The rate of incidents of violent criminal code violations in Canada increased by 51.1 incidents (+3.71 percent) in 2023 in comparison to the previous year. In total, the rate of incidents amounted to 1,427.94 incidents in 2023.

Crime severity index (violent, non-violent, youth) and weighted clearance rates (violent, non-violent), Canada, provinces, territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1998 to 2023.

This statistic shows the Crime Severity Index in Canada for 2023, by province. In 2023, the Crime Severity Index in the Northwest Territories stood at 473.72. Crime Severity IndexThe Crime Severity Index (CSI) was developed by Statistics Canada and first released in 2009. Its creation was meant to address the shortcomings of the traditionally measured crime rate which is simply a count of all crimes per 1,000 people. In contrast, the CSI is a measure of all crimes, weighted by seriousness (length of judicial sentencing). One of the shortcomings of the standard crime rate is that a petty theft receives the same weight as more serious crimes like murder and rape. Compounding this is the fact that minor violations are far more numerous than severe crimes. The consequence is that fluctuations in the number of minor crimes greatly impact the crime rate, while fluctuations of more serious crimes will go relatively unnoticed. In this scenario it would be possible for minor crimes to be decreasing and serious crimes to be increasing with the net effect of the overall crime rate dropping and portraying an inaccurate picture of crime and public safety. Although the annual trend has been the same between the CSI and the standard crime rate a look at the details reveals differences. For instance, in 2023, Newfoundland and Labrador was the sixth most violent province in Canada based on the standard violent crime rate but was only the seventh most violent province in Canada based on the violent crime severity index. This would indicate that the majority of violent crime in the province is of a less serious nature.

Canada crime rate per 100K population for 2021 was 2.07, a 3.1% increase from 2020.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Canada crime rate per 100K population for 2020 was <strong>2.00</strong>, a <strong>9.1% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Canada crime rate per 100K population for 2019 was <strong>1.84</strong>, a <strong>2.73% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
<li>Canada crime rate per 100K population for 2018 was <strong>1.79</strong>, a <strong>1.74% decline</strong> from 2017.</li>
</ul>Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.

This statistic shows the rate of homicides in Canada and the United States from 2000 to 2023. There were 6.3 homicides in the U.S. in 2022 and 2.27 homicides in Canada per 100,000 residents in 2022.

This statistic shows the violent crime severity index in Canada for 2023, by province. In 2023, the violent crime severity index in Nunavut stood at 667.25. Violent CrimeViolent crime includes any crime that incorporates force such as murder, assault and rape, as well as crimes that include the threat of violence such as robbery, harassment and extortion. The tracking of violent crime is usually done through indicators such as a violent crime rate or violent crime severity index. The violent crime rate is usually measured simply by counting all violent crimes per 1,000 inhabitants. The violent crime severity index is a measure of violent crime weighted by the severity of the crime. This indicator was developed in order to provide a clearer picture of serious crimes in Canada that can be hidden in the standard violent crime rate. Violent crime has been steadily declining in Canada for some time now with 2014’s violent crime rate of 1,039 being 30 percent lower than the rate in 2000. Violent crime is highest in the territories with Nunavut’s rate, in particular, being over three times higher than the national average. Crime rates are normally difficult to compare across countries because of differences in reporting rates and definitions of crimes between governments. Murder rates are typically one of the few that are compared as the definition is fairly clear cut. Compared to the United States, Canada’s rate of homicide was almost three times lower for 2019.

Incident-based crime statistics (actual incidents, rate per 100,000 population, percentage change in rate, unfounded incidents, percent unfounded, total cleared, cleared by charge, cleared otherwise, persons charged, adults charged, youth charged / not charged), by detailed violations (violent, property, traffic, drugs, other Federal Statutes), police services in Ontario, 1998 to 2023.

The number of incidents of violent criminal code violations in Canada increased by 36,452 incidents (+6.8 percent) since the previous year. With 572,572 incidents, the number of incidents thereby reached its highest value in the observed period.

Number, rate and percentage changes in rates of homicide victims, Canada, provinces and territories, 1961 to 2023.

Incident-based crime statistics (actual incidents, rate per 100,000 population, percentage change in rate, unfounded incidents, percent unfounded, total cleared, cleared by charge, cleared otherwise, persons charged, adults charged, youth charged / not charged), by detailed violations (violent, property, traffic, drugs, other Federal Statutes), police services in Alberta, 1998 to 2023.

The rate of incidents of property crime violations in Canada increased by 66.9 incidents (+2.01 percent) in 2023. In total, the rate of incidents amounted to 3,391.58 incidents in 2023.

