Fewer homicides in Montreal last year: Statistics Canada

A new Statistics Canada report shows a significant decrease in homicide trends in Canada for 2023 in the country’s three main metropolitan areas of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, with a 14 per cent decrease in the national homicide rate, marking the first time since 2019 that the homicide rate has been below 2 for every 100 thousand population.

According to the report, Montreal saw a 12 per cent decrease in homicides, going from 66 homicides in 2022 to 54 in 2023, Toronto saw a 15 per cent decrease, and Vancouver saw a 25 per cent decrease overall.

“I think the first thing to be aware of is that homicide is still a relatively rare offense in Canada,” said Warren Silver, national training officer for the policing services program. “It only makes up 0.1% of all the criminal incidents that are reported.”

#WATCH: “We also have to look especially at attempted murders,” says André Gélinas, retired Sergeant-Detective for the Montreal Police, as he explains the reason behind why Canada saw a decrease in homicides last year.

READ: https://t.co/Mkgse1PTsL pic.twitter.com/sTz2opyw5Q

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) December 31, 2024

Some experts say that other factors should be considered when looking at the global situation in order to make a proper appraisal on these homicide rates.

“Doctors are getting better and better at receiving people who are seriously wounded at hospital – obviously, that’s one of the factors that will make the homicide rate go down,” said André Gélinas, retired Sergeant-Detective of the intelligence division of the Montreal police (SPVM).

“If we want to really understand if the violence is going down, we also have to look especially at attempted murders – if the attempted murders are on the rise and the murders are going down, well, there’s something we need to understand from that – it’s that the situation is not getting better, it’s just we are saving more and more people who are seriously wounded,” he explains.

Number of youth accused of homicide declined in 2023

While most places across the country have seen decreases in youth homicides and gang related homicides, a couple of areas have actually seen increases in youth gang related homicides.

Statistics Canada reports that the proportion of gang-related homicides committed by youth increased. Over 31% of homicides committed by youth were gang-related in 2023, compared with 16% in 2022.

“We have different kinds of street gangs, we have emergent street gangs, and we also have more established street gangs that are more organized crime, but for us, for police officers, they’re all street gangs,” says Gélinas. “So, when we’re talking about the homicide committed by street gangs, if we just look here in Montreal, a lot of the homicides are caused by them, a lot of the shooting in the streets are caused by them.”

Nearly 6 in 10 firearm-related homicides committed with a handgun

Firearm related homicides have remained steady over the years, with around 56 per cent of homicides being committed with handguns, that often are used illegally by gangs and criminals.

“We have to realize that those guns because they’re illegal, they haven’t been bought with a permit, they haven’t been bought by an honest citizen, they have been bought by criminals for criminal activities – and the statistics are showing that to us that the handguns are the most problematic stuff,” Gélinas explained.

The report shows that gang-related violence remains a contributor to Canada’s homicide rate. Despite a decrease in gang-related homicides in 2023 compared with 2022, they still accounted for approximately one-quarter of all homicides in 2023.

Reforms in the criminal justice system

The report also describes that lawmakers, prosecutors and courts across the country have made requests for a bail reform aimed at enhancing public safety in order for there to be greater public confidence in the criminal justice system.

On January 4, 2024, reforms were inaugurated to make it more difficult for individuals that are accused of serious violent offences involving weapons, specific firearm offences and during instances of intimate partner violence, to be granted bail.

“We realized since two years is that there was a lot of pressure from the police departments on, you know, dangerous gangs or dangerous criminals who are representing a very high risk for society,” said Gélinas. “So, the emphasis has been put on these people and the results are there.”