Canada Violent Crime Statistics 2025 | Key Facts

Violent Crime in Canada 2025

Canada’s reputation as a safe, peaceful nation faces scrutiny as the latest verified data from Statistics Canada reveals complex violent crime patterns affecting communities nationwide. The 2024 police-reported crime statistics, released in July 2025, demonstrate that while overall crime decreased for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, violent offenses continue impacting Canadian safety at rates higher than many comparable nations. Understanding these statistics becomes essential for residents evaluating community safety, policymakers developing evidence-based interventions, and researchers analyzing long-term trends in Canadian criminal behavior across the nation’s diverse geographic and demographic landscape.

The violent crime landscape across Canada in 2024 recorded 591,856 violent incidents among a total of 2,532,446 police-reported Criminal Code violations, with the Violent Crime Severity Index (Violent CSI) decreasing 1% after three consecutive years of increases totaling 15% from 2021 to 2023. There were 788 victims of homicide in 2024, 8 fewer than in 2023, representing a 4% decrease in the homicide rate to 1.91 per 100,000 population. These verified figures originate from Statistics Canada’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey, collecting data from police services nationwide and providing comprehensive insights into how violent crime affects Canada’s approximately 41.3 million residents across ten provinces and three territories in 2024.

Interesting Stats & Facts About Violent Crime in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Police-Reported Crime Statistics 2024; Uniform Crime Reporting Survey July 2025

Canada recorded 591,856 violent crimes in 2024, representing 23.4% of all police-reported Criminal Code violations and demonstrating that violent offenses constitute nearly one-quarter of total criminal activity affecting Canadian communities. The 788 homicides reported in 2024 represent 0.13% of all incidents of violent crimes that year, indicating that murder remains exceptionally rare relative to overall violence. The Violent CSI decrease of 1% marked improvement from the 15% cumulative increase recorded from 2021 to 2023, though rates remain substantially elevated compared to the historic low achieved in 2014.

Compared with 2023, the Violent CSI recorded lower rates for many violations in 2024, such as level 1 sexual assault (-3%), extortion (-10%), robbery (-2%), attempted murder (-12%) and level 3 or aggravated assault (-8%). Combined, these violations accounted for 80% of the decrease in the Violent CSI. The most dramatic reduction occurred in attempted murder, declining 12% year-over-year, followed by aggravated assault down 8% and extortion falling 10% after four consecutive years of increases that saw rates quadruple from 8 per 100,000 in 2014 to 32 per 100,000 in 2024. Despite these improvements, violent crime rates remain 43.8% higher than 2014 levels, when Canada recorded its modern low point at 302 violent crimes per 100,000 population.

Total Violent Crime Rate in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Daily Report July 22, 2025; Uniform Crime Reporting Survey 2024

Canada’s violent crime rate in 2024 demonstrated modest improvement after three consecutive years of escalation, with the Violent CSI declining 1% following the 15% cumulative increase from 2021 to 2023. The volume and severity of police-reported crime in Canada, as measured by the Crime Severity Index (CSI), decreased 4% in 2024, following three consecutive years of increases, with violent crime contributing to this overall reduction though having “a comparatively smaller impact” than the 6% decline in non-violent crime. The 591,856 violent incidents recorded during 2024 reflect Canada’s ongoing challenges addressing assaults, sexual offenses, and threats even as homicide rates declined.

Historical context proves essential for understanding Canada’s current position. The 2024 CSI was just over one-third lower (-34%) than its peak in 1998, the first year CSI data were available, demonstrating substantial long-term crime reduction despite recent increases. Between 2005 and 2024, the murder rate nationally fluctuated between a low of 1.58 per 100,000 people recorded in 2012 and a high of 2.89 per 100,000 in 2022, with the 2024 rate of 1.91 per 100,000 falling between these extremes. Canada ranked 95th in the world by homicide rate according to international comparisons, performing worse than Australia, England, France, and Ireland but significantly better than the United States.

