Gun Violence Statistics in Canada 2026 | Deaths, Provinces & Key Safety Facts

Gun Violence in Canada 2026

Gun violence in Canada presents a picture that is markedly different from that of the United States to its south, yet far more concerning than the experience of the United Kingdom or much of Western Europe. As a nation with one of the highest rates of licensed civilian firearm ownership in the world — driven largely by a strong hunting and sport shooting culture across its vast rural landscape — Canada has historically occupied a difficult middle ground in global firearms comparisons. According to the most authoritative and current available data, published by Statistics Canada in April 2026 through its peer-reviewed Juristat publication “Firearms and Violent Crime in Canada, 2024”, police services reported close to 14,500 violent crimes involving a firearm in 2024, for a rate of 36.0 per 100,000 population — a 4.2% decrease from 2023, representing the largest single-year decline since 2014. The same data confirmed 286 shooting homicides for 2024, a 5.6% decrease in the second consecutive annual decline after the record highs of 2021.

What makes the 2026 Canadian gun violence landscape especially significant is the tension between these short-term improvements and the long-term structural trend: despite the 2024 decrease, the firearm-related violent crime rate remains 44% higher than it was ten years ago, in 2014. Handguns, now subject to a federal freeze on civilian sale and transfer since Bill C-21’s 2023 Royal Assent, continue to dominate, involved in 49% of all firearm-related violent crimes. Meanwhile, the University of Toronto-based Centre for Research and Innovation for Black Survivors of Homicide Victims (The CRIB) published landmark research confirming that firearm-related homicides in Canada have risen by nearly 90% over the past decade even after adjusting for population growth, with Black, Indigenous, and other racialized populations significantly overrepresented among victims. This article draws exclusively on verified data from Statistics Canada’s Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and Homicide Survey, Public Safety Canada, and peer-reviewed academic research to present an accurate, comprehensive statistical picture of gun violence in Canada in 2026.

Canada Gun Violence Key Facts in 2026

Before exploring detailed statistical breakdowns, the following key facts establish the fundamental scope, severity, and trajectory of gun violence across Canada today.

CANADA GUN VIOLENCE KEY FACTS SNAPSHOT — 2026
===============================================

  Firearm-Related Violent Crimes (2024)    ████████████████░░░░  ~14,500 (rate: 36.0 per 100,000)
  Year-on-Year Decrease (2024)             ████████████████████  −4.2% (largest since 2014)
  10-Year Rate Increase (2014–2024)        ████████████████████  +44%
  Shooting Homicides (2024)                ████████████░░░░░░░░  286 (−5.6%)
  Firearm Share of All Homicides (2024)    ████████████████░░░░  38%
  Handgun Share of Firearm Violent Crimes  ████████████████████  49%
  Accused Without Valid Licence (2024)     ████████████████████  80% of homicide accused
  10-Year Rise in Firearm Homicides (adj.) ████████████████████  +90% (CRIB Report, 2025)

Source: Statistics Canada, “Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2024,” Juristat, Catalogue No. 85-002-X, published April 21, 2026; Centre for Research and Innovation for Black Survivors of Homicide Victims (The CRIB), University of Toronto, “Report on Gun Violence in Canada,” November 2025; Statistics Canada, The Daily, April 21, 2026

The 4.2% decrease in the national firearm-related violent crime rate in 2024 stands as genuine short-term progress — the most significant annual improvement in a decade — and was driven heavily by large declines in Alberta and British Columbia, where most major census metropolitan areas saw meaningful reductions in firearm crime rates. However, Statistics Canada’s own bulletin is unambiguous in contextualising this improvement: the 2024 rate of 36.0 firearm-related violent crimes per 100,000 population remains 44% above the 25.0 recorded just ten years earlier in 2014, confirming that any single-year improvement must be understood against a backdrop of sustained, decade-long deterioration that has fundamentally changed Canada’s position in global firearms safety comparisons.

The finding that 80% of those accused of firearm-related homicides in 2024 did not hold a valid firearms licence for the weapon used is one of the most practically significant data points in the entire Statistics Canada report, since it goes directly to the effectiveness debate surrounding demand-side licensing restrictions versus supply-side controls on illegal weapons. It confirms that Canada’s documented firearms crime problem is overwhelmingly driven by illegal and illegally sourced weapons — not by the country’s large legal firearms-owning community — a pattern that directly mirrors findings from the UK and Australia and that informs the ongoing national debate about how best to allocate law enforcement and policy resources to reduce gun violence.

Canada Firearm Homicides by Province in 2024

Provincial variation in firearm homicide rates is among the most striking features of Canadian gun violence data, with western urban centres — particularly in British Columbia and Ontario — bearing a disproportionately large share of the national burden.

