crimes.

Firearm-specific offences have increased significantly over the past 15 years and are largely responsible for the rise in firearm-related violent crime over this period. In 2009, these offences accounted for 15% of firearm-related violent crime. In 2014, this proportion was 21%, and it rose steadily to 37% by 2024. In other words, the rate for all these offences rose from 5.2 incidents per 100,000 population in 2009 to 13.2 incidents per 100,000 population in 2024.^Note 

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Among all firearm-related violent crimes, discharging a firearm with intent had the largest increase from 2009 to 2024. In 2009, discharging a firearm with intent accounted for 5.4% of firearm-related violent crimes. This proportion was 19% in 2024. The rate of incidents of discharging a firearm with intent thus rose from 1.6 incidents per 100,000 population in 2009 to 6.4 incidents per 100,000 population in 2024 (Chart 6).

Rate of firearm-specific offences up sharply, especially in rural areas

Firearm-specific offences have risen especially rapidly in rural areas. From 2009 to 2024, the rate of these offences more than tripled, from 8.7 incidents per 100,000 population to 30.8 incidents per 100,000 population (Chart 7). By 2024, these offences accounted for almost half (49%) of all firearm-related violent crime in areas outside CMAs and census agglomerations.^Note 

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More specifically, firearm-specific offences increased the most in the provincial rural north. From 2009 to 2024, the rate of these offences increased sixfold, from 16.0 incidents per 100,000 population to 95.6 incidents per 100,000 population.

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Firearm-related violent crime more likely to involve multiple victims and multiple accused persons

Violent crimes are much more likely to involve multiple victims^Note  when a firearm was present than when one was not. In 2024, just under one-quarter (22%) of firearm-related violent crimes had more than one victim. In comparison, this was the case for 8.7% of non-firearm-related violent crimes.

The proportion of firearm-related violent crimes involving more than one victim is trending downward slightly. In 2009, 24% of firearm-related violent crimes resulted in more than one victim, 2 percentage points higher than in 2024. Crimes with three or more victims largely accounted for the decline; the proportion of these crimes fell from 8.6% in 2009 to 6.7% in 2024 (Chart 8).

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Firearm-related violent crimes often involve both multiple victims and multiple accused persons. In 2024, almost one-quarter (24%) of firearm-related violent crimes were perpetrated by several accused persons acting together.^Note  For non-firearm-related violent crimes, this proportion was around four times lower (5.7%) (Chart 9).

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There is no clear trend in the proportion of firearm-related violent crimes perpetrated by more than one accused. After a slight upward trend that began in 2015, the proportion of these crimes returned to its pre-2015 level five years later and has remained relatively stable since. Meanwhile, the proportion of non-firearm-related violent crimes involving several accused persons has shown a clear downward trend, falling from 8.4% in 2009 to 5.7% in 2024 (Chart 9).

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The majority of victims of firearm-related violent crime are men

Overall, women and girls are slightly more likely to be victims of violent crime than men and boys. In 2024, women and girls accounted for 53% of victims of violent crime, while men and boys accounted for 47% of victims.^Note  However, the picture is somewhat different for firearm-related violent crimes, which were more likely to have men or boys as victims in 2024 (66%).

Specifically, police recorded 7,368 firearm-related violent crimes involving men and boys as victims in 2024, representing 36.6 incidents per 100,000 men and boys. This rate was lower (-6.3%) compared with 2023. In comparison, police recorded 3,855 firearm-related violent crimes where the victim was a woman or girl, a rate of 19.2 incidents per 100,000 women and girls (-1.7% compared with 2023) (Table 5).

Most persons accused of firearm-related violent crime are also men

Most persons accused of violent crime are men or boys (76% of accused of violent crimes in 2024).^Note  This is also the case for firearm-related violent crime more specifically, but the proportion is even higher. In 2024, men and boys accounted for 89% of persons accused of firearm-related violent crimes reported by police. This proportion was highest among accused aged 12 to 17 (93%), contrasting with violent crime overall, where boys accounted for 70% of accused in this age group in 2024. In fact, 6.3% of violent crimes in which the accused was a boy aged 12 to 17 involved firearms, the highest proportion of any age group.

However, it is among women and girls that the rate of persons accused of firearm-related violent crimes has risen the most over the last 10 years. From 2014 to 2024, the rate of accused women and girls jumped 88%, from 2.6 incidents per 100,000 women and girls in 2014 to 4.9 in 2024. The biggest increase was among teenage girls (+141%), though they represented a small proportion (7%) of accused aged 12 to 17 (Table 5).

Although the rate of women accused of firearm-related violent crimes has almost doubled since 2014, they continued to represent a small fraction of accused persons. For example, although the increase was proportionately lower among men and boys, police nonetheless identified nearly 2,200 more men and boys as persons accused of firearm-related violent crimes in 2024 than in 2014. Among women and girls, there were 480 more (Table 5).

