IN 2021, 247 homicide victims were identified by the police as being racialized persons, according to Statistics Canada’s report “Homicide trends in Canada, 2021” released on Monday.
This represented 32% of the 762 victims for whom information about racialized groups was available. These numbers resulted in a homicide rate of 2.51 per 100,000 racialized people, 38% higher than the rate for the rest of the population (1.81).
Among racialized homicide victims, approximately half (49%) were Black, and nearly one in five (19%) were South Asian.
In 2021, police services reported 788 homicides in Canada. This represented 29 additional homicides compared with the previous year and a third consecutive increase since 2019. Consequently, the national homicide rate rose by 3% to 2.06 homicides per 100,000 population, compared with 2020.
Despite these recent increases, homicides remained relatively rare events, as reported historically. They accounted for less than 0.2% of all police-reported violent crimes in 2021.
Rate of homicides involving Indigenous victims remains disproportionally high
In 2021, police reported 190 homicide victims as Indigenous. This represented one-quarter (25%) of the 752 victims for whom information about Indigenous identity was available.
The homicide rate of Indigenous victims was 9.17 per 100,000 Indigenous people, six times higher than that of non-Indigenous people (1.55 per 100,000 non-Indigenous people).
Among Indigenous victims, nearly two-thirds (65%) were First Nations, 6% were Métis, and 5% were Inuk (Inuit). The Indigenous groups to which the remaining victims belonged were reported by police as unknown.
National increase largely the result of growth in Ontario, B.C.
Increases in homicides in Ontario (+37; 277 homicides) and British Columbia (+25; 125 homicides) from 2020 contributed the most to the overall rise in 2021.
However, these increases were partially offset by sizable decreases in Alberta (-23; 118 homicides) and Nova Scotia (-14; 23 homicides). It should be noted that the observed decline in Nova Scotia follows an unusually high homicide count in 2020 because of a mass shooting in the province.
Among the provinces, Saskatchewan had the highest homicide rate (5.93 per 100,000 population) in 2021, up 9% from 2020 and a third consecutive yearly increase.
In 2021, there were 117 homicides in Toronto, the highest homicide count among census metropolitan areas (CMAs). However, as Toronto is the most populous CMA in the country, it ranked 17th in terms of the homicide rate (1.81 homicides per 100,000 population).
The highest homicide rates were recorded in the Regina (5.67), Thunder Bay (5.63), and Winnipeg (5.39) CMAs. Trois-Rivières and Guelph were the only CMAs with no homicides reported by police in 2021.
Highest gang-related homicide rate since 2005
Police reported 184 gang-related homicides in 2021, accounting for nearly one-quarter (23%) of all homicides.
In 2021, there were 33 additional gang-related homicides compared with 2020, resulting in the highest rate (0.48 per 100,000 population) recorded in Canada since comparable data were first collected in 2005.
This change was attributable to increases in several provinces, including Ontario (+13; 65 gang-related homicides), British Columbia (+13; 39 gang-related homicides), and Quebec (+6; 21 gang-related homicides).
Gang-related homicides tend to be concentrated in urban areas; as a result, increases at the provincial level largely reflect rises in CMAs.
In 2021, Vancouver (+13) and Montréal (+11) had the largest increases among CMAs in the number of homicides involving gangs compared with the previous year.
However, when the size of the population was accounted for, the highest gang-related homicide rate among the provinces was observed in Saskatchewan, at 2.12 per 100,000 population, a 9% increase from the previous year.
Likewise, Regina had the highest gang-related homicide rate among the CMAs, at 3.03 per 100,000 population. This rate was nearly three times higher than in 2020 (1.14) and well above its previous 10-year average (1.10).
Firearms the most common weapon used in homicides
In 2021, at the national level, two in five homicides (40%) resulted from victims being shot, while stabbing and beating represented 32% and 17% of homicides, respectively.
Among firearm-related homicides, handguns were the primary type of firearm used (57%), followed by rifles and shotguns (26%). The remaining firearm-related homicides were perpetrated with firearm-like weapons and firearms of unknown type (17%).
Almost half (46%) of firearm-related homicides were identified as gang-related.
Overall, the national firearm-related homicide rate increased by 6% compared with 2020, from 0.73 to 0.78 per 100,000 population.
Among the provinces, Saskatchewan (1.86 per 100,000 population), Nova Scotia (1.21), Manitoba (1.01), British Columbia (1), and Alberta (0.95) had the highest firearm-related homicide rates in 2021, all above the national rate.
Among the CMAs, the highest firearm-related homicide rate was observed in Regina (2.65) for the second year in a row. This latest rate represented a 40% increase from 2020 (1.89).
While Statistics Canada has increased the amount of information collected on crime guns, the agency continues to engage with police services to improve data on remaining gaps, such as the origin of firearms used in crimes.
On average, firearm-related homicides take the longest to solve
A homicide is considered solved (or “cleared”) when police report laying or recommending a charge of homicide against at least one accused person, or report clearing it by other means (e.g., the suicide of the accused person).
Data for the five-year period from 2017 to 2021 suggest an average time of 36 days for a homicide to be solved.
However, variations are observed in the length of time required to solve a homicide based on various characteristics.
One key characteristic is the primary method used to commit the homicide. Shooting, stabbing, and beating are generally the main methods used, accounting for 88% of all homicides over these five years.
Data for the same period suggest that homicides by shooting take the longest to solve. Within 100 days, 47% of homicides by shooting were solved. By contrast, 70% of homicides by beating and 84% of homicides by stabbing were solved in the same timeframe.
The involvement of gang-related activities in the perpetration of a homicide also has an impact on its clearance. Within 100 days, 27% of gang-related homicides were reported as solved. By contrast, three-quarters of homicides (75%) unrelated to gangs were solved within 100 days.
