Homicide rates down across Canada, but hit record high in Ontario
Posted November 27, 2019 3:18 pm.
Last Updated November 27, 2019 3:23 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – New data from Statistics Canada shows homicide rates are down across the country, except in Ontario, where they reached a record high.
There were 651 homicide victims in the country in 2018, and the numbers were down almost everywhere. British Columbia had 30 fewer homicides than 2017, Alberta 38 fewer and Nova Scotia 10 fewer.
But in Ontario, the numbers were up. Toronto had the highest number of homicides on record for a census metropolitan area last year, with 142 in total. That’s a 50 per cent increase in the homicide rate over the year before.
Ontario had its highest homicide rate since 1991, with 266 murders.
Both Vancouver and B.C. as a whole had decreases in the number of murders. Gang-related killings were also down, with B.C. seeing the biggest drop.
While the overall trend is promising, the data showed domestic cases are up. Women were three times more likely than men to be killed by a current or former partner in 2018.