Among youth, the rate of accused persons rose particularly rapidly from 2021 to 2023, before falling back slightly in 2024 (Chart 10). This increase coincides with a rise in violent crimes committed with a firearm-like weapon or unknown types of firearms. In 2024, these weapons were involved for 40% of incidents involving accused aged 12 to 17, compared with 26% of incidents involving accused aged 18 and over.

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Roughly half of victims of firearm-related violent crimes were targeted by a stranger

In 2024, about half (51%) of firearm-related violent crimes in which at least one victim and accused person were identified involved an accused person unknown to the victim.^Note  This proportion was approximately double that recorded for non-firearm-related violent crimes (26%), which were more often committed by friends and acquaintances (33%) or an intimate partner (27%) (Chart 11).

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The relationship between the accused person and the victim varies according to the victim’s gender. More specifically, firearm‑related violent crimes committed in 2024 were much more likely to be by an intimate partner^Note  when the victim was a woman (24%) than when the victim was a man (2.1%).

However, the proportion of firearm-related violent crimes committed by strangers has been declining in recent years. While 51% of firearm-related violent crimes in 2024 involved an accused who was unknown to the victim, this proportion was 60% in 2014. This trend contrasts with what is seen for non-firearm-related violent crimes, where the proportion of crimes committed by a stranger remained relatively stable during the same period (Chart 11).

Intimate partner violence against women increasingly involves a firearm

Firearm-related violent crimes represent a small fraction (less than 1%) of all violent crimes committed by intimate partners. Nevertheless, the issue of firearms in situations of intimate partner violence remains a concern. The Government of Canada has taken steps to address this issue. As of April 2024, those convicted of an offence where violence was used or threatened against an intimate partner or family member are automatically ineligible to obtain or hold a firearms licence. A chief firearms officer must also revoke an existing licence if they have reasonable grounds to suspect the licence holder may have engaged in an act of domestic violence or stalking (Public Safety Canada, 2025a).

In situations of intimate partner violence, women are more likely than men to experience violence involving a firearm. In 2024, police reported that a firearm was present in 0.96% of incidents of intimate partner violence against women. This proportion was almost half when the victim was a man (0.55%). It should be noted that these incidents do not represent instances where a firearm was present in the house, but rather incidents in which the police deemed the firearm relevant to the commission of the crime. Studies have noted that the mere presence of a firearm in the house tends to increase the severity of violence and increase the risk of homicide, even when the firearm is not used to commit violence (Wiebe, 2003; Zeoli et al., 2016). The presence of a firearm in the context of intimate partner violence also tends to further reduce the victim’s sense of safety and thereby exacerbate the emotional and psychological repercussions (Lynch & Jackson, 2021; Sorenson & Wiebe, 2004; Zeoli et al., 2016).

Intimate partner violence against women is also increasingly likely to involve a firearm. Thus, although the rate of women victims of intimate partner violence remained relatively stable from 2009 to 2024—the rate initially decreased slightly until the mid-2010s before rising to the same level in 2024 as in 2009—the rate of women victims of firearm-related violent crimes committed by an intimate partner increased 60% during this period (from 3.3 incidents per 100,000 women in 2009 to 5.3 incidents per 100,000 in 2024). During the same period, the proportion of intimate partner violence incidents against women where a firearm was present continued to increase. In 2009, police reported that a firearm was present in 0.60% of incidents of intimate partner violence against women. This proportion peaked (1.01%) in 2022 before declining slightly in the following two years (0.96%).

The increase in the rate of women victims of firearm-related violent crime committed by an intimate partner is particularly significant in rural and northern areas in the provinces. In these areas, police reported 31.1 of these incidents per 100,000 women and teenage girls in 2024. That is more than twice the rate recorded 15 years earlier (13.7 incidents per 100,000 women and teenage girls). The increase was also slightly more pronounced in the provincial urban north (+68%) and in the territories (+67%) than in the provincial urban south (+61%) and provincial rural south (+55%) (Chart 12).

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Trends in police-reported data on intimate partner firearm-related violence are examined in greater detail in another Juristat article (see Cotter, forthcoming).

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Shooting was the cause of death in nearly 4 out of 10 homicides

The attention firearm-related violence receives can be attributed to the fact these crimes are more likely to cause death than crimes involving any other weapon (Beaman et al., 2020; Zeoli et al., 2016; Zimring, 1967). While firearms were involved in less than 3% of police‑reported violent crimes in 2024, they were involved in 38% of homicides.^Note 

In 2024, homicide victims were more likely to have died by firearm than to injuries inflicted by any other method. More specifically, police reported 286 homicide victims who died by shooting in 2024, a rate of 0.69 homicides per 100,000 population. In comparison, 250 people were stabbed to death in the same year—the second most common method, with a rate of 0.61 homicides per 100,000 population. Police also reported 131 deaths caused by beating, a rate of 0.32 homicides per 100,000 population (Chart 13).