Comparative analysis reveals concerning trends relative to the United States. While Canada historically maintained substantially lower violent crime rates, The violent crime rate in Canada increased by 43.8% to 434.1 violent crimes per 100,000 people from 2014 to 2022, meaning that Canada now has a 14% higher population-adjusted violent crime rate than the U.S., which saw a violent crime increase of 5.3% over the same period, with 380.7 crimes per 100,000 people. This reversal represents a significant shift in the Canada-US crime comparison, though definitional differences require careful interpretation and the US homicide rate remains triple Canada’s at approximately 6.3 per 100,000 compared to Canada’s 1.91 per 100,000.

Homicide in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Homicide in Canada 2024; Fun With Data Analysis August 2025

In 2024, there were 788 victims of homicide, 8 fewer than in 2023, with the homicide rate declining 4% to 1.91 per 100,000 population from 1.99 the previous year. This reduction marked improvement after the elevated rates recorded during 2022 (2.89 per 100,000) and 2021, bringing Canada closer to the decade-low 1.58 per 100,000 achieved in 2012. The 788 homicides reported in 2024 represent 0.13% of all incidents of violent crimes that year, demonstrating that murder constitutes an exceptionally small fraction of violent criminal activity despite receiving disproportionate public attention and media coverage.

Gang-related homicides accounted for about one-fifth (19%) of all homicides; 79% of these were committed with a firearm, most often a handgun. This concentration indicates that organized crime and firearm availability drive significant portions of Canadian homicide, with gang conflicts particularly prevalent in urban centers including Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. The proportion of women who were killed by their spouse or intimate partner was approximately 7 times higher than the proportion of men (42% versus 6%), revealing the gendered nature of intimate partner homicide where female victims face dramatically elevated risks from current or former partners.

Provincial and territorial variations demonstrate stark geographic disparities. Among provinces, Manitoba had the highest homicide rate in the country in 2024, with a reported 6.29 homicides per 100,000 people. Next was Saskatchewan, with 5.24 homicides per 100,000 people, both exceeding the national rate by factors of three and 2.7 respectively. Toronto led Canadian cities with 44 homicides in the first half of 2024 compared to 73 for all of 2023, while Winnipeg recorded 20 homicides by mid-year approaching half of 2023’s total of 45. Cities including Brantford, Windsor, and Markham reported zero homicides in 2024, highlighting how murder concentrates in specific high-risk urban areas.

Sexual Assault and Sexual Offenses in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Sexual Assault Studies 2024; General Social Survey 2019; Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres

Level 1 sexual assault decreased 3% in 2024, contributing to the overall decline in the Violent CSI alongside reductions in more serious sexual offenses. Despite this single-year improvement, Sexual assault in Canada rose from 27,909 police-reported incidences in 2018 and 30,335 in 2019 to 33,521 in 2021. Overall, there were 34,242 police-reported sexual assaults (level 1, 2 and 3) in 2021. This rate was 18% higher than it was in 2020—and the highest rate since 1996, indicating the 2024 decrease follows years of sustained increases that brought sexual assault reporting to generational highs.

Severe underreporting characterizes sexual assault more than any other violent crime. Only 5% to 6% of sexual assaults reported by Canadians aged 15 and older in the past year were reported to the police, according to data from two Canadian surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, making sexual assault the least reported violent crime compared to robbery (47% reported) and assault (36% reported). Since the initial reviews and subsequent revision of the definition of a founded incident, the proportion of incidents classified as unfounded by police has declined. In 2017, which was the last full year of data collection using the old definition, 14% of all reported sexual assaults were classified as unfounded by police. By 2022, both of these proportions had declined to 7%.

Self-reported victimization surveys reveal vastly higher sexual violence prevalence than police statistics. Women living in Canada are almost four times more likely than men to have been sexually assaulted at least once since age 15 (30% versus 8% respectively), with 33% of women reporting sexual assault since age 15 compared to 9% of men. 46% of Indigenous women have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime compared to 33% of non-Indigenous women, demonstrating how Indigenous women face disproportionate sexual violence risks. More than 6 in 10 (61%) women aged 15 to 24 who lived in Canadian provinces had experienced unwanted sexual behaviours in a public place in 2018, highlighting how young women encounter pervasive harassment and assault.