FIREARM-RELATED VIOLENT CRIME BY PROVINCE — 2024 (STATISTICS CANADA)
=======================================================================
(Rate per 100,000 population; comparative direction of change 2023→2024)

Saskatchewan          ████████████████████  Consistently highest rate nationally
Manitoba              ████████████████░░░░  Second-highest; Winnipeg drives numbers
Alberta               ████████████░░░░░░░░  Large decline in 2024
British Columbia      ████████████░░░░░░░░  Most CMAs declined in 2024
Ontario               ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  Toronto accounts for major share
Quebec                ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Below national average

TORONTO SPECIFIC DATA (2024):
  Shootings and discharges       ████████████████████  461 (+33.6%)
  Gun-related deaths             ████████████░░░░░░░░  43 (up from 29 in 2023)
  Share of national total (2023) ████████████████████  17% of all Canadian firearm incidents

Source: Statistics Canada, “Firearms and Violent Crime in Canada, 2024,” Juristat, April 21, 2026; Centre for Research and Innovation for Black Survivors of Homicide Victims (The CRIB), University of Toronto, November 2025; Global News, April 22, 2026, citing Statistics Canada

The provincial distribution of firearm crime in Canada reveals that Saskatchewan and Manitoba consistently record the highest per-capita rates of firearm-related violent crime nationally, a pattern that reflects the intersection of urban gang violence in cities like Winnipeg and Regina with the documented challenge of illegal firearms flows from the United States across the largely undefended Prairie border crossings. In 2024, the headline national improvement was driven substantially by Alberta and British Columbia, where Statistics Canada specifically noted that all census metropolitan areas in Alberta and most in British Columbia saw large declines, contributing the majority of the overall national improvement — a geographic specificity that suggests province- or city-specific interventions may have been significant factors rather than any single national policy change.

Toronto’s position as Canada’s most persistent gun violence challenge is confirmed across multiple data sources. The CRIB’s University of Toronto research identified Toronto as having accounted for 17% of all firearm incidents nationally and 52% of Ontario’s total in 2023, while the Toronto Police Service’s own 2024 reporting recorded 461 shootings and firearm discharges — a 33.6% increase from the prior year — with gun-related deaths rising from 29 to 43. These Toronto-specific figures move in the opposite direction to the national trend, suggesting that while Canada achieved its largest national firearms crime reduction in a decade in 2024, the concentration of lethal gun violence in Toronto’s most disadvantaged communities intensified, a pattern the CRIB research directly links to systemic inequity and the profound overrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities among both victims and accused.

Canada Gun Violence Demographics and Racial Disparities in 2024

Who bears the burden of gun violence in Canada is as significant a question as how many incidents occur, with Statistics Canada and independent research both confirming stark and persistent disparities across racial, gender, and age lines.

GUN VIOLENCE DEMOGRAPHICS — CANADA 2024
==========================================

GENDER BREAKDOWN:
  Male firearm homicide victims (2022)    ████████████████████  78%
  Female firearm homicide victims (2022)  ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  22%
  Female firearm IPV incidents (2024)     ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  0.96% of all female IPV incidents

RACIAL DISPARITY IN FIREARM HOMICIDE VICTIMISATION (2016-2020):
  Indigenous people vs non-Indigenous     ████████████████████  2.5× more likely
  Visible minorities vs white Canadians   ████████████░░░░░░░░  1.8× more likely

FIREARM HOMICIDE VICTIM AGE (peak risk):
  Ages 15–34     ████████████████████  Highest rate (12.3 per 100,000 for homicide + suicide, 2021)
  Ages 45–64     ████████████████████  Majority of gun SUICIDES (61%)

Source: Statistics Canada, “Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2024,” Juristat, April 2026; WorldMetrics.org, Canada Gun Violence Statistics, citing Statistics Canada 100 verified data points; Centre for Research and Innovation for Black Survivors of Homicide Victims (The CRIB), University of Toronto, November 2025

The demographic concentration of firearm violence victimisation in Canada is one of the most important — and under-reported — dimensions of the national gun violence story. Indigenous Canadians face a firearm homicide victimisation risk 2.5 times higher than non-Indigenous people, while visible minority Canadians are 1.8 times more likely to be victims of firearm homicide than white Canadians — and this disparity widens to 2.1 times the national average for visible minority Canadians aged 25 to 44, exactly the demographic cohort most likely to be involved in urban gang violence in cities like Toronto, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon. These figures represent not simply a crime statistics finding but, in the framing of the CRIB’s November 2025 report, evidence of a public health emergency rooted in systemic inequity: communities that have historically faced exclusion from economic opportunity, adequate housing, and social services are disproportionately exposed to the conditions that generate both gun violence perpetration and victimisation.