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After doubling in less than 10 years, the shooting homicide rate has dropped for the second consecutive year

Since 2016, shooting has been the most common homicide method. This contrasts with what had been observed since the mid-1980s, when stabbings were about as common as shootings (Chart 13).

After reaching a low in 2013 (0.38 incidents per 100,000 population), the shooting homicide rate surged in the years that followed, more than doubling to 0.88 incidents per 100,000 population in 2022. Since then, the rate has dropped twice in a row, reaching 0.69 incidents per 100,000 population in 2024 (Chart 13).

The drop in the firearm-related homicide rate since 2022 is largely attributable to the decline in handgun-related homicides

After the shooting homicide rate hit a low in 2013, homicides committed with handguns and those committed with rifles, shotguns and other firearm types have increased significantly.

The handgun-related homicide rate peaked in 2022 (0.56 incidents per 100,000 population). Since then, the rate has fallen for two consecutive years, to 0.39 incidents per 100,000 population in 2024, a 30% drop from its peak in 2022. Despite the drop in the handgun-related homicide rate, handguns continued to be involved in more than half (56%) of firearm-related homicides.^Note 

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However, after several successive years of decline, the rate of homicides committed with rifles or shotguns rose by 32% from 2023 to 2024. The rate of 0.24 homicides committed with rifles or shotguns per 100,000 population was the highest recorded since 1997. Nonetheless, the rate was markedly lower than in the 1970s, when it was approximately three times higher (Chart 14).

More than four out of five victims of firearm-related homicides are men and boys

Since the inception of the Homicide Survey in 1961, men and boys have always accounted for the majority of victims. This is particularly the case when it comes to firearm-related homicides. In 2024, 82% of firearm-related homicide victims were men or boys. This proportion was slightly lower than in the previous year (85%), owing to both a drop in the number of men and boys killed by firearms (-12) and an increase in the number of women and girls who were victims (+6). In comparison, men and boys represented 66% of victims of homicides involving a knife or another cutting object and 55% of victims of homicides involving other weapons.

In 2024, 85% of victims of handgun-related homicides were men and boys, while this proportion was 77% among victims of homicides where a rifle or shotgun was involved.

Victims of firearm-related homicides were also, on average, younger than those killed with other weapons. In 2024, the median age of firearms homicide victims was 34. However, the median age of firearms homicide victims was slightly higher than in previous years, when it was typically closer to 30.^Note  In comparison, victims of homicides by knife had a median age of 39, while the median age was 41 for homicides by other weapons. This difference was primarily attributable to homicides of men or boys. The median age of women and girls killed in firearm-related homicides was 40.

The majority of firearms sent for tracing come from Canada

As part of the Homicide Survey, the police collects information about the legal status of the firearm and its owner. It should be noted that this information is available for a minority of incidents and firearms, so results should be interpreted with caution.^Note 

In 2024, information on legal firearm ownership was available in 53% of all firearm-related homicides. According to that information, at the time of the homicide, the firearm involved was legally owned in nearly one-quarter of homicides (24%, or 37 out of 152 homicides), meaning that the firearm had been legally acquired and that the legal conditions for firearm possession had been met.

Information on the origins of firearms that were illegally owned at the time of the homicide is available in a minority of homicides (22%, or 25 out of 115). Of these, police indicated that 32% of cases involved a firearm that had been stolen from its legal Canadian owner, while 8% of cases involved a weapon lost by its legal Canadian owner. In the remaining cases, the firearm was illegal, meaning that it had never been legally owned in Canada (56%) or had been illegally purchased from its legal Canadian owner (4%).

The firearm used to cause death was recovered in 41% of firearm-related homicides. Of the recovered firearms, 77 (70%) were sent for tracing. It was possible to trace the origins of nearly half of these firearms (44%, or 34 out of 77). Of the 34 firearms whose origins could be determined, most (74%) came from Canada, while most of the remainder originated in the United States (24%).

Overall, one in five persons accused of a firearm-related homicide had a valid firearms licence for the class of firearm used

In firearm-related homicides where an accused person was identified, one in five accused persons (20%)^Note  had a valid firearms licence for the class of firearm used. Conversely, in 80% of cases, the accused did not have a valid licence. The proportion of accused persons with valid licences was much higher in homicides committed with rifles and shotguns (30%) than in homicides committed with handguns (10%).