Assault in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Crime in Canada Analysis; Wikipedia Crime Data; Fraser Institute US Comparison

Level 3 or aggravated assault decreased 8% in 2024, representing Canada’s most serious assault category involving wounding, maiming, disfiguring, or endangering life. This improvement reversed prior increases, though assault rates overall remain substantially elevated compared to mid-2010s levels. In 2022 the aggravated assault rate (attempted murder, assault level 3, assault level 2) was 211.3 per 100,000. In 2014 the aggravated assault rate was 138.28 per 100,000, indicating a 52.8% increase over eight years when combining Canada’s three most serious assault categories for US comparison purposes.

Assault classification complexities require careful interpretation when comparing Canada to other jurisdictions. Canada employs a three-tiered system: Level 1 (common assault) involves intentional application of force without weapon use or causing bodily harm; Level 2 includes assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm; Level 3 (aggravated assault) involves wounding, maiming, disfiguring or endangering life. Assault committed with a weapon or causing bodily harm increased 7% in 2023, demonstrating that while the most serious assaults decreased in 2024, intermediate-severity assaults escalated in prior years.

International comparisons present methodological challenges. Common assault (Level 1) constitutes the majority of Canadian assault volume but lacks direct US equivalent, as American statistics classify comparable incidents as “simple assault” excluded from violent crime figures. To enable comparison, analysts combine Canadian attempted murder, aggravated assault (Level 3), and assault with weapon (Level 2) to approximate the US category of “aggravated assault.” Using this methodology, In 2022 homicide rate in Canada was 2.27 per 100,000, the aggravated assault rate was 211.3 per 100,000 and the robbery rate was 56.5 per 100,000, for a combined comparable violent crime rate of 270 per 100,000 substantially lower than the US combined rate of 346.6 per 100,000.

Robbery and Extortion in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Police-Reported Crime 2024; Daily Report July 2025

Robbery decreased 2% in 2024, reversing the 4% increase recorded in 2023 and contributing to the overall Violent CSI decline. Robbery involves using violence or threats of violence during theft commission, distinguishing it from property crimes lacking intimidation or force. The robbery rate was 56.5 per 100,000 in 2022, representing a modest decline from 59.07 per 100,000 in 2014 and demonstrating relative stability over the eight-year period despite year-to-year fluctuations.

The police-reported rate of extortion decreased 10% to 32 incidents per 100,000 population in 2024, following four consecutive years of increases. Despite the decline, the rate was over four times higher in 2024 than a decade ago in 2014, rising from 8 to 32 incidents per 100,000 population over this period. This quadrupling reflects the growing prevalence of cyber-enabled extortion schemes including ransomware attacks, sextortion targeting victims through compromising images, and threats involving dissemination of personal information or intimate content unless payment is provided.

The decline in the rate of extortion was mostly due to an 18% decline in the rate of incidents with a cyber component, indicating improved law enforcement responses to online extortion and potentially reduced victim susceptibility to digital threats. Extortion increased 35% in 2023, demonstrating the dramatic year-over-year escalations that characterized the 2020-2023 period before the 2024 reversal. The offense’s classification as violent crime despite often lacking physical confrontation reflects its coercive nature and psychological harm to victims facing threats even when perpetrators remain physically distant.

Intimate Partner Violence in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Women and Gender Equality Canada; Facts and Stats on Gender-Based Violence

More than 11 million people in Canada have experienced intimate partner violence (a type of gender-based violence) at least once since the age of 15, representing approximately 29% of Canada’s population and demonstrating the pervasive nature of domestic abuse across the nation. The rates of intimate partner violence are higher for women with disabilities (55%), LGB+ women (67%); Indigenous women (61%); and women living in poverty (57%) than for all women (44%), revealing how marginalized populations face compounded risks from multiple vulnerability factors.