This Alberta Official Statistic describes the violent crime rates for Canada and provinces for the years from 1998 to 2014. The rate is based on the incidence of violent crime per 100,000 population in each province. The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS), in co-operation with the policing community, collects police-reported crime statistics through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey. The UCR Survey was designed to measure the incidence of crime in Canadian society and its characteristics. UCR data reflect reported crime that has been substantiated by police. Information collected by the survey includes the number of criminal incidents, the clearance status of those incidents and persons-charged information. The UCR Survey produces a continuous historical record of crime and traffic statistics reported by every police agency in Canada since 1962. In 1988, a new version of the survey (UCR3) was created, which is referred to as the "incident-based" survey. It captures microdata on characteristics of incidents, victims and accused. Data from the UCR Survey provide key information for crime analysis, resource planning and program development for the policing community. Municipal and provincial governments use the data to aid decisions about the distribution of police resources, definitions of provincial standards and for comparisons with other departments and provinces. To the federal government, the UCR survey provides information for policy and legislative development, evaluation of new legislative initiatives, and international comparisons. To the public, the UCR survey offers information on the nature and extent of police-reported crime and crime trends in Canada. As well, media, academics and researchers use these data to examine specific issues about crime.

Number, percentage and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, by racialized identity group (total, by racialized identity group; racialized identity group; South Asian; Chinese; Black; Filipino; Arab; Latin American; Southeast Asian; West Asian; Korean; Japanese; other racialized identity group; multiple racialized identity; racialized identity, but racialized identity group is unknown; rest of the population; unknown racialized identity group), gender (all genders; male; female; gender unknown) and region (Canada; Atlantic region; Quebec; Ontario; Prairies region; British Columbia; territories), 2019 to 2023.

Historical chart and dataset showing Canada murder/homicide rate per 100K population by year from 1990 to 2021.

This statistic shows the rate of violent crimes in Canada in 2023, by territory or province. There were roughly 1,612.08 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2023.

This data set is no longer compiled by the Ministry of the Solicitor General. The weighted clearance rate is based on the same principles as the Police Reported Crime Severity Index. In these figures, serious offences are assigned a higher "weight" than less serious offences. For example, solving homicides and robberies has a greater contribution to the overall weighted clearance rate than solving minor theft or mischief cases. The data can be accessed from Statistics Canada.

This statistic shows the homicide rate in Canada in 2023, distinguished by metropolitan areas. In 2023, the homicide rate was highest in Thunder Bay, with 5.39 victims per 100,000 population. During the same year, the national homicide rate was 1.94 per 100,000 population in Canada.

Police-reported hate crime, by type of motivation (race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, language, disability, sex, age), selected regions and Canada (selected police services), 2014 to 2023.

To inform policy development, public engagement and communications, and to support its mandate, the Department of Justice commissions periodic national surveys to understand Canadians’ perceptions, understanding, and priorities on justice-related issues. Specifically, the study measures awareness, knowledge, and confidence in the criminal justice system and criminal law; examines Canadians’ perceptions of the criminal justice system, the values they want the criminal justice system to reflect, and priorities with respect to criminal justice issues; and Canadians’ expectations of the criminal justice system to support reforms and new initiatives in this area. A large scale survey of 4,200 Canadians on awareness and top-of-mind perceptions, values and expectations regarding the criminal justice system. Survey respondents were randomly sampled from EKOS’ in-house panel (Probit1).

The Survey concluded with the following information: Most respondents in the first survey report having had some exposure to or direct involvement with the criminal justice system, including knowing someone who was a victim or accused or as a witness. About one in four reports having been a victim of a violent or non-violent crime. Some report having been accused or convicted of a crime. One in four is a family member of a victim or someone accused or convicted of a crime. Almost half of Canadians in the first survey indicated they get information about the criminal justice system from their personal experience or the experience of someone they know. Another third get information from professionals in the system.

Respondents tend to believe that crime rates are rising, when they have in fact been declining steadily over the past decade or more, with the exception of a marginal increase in 2015 over 2014. Three in ten understand that the rate has been dropping over the past five years; however, one in five believe it is stagnant and almost half believe it rose over the last five years (when most years there has been a decline). Survey results and focus group discussions highlight Canadians’ views about the importance of crime prevention, rehabilitation and other approaches to sentencing such as restorative justice, as well as the need to separate offenders from society where necessary. There is also strong support for efforts and investment in primary crime prevention to address root causes and reduce the likelihood of crimes being committed before they occur. Canadians welcome information about the current issues with the criminal justice system.

Number and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, Canada and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1981 to 2023.