About 4 in 10 firearm-related homicides are linked to organized crime or street gang activity

Most organized crime or gang-related homicides^Note  involve firearms. In 2024, just over three-quarters (79%)^Note  of homicides linked or suspected to be linked to organized crime or street gangs involved firearms, while 14% involved a knife or another cutting object. This means that a significant portion of firearm-related homicides are attributable to organized crime. More specifically, nearly 4 in 10 firearm-related homicides (39%) were linked to or suspected of being linked to organized crime in 2024, whereas this was much less common with homicides involving other types of weapons (6.7%). The proportion of firearm-related homicides attributable to organized crime peaked in 2009 (60%). Since then, such cases have been slowly trending downward (Chart 15).

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The proportion of firearm-related homicides related to organized crime or street gang activity varied depending on the type of firearm used. In 2024, just under half (48%) of handgun-related homicides were linked to organized crime or street gangs, compared with 20% of homicides involving a rifle or shotgun and 54% of homicides involving other types of firearms.

Most persons accused of firearm-related homicides have a criminal history

Whether gang-affiliated or not, the majority (60%) of the persons accused of firearm-related homicides in 2024 had a criminal record involving at least one previous conviction for criminal activity.^Note  Notably, 44% had a history of crimes against persons. This proportion was slightly higher than what was observed in homicides by other means. For example, 48% of those accused of a homicide by knife or other cutting object in 2024 had a criminal history, including 36% for crimes against persons.

Firearms homicides involving victims aged 25 to 34 are most often related to gangs or organized crime

The majority of homicide victims are men and boys. This is especially the case when it comes to firearm-related homicides, and still more so when these homicides are linked to organized crime or gangs. In 2024, 101 men and boys were killed by a firearm in an organized crime or gang-related homicide. These victims represented 44% of all men or boys killed by firearms, and they represented 92% of organized crime or gang-related firearms homicide victims.^Note  Firearms homicides involving female victims were much less likely to be linked to organized crime or gangs. In 2024, 9 of the 50 (18%) firearm-related homicides of women and girls were organized crime or gang-related.

Firearm-related homicides involving victims aged 25 to 34 were also more likely to be gang-related than homicides with victims of any other age. In 2024, more than half (55%) of firearms homicides involving victims aged 25 to 34 were related to organized crime or gangs.

Historically, firearm-related homicides involving victims aged 18 to 24 were most likely to be gang-related. From 2005 to 2019, gang-related homicides made up 61% to 65% of firearm-related homicides involving victims aged 18 to 24. This proportion decreased to 51% over the period of 2020 to 2024, which was lower than the proportion of homicides involving victims aged 25 to 34 (54%). Conversely, the proportion of gang-related firearm homicides has been climbing slightly in cases involving victims under 18 or over 45 (Chart 16).

Chart 16 start

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As with victims, persons accused of gang-related homicides involving firearms are generally men and boys. From 2020 to 2024, almost all (97%) of persons accused of gang-related homicide involving a firearm were men. Over the same period, those accused of gang-related shooting homicides (average age of 26) were also younger on average than those accused of shooting homicides not related to gangs (average age of 36). Youth aged 12 to 17 accounted for a minority of those accused (9%), but 31% of firearm-related homicides where the accused was a youth were gang-related. This proportion was slightly higher among accused aged 18 to 24 (36%) and accused aged 25 to 34 (32%) but then dropped to 11% for those aged 35 to 44.

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The number of incidents in which a firearm is stolen continues to decline, while incidents involving firearm possession keep increasing

Not all crimes involving firearms are classified as violent. Several firearm-related offences are non-violent, including breaking and entering to steal a firearm and a range of firearm-related administrative offences that police report under the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey.

The number of incidents in which a firearm was reported stolen to the police is another indicator of firearm-related crime in Canada. Under the UCR Survey, the police can record up to five different types of stolen property in an incident, including four distinct categories of firearms: restricted firearms, rifles, shotguns and other firearms. In 2024, 1,699 non-violent incidents were reported by the police in which at least one firearm was among the articles stolen.^Note  More precisely, there were 862 non-violent incidents where at least one rifle was stolen, 491 incidents where at least one shotgun was stolen, 230 incidents where at least one restricted firearm was stolen and 468 incidents where at least one firearm of another type was stolen.^Note 

Compared with the previous year, there were 131 fewer incidents of firearms being reported as stolen, a decrease that was largely attributable to a drop in the number of non-violent incidents where a rifle (115 fewer incidents, or -12%) or a restricted firearm (41 fewer incidents, or -15%) was stolen.

Thefts of firearms have also declined sharply since 2014, when there were 3,568 non-violent incidents where at least one firearm was reported as stolen. This drop was noted across all types of firearms, although it was somewhat more pronounced for thefts of rifles (-55%) and other types of firearms (-56%) than it was for thefts of shotguns (-44%) and restricted firearms (-24%).

In fact, 2024 marked the lowest number of incidents involving the theft of a firearm since comparable data became available in 2009. Furthermore, the number of incidents peaked in the mid-2010s, while in contrast, the rate of firearm-related violent crimes reached its lowest point. Since then, the number of non-violent incidents in which at least one firearm was stolen has continued to decline each year.