There was also a large increase in the proportion of women who were killed by a spouse or intimate partner, rising to 42 per cent of women victims in 2024 from 32 per cent in 2023, marking a concerning 31% relative increase in the proportion of female homicide victims killed by intimate partners. The proportion of women who were killed by their spouse or intimate partner was approximately 7 times higher than the proportion of men (42% versus 6%), demonstrating the gendered nature of intimate partner homicide where women face dramatically elevated lethal violence risks from current or former partners.

Risk factor intersectionality proves significant, with multiple marginalized identities compounding IPV vulnerability. 46% of Indigenous women have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime compared to 33% of non-Indigenous women, with Indigenous women facing not only elevated IPV rates but also disproportionate sexual violence victimization. LGB+ women’s 67% IPV rate represents the highest among measured populations, indicating how sexual orientation minorities encounter substantially elevated partner violence risks potentially related to minority stress, discrimination-related trauma, and reduced access to culturally competent support services.

Hate Crime in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Police-Reported Crime 2024; General Social Survey 2019

The number of police-reported hate crimes rose 1% in 2024, with hate crimes targeting a religion being stable, while those targeting a sexual orientation decreased 26% and those targeting a race or an ethnicity increased 8%. The overall 4,882 police-reported hate crimes in 2024 compared to 4,828 in 2023 represents modest growth following substantial prior-year increases, with the 26% decrease in sexual orientation-motivated crimes contrasting sharply with the 8% increase in race/ethnicity-motivated incidents.

Underreporting significantly affects hate crime statistics. According to the 2019 General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety (Victimization), Canadians self-reported being victims of over 223,000 criminal incidents that they perceived as being motivated by hate in the 12 months preceding the survey. Among these victims, approximately one in five incidents was reported to the police, indicating that police statistics capture merely 20% of hate-motivated criminal incidents with the remaining 80% never coming to official attention.

Most of the violations typically associated with hate crimes increased in 2023, including public incitement of hatred (+65%), uttering threats (+53%), mischief (+34%) and assaults (+20%), demonstrating that while 2024 showed overall stability, the prior year witnessed dramatic escalations across multiple hate crime categories. The 65% increase in public incitement of hatred and 53% rise in uttering threats indicate growing willingness to explicitly communicate hateful views and intimidate marginalized communities, whether through online platforms, public demonstrations, or direct confrontations with targeted individuals.

Provincial and Territorial Violent Crime Variations 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Provincial Crime Data 2024; Homicide Statistics by Province 2023

Among provinces, Manitoba had the highest homicide rate in the country in 2024, with a reported 6.29 homicides per 100,000 people. Next was Saskatchewan, with 5.24 homicides per 100,000 people, both dramatically exceeding the national rate of 1.91 per 100,000 by factors of 3.3 and 2.7 respectively. These elevated Prairie rates reflect complex factors including urban gang activity concentrated in Winnipeg and Regina, elevated Indigenous population proportions facing socioeconomic marginalization, substance abuse challenges, and rural isolation limiting service access.

British Columbia’s Violent Crime Severity Index was 94.1 in 2024, showing a 3.4% annual decrease, indicating that Canada’s third most populous province achieved meaningful violence reductions. British Columbia recorded 123 homicides in 2023 with a homicide rate of 2.23 per 100,000 population, showing a 22.8% annual decrease, demonstrating substantial improvement though remaining above the national average. Yukon’s Violent Crime Severity Index was 222.1 in 2024, showing a 16.8% annual decrease, though Yukon recorded 4 homicides in 2023 with a homicide rate of 8.89 per 100,000 population, showing a 95.0% annual increase, highlighting extreme year-to-year volatility in small-population territories.