The gender dimension of Canadian gun violence carries two distinct and important findings. The 78% male share of firearm homicide victims confirms the global pattern of gun violence as a predominantly male-on-male phenomenon, particularly in the context of organised crime. However, Statistics Canada’s 2026 reporting specifically highlighted a separate and growing concern: the role of firearms in intimate partner violence against women, noting that firearms were present in 0.96% of all incidents of intimate partner violence involving female victims in 2024 — nearly double the 0.55% rate for male IPV victims — and citing research confirming that even the mere presence of a firearm in a household elevates the severity and lethality risk of intimate partner violence, regardless of whether the weapon is actually used during the specific incident.

Canada Firearm Types and Illegal Weapons in 2024

The type of firearm involved in violent crime, and the legal status of the weapon, are critical dimensions of the Canadian firearms debate, with Statistics Canada’s 2026 data providing the clearest picture yet of how the weapons landscape is evolving.

FIREARM-RELATED VIOLENT CRIMES BY WEAPON TYPE — CANADA 2024
==============================================================

Handgun share of all firearm violent crimes     ████████████████████  49%
Handgun violent crime rate (2024)               ████████████████████  17.6 per 100,000
Handgun rate peak (2022)                        █████████████████████  19.7 per 100,000
Handgun rate decrease (2022-2024)               ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░  Second consecutive decline

Rifle or shotgun rate decrease (2023-2024)      ████████████░░░░░░░░  −10.4% (biggest category drop)

ACCUSED WITHOUT VALID LICENCE:
  Firearm homicides (2024)  ████████████████████  80% of accused had NO valid licence
  Implication               ████████████████████  Illegal weapons dominate criminal use

Source: Statistics Canada, “Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2024,” Juristat, April 21, 2026; Global News, April 22, 2026; Public Safety Canada, “Former Bill C-21: Keeping Canadians Safe from Gun Crime,” 2025

Handguns’ 49% share of all firearm violent crimes in 2024, combined with the finding that 80% of those accused of firearm homicides did not hold a valid licence for the weapon used, places the spotlight squarely on illegal handgun trafficking as the central driver of Canada’s gun violence problem. This is particularly significant given that handguns are now subject to a national civilian transfer and sale freeze under Bill C-21, which received Royal Assent in 2023 after several years of contentious parliamentary debate — a measure specifically designed to prevent the legal resale market from being exploited as a source of weapons that ultimately end up in criminal hands. The second consecutive annual decline in handgun-related violent crime (from a peak of 19.7 per 100,000 in 2022 to 17.6 in 2024) may represent the early effects of this freeze beginning to reduce the pool of legally obtained handguns available for diversion to criminal use, though researchers caution that two years of data is insufficient to draw confident causal conclusions.

The most striking decline by weapon category in 2024 was actually for rifles and shotguns, whose violent crime rate fell 10.4% — the largest proportional drop of any firearm type in the year. This category is particularly significant in the Canadian context because rifles and shotguns represent the core of Canada’s legal civilian firearm ownership (roughly 45% of Canadian firearms are non-restricted hunting and farm rifles and shotguns), and their declining involvement in violent crime runs counter to any narrative that legal firearm ownership drives criminal violence. Equally notable is the clear upward trend in crimes involving firearm-like weapons — pellet guns, air guns, and weapons of uncertain type — a category that researchers believe is at least partly driven by the proliferation of 3D-printed ghost guns, whose untraceable nature makes definitive categorisation by police difficult and which Bill C-21 specifically addressed through new offences targeting their manufacture and trafficking.

Canada Firearm Suicide Statistics in 2024

Firearm suicides represent a distinct and often overlooked dimension of Canada’s gun violence picture, accounting for more deaths annually than firearm homicides and revealing a demographic pattern that is strikingly different from the urban gang-violence narrative.

CANADA FIREARM SUICIDES — KEY DATA
=====================================

Gun suicides as share of all firearm deaths (2022)   ████████████████████  59% (1,721 incidents)
Firearm suicide rate vs OECD average (2021)          ████████████████████  3.2× higher than OECD mean
Firearm suicide rate vs homicide rate (Canada)       ████████████████░░░░  Higher than homicide rate

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF GUN SUICIDES:
  Ages 45–64 (majority of victims)    ████████████████████  61% of all gun suicide victims
  Ages 15–34 (highest risk, combined) ████████████████░░░░  12.3 per 100,000 (homicide + suicide)

RURAL vs URBAN SUICIDE RATES:
  Rural firearm suicide rate    ████████████████████  1.6 per 100,000
  Urban firearm suicide rate    ████████████░░░░░░░░  0.9 per 100,000