Among the other offences that are not classified as violent crimes, possession of a weapon was the most frequent, although distinguishing incidents involving a firearm from those involving another type of weapon is not possible. In 2024, police reported 20,203 incidents of weapon possession, nearly double the number reported a decade earlier in 2014 (11,242 incidents).

Persons accused of firearm-related violent crime who had repeated contacts with police

It is generally recognized that a small number of highly active criminals—namely repeat offenders or “chronic offenders”—are responsible for a disproportionate share of crime (Brennan & Matarazzo, 2016; Carrington, 2007; Pedneault et al. 2024; Savage, 2025). Therefore, crime prevention policies must pay particular attention to factors associated with recidivism. In 2022, Public Safety Canada launched the Federal Framework to Reduce Recidivism (Public Safety Canada, 2022b). This framework, which aims to increase public safety, is the first step in creating a plan to identify key factors that influence why people reoffend.

While some studies have noted a higher risk of recidivism for individuals involved in firearm-related crimes (Devitt Westtley et al., 2018; Ostermann & Hashimi, 2023), others, in contrast, have found no association (Huebner et al., 2007). In any case, the available Canadian data on the subject remain limited.

There are several ways to define and measure the concept of recidivism. This often includes analyzing indicators such as re-contact with the police as an accused person, reconvictions and reincarcerations (Justice Canada, 2020). Crimes brought to the attention of the police do not all result in convictions or prison sentences, but they can nevertheless have significant negative consequences for individuals and communities.

Re-contacts with the police over a nine-year period among a cohort of those accused of committing a crime in 2014

The analysis that follows is based on data from the UCR Survey. Recidivism is measured based on re-contacts^Note  —in other words, subsequent contacts—with the police among a cohort of individuals accused of a violent crime reported by the police in 2014. The analysis focuses on the contacts that occurred in the period of 2014 to 2023.

Two-thirds of the individuals accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2014 had at least one subsequent contact with police

Among the 2,977 persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2014, nearly two-thirds (65%) were identified by police as accused persons in at least one other criminal incident (excluding traffic offences) during the study period. This was 8 percentage points higher than the corresponding proportion (57%) among the 169,332 accused persons whose initial contact in 2014 was a non-firearm-related violent crime (Table 6).

More specifically, half (50%) of accused persons whose first contact with the police in 2014 was a firearm-related violent crime had two or more subsequent contacts with the police in the study period, 26% of whom had more than five contacts. For comparison, these percentages were 42% (two or more subsequent contacts) and 21% (more than five contacts) among accused persons whose initial offence in 2014 was a non-firearm-related violent crime (Table 6).

Compared with accused persons whose initial offence was a non-firearm-related violent crime, those whose initial offence was firearm-related were more likely to have re-contact for a violent crime (50% of those whose initial contact was a firearm-related violent crime, compared with 44% of those whose initial contact was non-firearm-related). Similarly, those whose initial offence was a firearm-related violent crime were more likely to have a re-contact for a firearm-related violent crime (13%) than those whose initial offence was a non-firearm-related violent crime (3%).

In the territories and the provincial rural north,^Note  persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2014 were the most likely to have had at least one re-contact with the police in the nine-year study period, with 74% of them having at least one such re-contact. However, they were no more likely than their counterparts whose initial violent offence was non-firearm-related (75%). The greatest differences were instead observed in the provincial urban south. In those regions, 65% of accused persons whose initial offence was a firearm-related violent crime had at least one subsequent contact with the police, compared with 54% of those whose initial violent offence was non-firearm-related (Table 6).

Most accused persons who had re-contacts with the police are men

The majority of persons accused of violent crimes are men or boys. This is especially the case for firearm-related violent crime, and even more so when re-contacts are considered. For example, men accounted for 97% of accused persons who had at least one re-contact for another firearm-related violent crime.

Accused persons aged under 35 were also slightly more likely to have had re-contacts with the police after an initial contact in 2014. Among youth aged 12 to 17 accused of committing a firearm-related violent crime in 2014, 71% had at least one subsequent contact with police for an offence under the Criminal Code (excluding traffic offences)—a proportion similar to those observed among accused persons aged 18 to 24 (70%) and 25 to 34 (72%). However, this percentage declined among accused persons who were older at the time of the initial offence in 2014, standing at 66% for accused persons aged 35 to 44 and 44% for those aged 45 and over. Nonetheless, youth aged 12 to 17 were the most likely to have had more than 5 subsequent contacts (34%) and more than 20 re-contacts (9.0%). Youth aged 12 to 17 accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2014 were also the most likely to have re-contacts for another firearm-related violent crime (20%, compared with 15% or less among each of the other age groups).