Ontario recorded 262 homicides in 2023, representing the highest absolute number among provinces given its 15 million residents comprising 38% of Canada’s population. Toronto specifically recorded 44 homicides in the first half of 2024, indicating the city remained on pace to match or slightly exceed 2023’s total despite overall national homicide decreases. Newfoundland and Labrador maintained the lowest provincial homicide rates, benefiting from its island geography, small population of approximately 540,000, limited gang activity, and strong community cohesion in rural areas.

Urban Violent Crime Patterns Canada 2025

Data Source: Fraser Institute US-Canada Comparison 2025; Canadian News Hub Mid-Year Homicide Review 2024

Winnipeg maintained its position as Canada’s most violent census metropolitan area (CMA), recording a violent crime rate of 675.1 per 100,000 population, substantially exceeding the national average and reflecting persistent challenges with gang activity, substance abuse, and socioeconomic marginalization particularly affecting Indigenous populations comprising approximately 12% of the city’s population. Winnipeg recorded 20 homicides by mid-2024, approaching half of the 45 total homicides recorded for all of 2023, indicating the city remained on pace for another elevated-violence year despite national homicide rate decreases.

Thunder Bay recorded the second-highest violent crime rate at 546.1 per 100,000 population despite its relatively small size of approximately 125,000 residents, with the northern Ontario city experiencing disproportionate violence related to its geographic isolation, substantial Indigenous population facing discrimination and marginalization, and its role as a regional service hub. Regina and Saskatoon ranked third and fourth with 472 and 413 violent crimes per 100,000 respectively, confirming Saskatchewan’s two major cities as Canadian violence hotspots alongside their province’s elevated homicide rates.

Toronto recorded 44 homicides in the first half of 2024 compared to 73 for all of 2023, suggesting the nation’s largest city would likely record a similar or slightly higher total for the full year. Toronto’s 2.97 million residents within city limits and 6.7 million in the greater metropolitan area mean the city accounts for the highest absolute violent crime numbers nationwide despite having a mid-range per-capita rate. Edmonton recorded 19 homicides by mid-2024, while cities including Brantford, Windsor, and Markham reported zero homicides, highlighting how murder concentrates in specific high-risk urban centers while many communities experience minimal or no homicides annually.

Firearm-Related Violent Crime in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Firearm-Related Violent Crime 2022; Gang Homicide Analysis 2024

Firearm-related violent crime in Canada represented 8.5% of all police-reported violent crime in 2022, with a rate of 36.7 incidents per 100,000 population. While this proportion indicates most Canadian violence occurs without firearms, the presence of guns substantially elevates injury severity and lethality when employed. Handguns accounted for 58% of firearm-related violent crime, followed by rifles or shotguns at 24%, and in 17% of incidents the specific type of firearm could not be determined, whether due to investigation limitations, witness inability to identify weapon type, or concealment preventing identification.

Gang-related homicides demonstrated particularly high firearm use, with 79% committed with a firearm, most often a handgun, indicating organized crime’s preference for compact, concealable weapons easily transported and hidden. The concentration of handgun violence in gang contexts despite Canada’s relatively strict handgun regulations reflects cross-border smuggling from the United States, theft from legal gun owners, and domestic illegal manufacturing in some cases. Attempted murder involved firearms in 27% of cases, substantially higher than the 8.5% firearm proportion across all violent crime, demonstrating how gun use correlates with more serious violent intent and outcomes.

Toronto’s firearm violence remained a persistent concern, with the city’s 44 homicides by mid-2024 including substantial proportions involving guns particularly in gang-related killings concentrated in specific neighborhoods. Police seizures of illegal firearms continued, with operations targeting smuggling networks bringing weapons across the US-Canada border through various crossing points. Federal firearms legislation including Bill C-21 implementing handgun sales freeze and increased penalties for smuggling aimed to reduce firearm availability, though critics argue enforcement challenges and existing illegal weapon stocks limit policy effectiveness.

