Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada's Homicide Rate Remains At Lowest Levels In Almost Five Decades

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Nov, 2015 12:29 PM
    TORONTO — Canada's homicide rate remained at its lowest level in five decades last year but aboriginals accounted for a disproportionate number of the victims, Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday.
     
    Overall, police services across the country reported 516 killings in 2014 — four more than in 2013. The tiny uptick, however, had no effect on the rate, which was the same as in 2013 and the lowest level since 1966.
     
    Among provinces, Manitoba had the highest homicide rate for the eighth straight year while Thunder Bay, Ont., picked up the dubious distinction of becoming Canada's murder capital.
     
    Guns were more frequently used — 156 times — but the overall rate of gun killings was at its second-lowest level in 40 years.
     
    Aboriginals accounted for almost one quarter of the victims despite comprising just five per cent of the population.
     
    "For the first time, complete aboriginal identity data have been reported," StatCan said.
     
    The new data show that aboriginal people were victims at a rate about six times higher than that of non-aboriginals, with First Nations men facing triple the risk faced by aboriginal females.
     
    "Aboriginal males were seven times more likely to be homicide victims compared with non-aboriginal males," according to Statistics Canada. "The rate of homicide for aboriginal females was six times higher than for their non-aboriginal counterparts."
     
    According to the data, the number of aboriginal female victims has remained relatively stable in recent decades, while the number of non-aboriginal female victims has declined. The result is that, proportionately, victim rates for aboriginal women have increased sharply.
     
     
    Most homicides of aboriginals were solved. In fact, StatCan said, police were more likely to solve killings where aboriginals were victims than those involving non-aboriginal victims.
     
    Overall, when the crimes were solved, most victims — 83 per cent — knew their killers, data show — a situation that has long been the case.
     
    Acquaintances posed the biggest threat, followed by relatives. Current or ex-spouses were blamed in 83 cases or 16 per cent of all homicides, with women four times more likely than men to die at the hands of partners.
     
    Among provinces, Manitoba had the highest homicide rate in 2014 despite seeing fewer of them, with Alberta and Saskatchewan well behind. At the other end, Newfoundland and Labrador had the fewest killings relative to population followed by Nova Scotia, which recorded its lowest rate since StatCan started collecting the relevant data in 1961. 
     
    In all, five provinces saw declines while seven jurisdictions had increases, with Alberta recording a significant jump — 22 more killings than in 2013 and British Columbia recording 12 more.
     
    Thunder Bay, Ont., had the poorest record among major urban centres, reporting an "unusually high" number in 2014, StatCan reported. The 11 reported homicides catapulted the northern Ontario city to a rate almost three times that of second-place Winnipeg.
     
    Regina, previously Canada's murder capital, saw its rate cut in half from a year earlier, dropping it to eighth place in 2014 among the country's 34 metropolitan areas.
     
    Five of the larger centres — Saguenay and Sherbrooke in Quebec and Kingston, Oshawa and Brantford in Ontario — saw no homicides at all.
     
     
    Statistics Canada did note that the territories historically have the highest homicide rates in Canada — with Nunavut leading the way last year.
     
    "However, because of small numbers, there is large variability from year to year," the agency said.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    That's Some Bling: Vancouver Company Recovers 1,111-carat Diamond In Botswana

    That's Some Bling: Vancouver Company Recovers 1,111-carat Diamond In Botswana
    Lucara Diamond Corp. says it recovered a 1,111-carat diamond measuring 65 millimetres by 56 mm by 40 mm.

    That's Some Bling: Vancouver Company Recovers 1,111-carat Diamond In Botswana

    Vancouver Crackdown On Illegal Street Vendors Displaces Homeless: Advocates

    Vancouver Crackdown On Illegal Street Vendors Displaces Homeless: Advocates
    Dozens of homeless people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside are being displaced by a heavy police presence during the city's push to relocate illegal sidewalk vendors to sanctioned markets, advocates say.

    Vancouver Crackdown On Illegal Street Vendors Displaces Homeless: Advocates

    Two New Brunswick Police Officers Charged In Man's Shooting Death

    Two New Brunswick Police Officers Charged In Man's Shooting Death
    Michel Vienneau of Tracadie-Sheila was fired on in his vehicle near the Bathurst train station on Jan. 12.

    Two New Brunswick Police Officers Charged In Man's Shooting Death

    Hijab Day At Halifax Library Aims To Address Misconceptions

    Hijab Day At Halifax Library Aims To Address Misconceptions
    HALIFAX — Members of Halifax's Muslim community are confronting misconceptions about their faith by holding an information session about the hijab this weekend.

    Hijab Day At Halifax Library Aims To Address Misconceptions

    B.C. Government To Boost MRI Scans By 65,000 Over Four Years To Rid Backlog

    B.C. Government To Boost MRI Scans By 65,000 Over Four Years To Rid Backlog
    Premier Christy Clark says British Columbians have been enduring waits of up to eight months for MRI scans, but that's about to change.

    B.C. Government To Boost MRI Scans By 65,000 Over Four Years To Rid Backlog

    Guelph, Ont., Artist Patrick Cruz Wins $25,000 RBC Canadian Painting Competition

    Guelph, Ont., Artist Patrick Cruz Wins $25,000 RBC Canadian Painting Competition
    He took the $25,000 honour on Wednesday for his work entitled "Time allergy."

    Guelph, Ont., Artist Patrick Cruz Wins $25,000 RBC Canadian Painting Competition