Previous contacts with police among a cohort of persons accused of an offence in 2024

While the previous section focused on re-contacts with police following an initial contact in 2014, this section does the opposite, examining contacts that occurred prior to the most recent contact with police in 2024. For this analysis, a cohort of persons accused of a firearm-related violent offence in 2024 was selected. If the same accused person was involved in more than one firearm-related violent offence in 2024, the most recent incident was selected for the cohort. For persons accused of an offence under the Criminal Code or another federal statute who did not commit a firearm-related violent offence in 2024, the most recent incident was selected for the cohort.

The majority of persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime had a history of violence

An overwhelming majority of the persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2024 had had recent contact with police, i.e., they had been previously identified by police as the accused person in at least one other offence from 2018 to 2024. Specifically, 70% had had police contact for a Criminal Code offence (excluding traffic offences), and more than half (58%) had had contact for at least one violent crime. In addition, approximately one in six persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime (17%) had had previous contact with police for at least one other firearm-related violent crime from 2018 to 2024 (Table 7, Chart 18).

Accused persons whose most recent crime in 2024 was a non-firearm-related violent crime were much less likely to have had such contacts. For example, less than half of them (47%) had had recent contacts for other Criminal Code offences, 39% had had contacts for violence, and 2% had had prior contacts for a firearm-related violent crime (Table 7).

Persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2024 were notably more likely than those accused of other violent crimes to have had multiple prior contacts with police. For example, 11% of those accused of a firearm-related violent crime had been identified as accused persons in more than five previous violent crimes from 2018 to 2024, and 8.0% had been previously identified in at least two firearm-related violent crimes. In comparison, those percentages were 4.7% and 0.3%, respectively, for persons accused of non-firearm-related violent crimes (Table 7).

Persons accused of firearm-related violent crimes in the territories, Manitoba and Saskatchewan were the most likely to have had a history of violence

In the territories, persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2024 were the most likely to have had prior contact with police for a violent crime reported from 2018 to 2024. Approximately three-quarters (74%) of them had had such contact. However, 13% of them had had prior contact for firearm-related violent crimes, which was lower than the Canadian average of 17% (Chart 18).

In the Prairies, especially in Saskatchewan (25%) and Manitoba (21%), those accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2024 were the most likely to have had recent contact for at least one other firearm-related violent crime (Chart 18). These figures suggest that the high levels of firearm-related violent crime in the territories and the Prairies could be at least partly attributable to higher-than-average recidivism rates.

Chart 18 start

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In contrast, persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime in British Columbia (7%), Nova Scotia (10%) and Quebec (10%) were the least likely to have had previous contact with police for at least one other firearm-related violent crime (Chart 18).

Men are more likely to have had previous contacts with police

Similar to the findings regarding subsequent contacts, men accused of a firearm-related violent crime were more likely than women to have had previous contact with police for an offence reported from 2018 to 2024. In particular, men were more likely than women to have had recent contact related to at least one Criminal Code offence (excluding traffic offences) (70% versus 66%), a violent crime (59% versus 48%) or another firearm-related violent crime (18% versus 8%) (Table 7).

Those accused of the most serious crimes are the most likely to have had previous criminal contact with police

Those accused of the most serious violent crimes, such as homicides, were more likely to have had previous contact with police. Among those accused of a firearm-related homicide or other crime causing death, or attempted murder, in 2024, 78% had had recent contact related to a Criminal Code offence (excluding traffic offences), 65% had had recent contact related to a violent crime, and 29% had had contact involving a firearm-related violent crime. In comparison, when those crimes had been committed without a firearm present, 51% of accused persons had had recent contact for violent crime and 4% had had recent contact for firearm-related violent crimes (Table 7).

Those accused of firearm-related robbery in 2024 were also particularly likely to have had recent contact for a criminal offence (79%), a violent crime (65%) or a firearm-related violent crime (26%). In addition, 40% of those accused of a firearm-related violent crime committed in a bank had had previous contact with police for at least one other firearm-related violent crime from 2018 to 2024. This was also the case for 32% of those who were accused of a firearm-related violent crime committed in a convenience store, a gas station or a pharmacy.

Overall, the more previous offences an accused person has on their record, the more serious the crimes they are accused of. To measure the severity of a violation, the weight assigned to each offence in the Crime Severity Index can be used. These weights are calculated based on the duration of the average sentence, with the offences that have the longest prison sentences being considered more severe and weighted most heavily. For example, common assault (level 1) is assigned a weight of 26.2, while aggravated assault (level 3) is assigned a weight of 501.1. First-degree murder is assigned the highest weight, 8,273.6.