Youth Violent Crime in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Youth Crime Statistics 2024; Historical Analysis 1995-2024

The police-reported Youth Crime Severity Index (Youth CSI) decreased 3% in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of decline following a 6% decrease in 2023. The Youth Violent CSI was 83.2 in 2024, showing an 8.5% annual decrease, indicating Canadian youth engaged in less severe violent offending during 2024 compared to 2023. However, the Youth Non-Violent CSI was 50.4 in 2024, showing a 1.2% annual increase, demonstrating that property crime and non-violent offenses by youth increased slightly even as violence declined.

Long-term trends demonstrate remarkable improvement in youth crime over recent decades. In 2001, youth crime peaked at a CSI of 98.6, meaning the 2024 Youth CSI represented a 49% decline from this peak. Between 1995 and 2015, the youth crime rate decreased by 51%, reaching its lowest point in 2015, before experiencing modest increases between 2015 and 2021 that have now reversed. The youth crime rate was 5,290 incidents per 100,000 youth in 1991 and 2,446 per 100,000 youth in 2021, representing a 54% decrease over three decades.

Youth justice system practices emphasize diversion and rehabilitation over incarceration, with 26% of youth accused of crimes being charged while 74% were “cleared otherwise” through alternative measures including warnings, referrals to community programs, restorative justice processes, and counseling. The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) implemented in 2003 prioritized keeping youth out of formal court processes when appropriate, contributing to declining incarceration rates while research suggests recidivism rates decreased among diverted youth compared to those processed through formal charges and court proceedings.

Indigenous Peoples and Violent Crime in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Indigenous Peoples Survey 2022; National Inquiry MMIWG; Youth Justice Statistics

Indigenous peoples experience violent crime victimization and justice system involvement at rates dramatically exceeding their 5% share of Canada’s population. Indigenous people were victims of homicide at a rate 8 times higher than non-Indigenous people and were accused in homicides at a rate 13 times higher than non-Indigenous people, revealing how Indigenous communities suffer disproportionate violence both as victims and those accused. These disparities stem from colonial legacy, intergenerational trauma from residential schools, ongoing discrimination, poverty, substance abuse, and geographic isolation limiting access to services and opportunities.

Indigenous women face particularly severe victimization, with 46% experiencing sexual assault in their lifetime compared to 33% of non-Indigenous women, representing a 1.4 times higher rate. 61% of Indigenous women experienced intimate partner violence since age 15 compared to 44% of all women, demonstrating how Indigenous women endure violence at rates substantially exceeding even the elevated levels affecting women generally. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls documented over 4,000 cases and concluded that Canada’s treatment of Indigenous women and girls constitutes “race, identity and gender-based genocide” given the scale, persistence, and systemic nature of violence.

Indigenous youth represented 43% of admissions to correctional services despite comprising only 8% of the Canadian youth population, indicating 5.4 times overrepresentation in youth custody. On-reserve communities experienced violent crime rates 3 times higher than off-reserve areas in some analyses, reflecting geographic isolation, limited employment opportunities, inadequate housing, and reduced access to mental health and addiction services. Federal and provincial governments committed to implementing the 231 Calls for Justice from the MMIWG inquiry, though progress remains incomplete five years after the 2019 final report release.

Gender-Based Violence in Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Gender-Based Violence Statistics; Women and Gender Equality Canada 2024

Women living in Canada are almost four times more likely than men to have been sexually assaulted at least once since age 15 (30% versus 8% respectively), with updated surveys indicating 33% of women have experienced sexual assault since age 15 compared to 9% of men when more recent data is considered. More than 6 in 10 (61%) women aged 15 to 24 who lived in Canadian provinces had experienced unwanted sexual behaviours in a public place in 2018, demonstrating how young women navigate persistent harassment including catcalling, following, unwanted touching, and exposure to exhibitionism or voyeurism in transit, streets, and commercial spaces.