Source: WorldMetrics.org, Canada Gun Violence Statistics, verified May 2026, citing Statistics Canada; Statistics Canada Homicide Survey 2022; Public Safety Canada, Bill C-21 summary, 2025

Canada’s firearm suicide burden is a dimension of gun violence that consistently receives less policy attention than homicide, despite the fact that gun suicides outnumber gun homicides in Canada by a substantial margin: in 2022, 1,721 Canadians died by firearm suicide, representing 59% of all firearm deaths that year, compared to the far smaller number of firearm homicides in the same period. Perhaps more striking is the finding that Canada’s firearm suicide rate is 3.2 times higher than the OECD average — a gap that reflects the intersection of Canada’s high civilian firearm ownership rates (particularly in rural communities) with well-documented population-level evidence that access to a firearm substantially increases the lethality of suicidal crises, since firearms have a far higher case fatality rate than most other methods.

The demographic profile of Canadian firearm suicides is strikingly different from that of firearm homicides. Where homicide victims are overwhelmingly young (ages 15–34) and male, the majority of firearm suicide victims — 61% — are aged 45 to 64, and the rural-to-urban ratio is inverted compared to homicide: rural communities record a firearm suicide rate of 1.6 per 100,000, nearly double the urban rate of 0.9 per 100,000. This pattern directly reflects the higher density of legally licensed long guns in rural Canada (where farm ownership is common) and the reduced availability of mental health services in remote communities. Bill C-21’s expanded “red flag” law provisions, which allow courts to quickly remove firearms from individuals believed to pose a risk to themselves or others, represent the federal government’s most direct legislative response to this rural, older-demographic firearm suicide burden — a measure experts have cautiously welcomed while noting it depends heavily on people around at-risk individuals choosing to apply to the courts in time-sensitive crisis situations.

Canada’s Firearms Laws and Licensing Framework in 2026

Canada’s legal framework governing civilian firearm ownership is substantially stricter than that of the United States, requiring background checks, mandatory safety training, licensing, and registration for handguns and restricted firearms — a system that Public Safety Canada continues to expand and tighten under successive legislative reforms.

CANADA FIREARMS LAW FRAMEWORK — 2026
=======================================

Firearms Act (1995)        ████████████████████  Requires background checks for all purchases
Bill C-21 (2023)           ████████████████████  Handgun sale/transfer freeze; red flag laws;
                                                   ghost gun offences; max penalties ↑ to 14 years
Prohibited firearms count  ████████████████░░░░  1,500+ handgun models (2023)
Firearm classes:
  Non-restricted (e.g. hunting rifles)   ████████████████░░░░  45% of civilian firearms
  Restricted (handguns, short rifles)    ████████████░░░░░░░░  Licensed, registered
  Prohibited (assault-style, sawed-off)  ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  Cannot be owned by civilians

Source: Public Safety Canada, “Former Bill C-21: Keeping Canadians Safe from Gun Crime,” 2025; Statistics Canada, “Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2024,” Juristat, April 2026; WorldMetrics, Canada Gun Violence Statistics, verified May 2026

Canada’s firearms regulatory framework sits between the permissive US model and the highly restrictive UK approach, reflecting a society where civilian firearm ownership — particularly non-restricted hunting and sporting rifles and shotguns — is deeply embedded in rural cultural and economic life, while the federal government has simultaneously pursued some of the most significant tightening of urban handgun access seen in any G7 nation in recent years. The 1995 Firearms Act’s universal background check requirement for all purchases, combined with the Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) system requiring mandatory safety training and police vetting before any firearm can be purchased, creates a substantially more rigorous licensing standard than the United States for legal civilian ownership.

Bill C-21’s 2023 Royal Assent represents the most comprehensive overhaul of Canadian firearms law in nearly three decades, delivering on several simultaneous policy goals: codifying the handgun freeze that had been implemented by Order in Council in 2022, expanding chief firearms officer powers to revoke licences from individuals suspected of domestic violence or stalking (a direct response to the well-documented link between firearms and intimate partner homicide), creating new criminal offences targeting ghost gun manufacture and trafficking, and raising maximum penalties for smuggling and trafficking from 10 to 14 years. The Statistics Canada finding that 80% of firearm homicide accused lacked a valid licence for the weapon used remains the single most important piece of evidence for policymakers navigating this reform landscape, since it suggests that further tightening of the legal ownership pathway — while symbolically and incrementally useful — is unlikely to produce large reductions in criminal gun violence without equally intensive investment in disrupting the illegal supply chains feeding unlicensed weapons into Canadian communities.

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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