Chart 19 start

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Among persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime or whose most recent crime in 2024 was a violent crime, and who had no previous history of violence, the average weight of the offences they were accused of was just over 100. That weight then increased depending on the number of previous contacts with police: 132 for accused persons who had had previous contact for a violent crime, 156 for accused persons who had had two to five previous contacts, and 186 for accused persons who had had more than five previous contacts (Chart 19).

Looking specifically at prior contacts for firearm-related violent crime, the increase is exponential. For persons who had no prior contact for firearm-related violent crimes, the violent crimes they were accused of in 2024 had an average weight of 122. Among accused persons who had had more than five previous contacts with police for a firearm-related violent crime from 2018 to 2024, the average weight of offences was 680 (Chart 19).

Almost three-quarters of those accused of a firearm-related violent crime linked to gangs had a recent history of violence

Just as those accused of more serious crimes were more likely to have a history of violence, those accused of a firearm-related violent crime that was linked to organized crime or gangs were also more likely to have had previous contact with police. Almost three-quarters (73%) of them had had previous contact with police from 2018 to 2024 for a violent crime, and one-third (33%) had had at least one previous contact for a firearm-related violent crime. In comparison, those percentages were 61% and 13%, respectively, among persons accused of non-firearm-related violent crimes that were linked to organized crime or gangs (Table 7).

More than three-quarters of persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime committed with a fully automatic or sawed-off firearm had a criminal history

Persons accused of firearm-related violent crimes were most likely to have a recent criminal history when the crime was committed with a fully automatic or sawed-off firearm (77%). They were also more likely to have a recent history of violence (66%). The proportion who had a criminal history (73%) or a history of violence (60%) was also relatively high among those whose crime was committed with a handgun. In comparison, those proportions were 66% and 55%, respectively, among those whose crime was committed with a rifle, a firearm-like weapon or an unknown type of weapon (Table 7).

Summary

In 2024, 14,488 firearm-related violent crimes were reported by police services in Canada, which represented 2.6% of violent crimes. Compared with 2023, this was a decrease of approximately 200 firearm-related violent crimes. Thus, the rate of these crimes declined from 37.6 incidents per 100,000 population to 36.0 per 100,000 population.

Most provinces and territories recorded a decrease in the rate of firearm-related violent crimes from 2023 to 2024. Exceptions were Newfoundland and Labrador (+31%), Yukon (+24%), the Northwest Territories (+7.3%), Ontario (+6.3%), and Quebec (+0.8%). Although decreases in the rate were observed in many regions of the country, the large drops in urban regions in British Columbia and Alberta contributed significantly to the decline in the national rate. While Toronto’s rate of firearm-related violent crime in 2024 (44.8 incidents per 100,000 population) was its highest in 15 years, Vancouver saw its lowest rate (14.1 incidents per 100,000 population).

Overall, rates of firearm-related violent crime were lowest in urban regions (i.e., census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations), and they were highest in rural regions. In 2024, police reported a rate of 31.1 firearm-related violent crime incidents per 100,000 population in the provincial urban south and 39.5 per 100,000 population in the provincial urban north. The rates were slightly higher in the provincial rural south (40.9 incidents per 100,000 population) but much higher in the territories (157.7 per 100,000 population) and in the provincial rural north (172.2 per 100,000 population).

Firearm-related violent crimes were more likely than other violent crimes to involve multiple victims or accused persons. In 2024, 22% of these crimes resulted in at least two victims, and 24% of all firearm-related violent crimes involved at least two accused persons. These percentages were more than twice as high as those for non-firearm-related violent crimes (8.7% with at least two victims and 5.7% with at least two accused persons).

Firearm-related violent crimes were approximately 15 times more likely than other violent crimes to be linked to organized crime or gangs. Nevertheless, gang-related crimes represented a small percentage of firearm-related violent crimes (4%). For homicides involving a handgun, that proportion was considerably higher (48%). In addition, almost three-quarters (73%) of persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime that was linked to gangs had had recent contact with police for at least one violent crime, and one-third (33%) of them had had previous contact for a firearm-related violent crime.

The rate of shooting homicides decreased for a second consecutive year in 2024, from 0.73 incidents per 100,000 population in 2023 to 0.69 per 100,000 population in 2024. That decrease was largely because of fewer handgun-related homicides and homicides linked to organized crime. However, the rate of shooting homicides remains significantly higher than rates recorded in comparable countries, except for the United States.

Most persons accused of a firearm-related violent crime in 2024 (70%) had a recent criminal history; that is, they had been identified by police as an accused person in at least one prior criminal incident (excluding traffic offences) from 2018 to 2024. This proportion was 47% among those accused of a non-firearm-related violent crime in 2024. Overall, the more prior contacts an accused person had with police, the more serious the crime they were accused of in 2024.