Intimate partner violence affects over 11 million Canadians since age 15, with 44% of women experiencing IPV compared to lower male rates. There was also a large increase in the proportion of women who were killed by a spouse or intimate partner, rising to 42 per cent of women victims in 2024 from 32 per cent in 2023, representing a 31% relative increase in intimate partner homicide proportion. The proportion of women who were killed by their spouse or intimate partner was approximately 7 times higher than the proportion of men (42% versus 6%), confirming intimate partner homicide disproportionately affects women though men also suffer domestic violence.

Economic costs of gender-based violence exceed $7.4 billion annually when accounting for healthcare utilization, criminal justice system expenses, victim services, lost workplace productivity, and other quantifiable impacts. This calculation excludes immeasurable costs including psychological trauma, reduced quality of life, relationship disruptions, and intergenerational effects on children witnessing parental violence. Gender-based violence is rooted in gender inequality and compounded by other systems of oppression and forms of discrimination, including but not limited to ableism, ageism, classism, homophobia, racism, and transphobia, requiring intersectional approaches addressing multiple interconnected marginalization systems.

Crime Severity Index Methodology and Interpretation 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Crime Severity Index Technical Documentation; Juristat Methodology Papers

The Crime Severity Index (CSI) measures both the volume and severity of police-reported crime, providing a more nuanced picture than simple crime counts by weighting each offense by its seriousness based on actual sentences imposed by criminal courts. Each Criminal Code offense is assigned a weight based on the average sentence length for that offense from courts across Canada over a five-year period, ensuring weights reflect actual justice system responses to different crime types. The base year is 2006 = 100, meaning a CSI of 75 represents 25% less crime severity than 2006, while a CSI of 125 represents 25% more crime severity than the base year.

Violent CSI and Non-Violent CSI are calculated separately before being combined into the overall CSI, allowing analysis of different crime pattern trends. For each incident, only the most serious violation is counted in the CSI, preventing double-counting when multiple offenses occur together but potentially understating victim experiences when one incident involves multiple victims each suffering separate violations. If there is more than one victim in an incident, only the most serious offence against one victim is counted, though separate incidents involving the same accused against different victims would be counted individually.

Severity weights update periodically as sentencing patterns change, though this process lags behind criminal law amendments meaning recent legislation may not immediately affect offense weights. For example, the severity weight for attempted murder is less than that for homicide, reflecting that courts impose shorter sentences when violence does not result in death even when intent existed. The methodology allows year-over-year comparisons and trend identification, though users must understand that CSI changes reflect both volume fluctuations and severity shifts, with a stable CSI potentially masking increases in serious crimes offset by decreases in minor offenses.

Police-Reported Crime Clearance Patterns Canada 2025

Data Source: Statistics Canada Uniform Crime Reporting Survey; Police Administration Survey 2024

Police-reported crime clearance rates measure the proportion of incidents where police identify accused persons and consider evidence sufficient to lay charges, regardless of whether prosecutors proceed or courts convict. In 2022, police cleared 38% of Criminal Code violations through charges or alternative measures, meaning 62% of reported crimes remain unsolved with no accused identified or insufficient evidence despite investigation efforts. Clearance rates vary dramatically by crime type, with violent offenses generally achieving higher clearance given victims typically provide descriptions and investigation receives priority.

Homicide clearance rates historically range from 70-80% as police devote substantial resources to murder investigations including dedicated detective teams, forensic analysis, witness canvassing, and public appeals. Most homicides involve known relationships between victims and offenders, facilitating suspect identification, though gang-related and stranger homicides present greater challenges. Property crime clearance remains much lower at typically 20-30%, as theft and break-ins often lack witnesses, forensic evidence proves limited, and police resource constraints prioritize serious violence over property investigations.

Youth crime clearance involves 74% cleared otherwise without formal charges, reflecting Youth Criminal Justice Act emphasis on diversion, warnings, referrals to community programs, and restorative justice processes keeping young offenders out of formal court proceedings when appropriate. Sexual assault unfounded rates declined from 14% in 2017 to 7% in 2022 following national scrutiny and improved victim-centered investigation practices, though advocates note substantial room for continued improvement in believing survivors and thorough investigation before determining incidents didn’t occur as reported.

International Comparisons Canada Violent Crime 2025

Data Source: Fraser Institute Canada-US Crime Comparison 2025; World Population Review; FBI Crime Statistics

The violent crime rate in Canada increased by 43.8% to 434.1 violent crimes per 100,000 people from 2014 to 2022, meaning that Canada now has a 14% higher population-adjusted violent crime rate than the U.S., which saw a violent crime increase of 5.3% over the same period, with 380.7 crimes per 100,000 people. This reversal represents a significant shift, as Canada historically maintained substantially lower violent crime rates than the United States, though definitional differences complicate direct comparison given Canadian “common assault” lacks US equivalent in violent crime statistics.

Homicide rates present clearer comparison, with Canada’s 1.91 per 100,000 in 2024 contrasting sharply with the US rate of approximately 6.3 per 100,000, meaning Americans face murder risk 3.3 times higher than Canadians. Canada ranked 95th in the world by homicide rate, performing worse than Australia (0.74), England (1.20), France (1.11), and Ireland (0.91), but significantly better than the United States and many developing nations experiencing violence crises. The US ranked higher (worse) than Canada on homicide prevalence, reflecting America’s distinctive combination of firearm availability, gang violence, and socioeconomic inequality.

Methodological challenges require careful interpretation. To enable comparison, analysts combine Canadian attempted murder, aggravated assault (Level 3), and assault with weapon (Level 2) to approximate US “aggravated assault,” excluding Canadian “common assault (Level 1)” which resembles US “simple assault” classified outside violent crime. Using this methodology, In 2022 homicide rate in Canada was 2.27 per 100,000, the aggravated assault rate was 211.3 per 100,000 and the robbery rate was 56.5 per 100,000, for a combined comparable violent crime rate of 270 per 100,000 substantially lower than the US combined rate of 346.6 per 100,000 when using equivalent offense categories.

Impact on Canadian Communities and Society 2025

The elevated violent crime rates in Canada during 2024 impose substantial costs on individuals, communities, and society beyond the immediate harm to crime victims. Healthcare system expenses include emergency treatment for assault injuries, sexual assault forensic examinations, mental health services for trauma survivors, and long-term treatment for violence-related disabilities. Justice system costs encompass police investigations, court proceedings, correctional services, victim services, and legal aid, with the total justice expenditure exceeding $25 billion annually across federal, provincial, and municipal governments.

Economic impacts extend to lost workplace productivity when victims require recovery time, reduced earning capacity from permanent injuries, business security costs in high-crime areas, and property value effects in neighborhoods experiencing concentrated violence. The $7.4 billion annual cost of gender-based violence alone demonstrates the massive economic burden violence imposes beyond its immeasurable human suffering. Insurance premiums reflect violence risks, with higher rates in elevated-crime areas effectively creating a financial penalty for residents unable to relocate.

Community cohesion and quality of life suffer from ambient fear reducing willingness to utilize public spaces, declining trust between neighbors, reduced participation in community activities, and social divisions when violence disproportionately affects marginalized populations including Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, women, and LGB+ individuals. While the 2024 Violent CSI decrease of 1% and 4% homicide rate reduction represent welcome improvements after three years of escalation, violent crime rates remain 43.8% higher than 2014 levels, indicating Canada faces substantial ongoing challenges addressing violence in its communities.

Canada in 2024 must confront the reality that while the nation maintains substantially lower homicide rates than the United States and many countries, its broader violent crime rates now exceed American levels when comparable offense categories are analyzed. The 788 homicides recorded during 2024 represent 788 lives lost and hundreds of families shattered, while the 591,856 violent incidents indicate millions of Canadians experienced violence directly as victims or indirectly as witnesses, family members, or community members. Addressing these challenges requires sustained investment in evidence-based prevention, effective law enforcement, accessible mental health and addiction services, poverty reduction, and confronting systemic racism and colonialism driving elevated violence rates affecting Indigenous peoples and other marginalized communities throughout Canada.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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