Detailed data tables

Table 1 Incidents of police-reported firearm-related violent crime, by province or territory and region, 2014, 2023 and 2024

Table 2 Incidents of police-reported firearm-related violent crime, by census metropolitan area, 2023 and 2024

Table 3 Incidents of police-reported firearm-related violent crime, by most serious type of firearm present, Canada, 2009 to 2024

Table 4 Incidents of police-reported firearm-related violent crime, by type of violation and clearance status, Canada, 2023 and 2024

Table 5 Victims and persons accused of police-reported firearm-related violent crime, by gender and age group, Canada, 2014, 2023 and 2024

Table 6 Proportion of persons accused of a violent crime in 2014 who had re-contact with police, by number of re-contacts, rural or urban area and north or south region, Canada, 2014 to 2023

Table 7 Persons accused of firearm-related violent crime and of non-firearm-related violent crime, by criminal history (previous contacts with police) and selected accused and incident characteristics, Canada, 2024

Data sources and concepts

Uniform Crime Reporting Survey

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey was launched in 1962 with the collaboration and assistance of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. The purpose of the survey is to quantify the crimes reported by federal, provincial, territorial and municipal police services in Canada.

An incident may include more than one offence. To ensure that the data is comparable, the numbers in this article are based on the most serious offence in the incident. The police determine the most serious offence based on the standardized classification rules of the UCR Survey: for example, the violent or non-violent nature of the offence and the maximum sentence allowable under the Criminal Code.

In the context of this analysis, a firearm-related violent crime is a crime where a firearm was present during the commission of the offence, whether the firearm was used or not. Firearms include handguns, rifles or shotguns, fully automatic or sawed-off firearms, and weapons similar to a firearm, such as starter pistols, flare guns, compressed air guns and BB guns. Offences that are specifically related to firearms — including discharging a firearm with intent, using a firearm in the commission of an indictable offence, and pointing a firearm — are also included in firearm-related violent crimes, regardless of the most serious weapon present in the crime.

Incident-based Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Trend Database

The Uniform Crime Reporting Incident-Based Survey (UCR2) database on trends is a microdata survey that is used to collect detailed information about crimes reported to the police. The data includes the characteristics of the incidents, the victims and the accused persons. It is estimated that, from 2009 to 2023, the UCR2’s coverage increased to 99% of the Canadian population. It includes only the police services that have always responded to the UCR2 Survey, so that comparisons can be made over time.

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” at the crime scene. Although firearm-related violent crimes are probably recorded correctly in the vast majority of cases, undercounting is still possible. Thus, caution should be exercised when comparing the Quebec data to that of other provinces or territories.

This analysis excludes the data from the Service de police de la Ville de Québec because of concerns about the quality of the data for the variable “most serious weapon present.” The data from the Saint John Police Service (SJPS) are also excluded. The Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics (CCJCSS), in collaboration with the SJPS, decided to delete the SJPS data for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2024 from the files because of concerns about the quality of the data for those years. Consequently, the SJPS data was also deleted from the trends data file, which includes only the police services that reported data every year from 2009 to 2024.

Homicide Survey

The Homicide Survey collects data from police services on the characteristics of homicide incidents, homicide victims and persons accused of homicide in Canada. This survey has collected police-reported data on all homicides since 1961.

When the police become aware of a homicide, the police service that conducts the investigation fills out the Homicide Survey questionnaires and sends them to Statistics Canada. Some homicides are reported to police months or years after they were committed. They are counted in the year during which they were reported to police. Information on persons accused of homicide are available only for cases that have been closed (i.e., those in which at least one accused person has been identified). The characteristics of the accused persons are updated as the homicide cases are closed, and the new information is sent to the Homicide Survey. The data gathered through the questionnaires on the victim and the incident are also updated once the case is closed.

The Homicide Survey was recently revised in order to improve the quality and relevance of the data. Changes were made to existing questions, and questions were added for the 2019 reporting period.

Geographic regions

Urban regions are regions located within the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and the Census Agglomerations (CAs). A CMA consists of one or more neighbouring municipalities situated around a major urban core. A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000, of which at least 50,000 live in the urban core. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the central urban area, as measured by commuting flows derived from census data. A CA must have a core population of at least 10,000. Rural regions are all regions located outside of the CMAs and CAs.

The provincial south includes Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, as well as the southern regions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. (Variant of the Standard Geographical Classification [SGC] 2021 for the North and the South.) The provincial north includes the northern regions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Note that the Nunavik Police Service reports its data to the UCR Survey (version 1). In this article, northern Quebec means the northern regions in the province that are located south of Nunavik.

Types of firearms

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 can cause serious bodily injury or death to 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 fire 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 of 660 millimetres or more.

Firearm-like weapon: Any firearm-like weapon capable of propelling any object through a barrel by means of gunpowder, compressed carbon dioxide, pumped air, etc. Includes, for example, starter pistols, flare guns, air guns and BB guns. This category also includes unknown types of firearms.

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