More Murders Per Capita in Thunder Bay in 2012

THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay was Canada’s Murder Capital in 2012 according to Statistics Canada. The report states that “Police recorded 543 homicides in Canada in 2012, 55 fewer than the previous year. The homicide rate in 2012 was 1.56 victims per 100,000 population, down 10% from 2011 and the lowest homicide rate recorded since 1966”.

Among census metropolitan areas (CMAs), Thunder Bay, with seven homicides in 2012, reported the highest homicide rate in 2012, followed by Winnipeg, Regina and Halifax. For the second year in a row, both Moncton and Kingston recorded no homicides; Guelph, Brantford and St. John’s also had no homicides in 2012.

Thunder Bay had four homicides in 2011 for a rate of 3.32 per 100,000 population. In 2012, there were seven homicides 5.81 per 100,000 population.

The City of Toronto had eighty-six homicides in 2011 for a rate of 1.48 per 100,000 population. In 2012, Toronto’s homicide rate fell to eighty murders, or 1.36 per 100,000 population.

Most victims knew their killer

Homicide victims typically knew their killer. That is something that is happening in Thunder Bay where murders, along with many of the serious assaults are between people who know each other.

Among solved homicides in 2012, 84% of homicide victims were killed by someone they knew, usually an acquaintance or a family member. The number of homicides committed by strangers decreased slightly from 2011 to 2012, resulting in the lowest rate of homicide committed by a stranger in more than 40 years.

The majority of the decrease in homicides in 2012 was accounted for by three provinces: Alberta (-24), British Columbia (-16) and Saskatchewan (-9), which, combined, accounted for 49 fewer homicides. Quebec (+3), the Northwest Territories (+2) and Ontario (+1) were the only provinces and territory to report an increase in the number of homicides in 2012.

Despite declines, homicide rates were typically highest in the western and northern parts of the country. In 2012, the homicide rate was highest in Nunavut (14.84 per 100,000 population). Among the provinces, Manitoba continued to record the highest homicide rate at 4.10 per 100,000 population, followed by Saskatchewan (2.69 per 100,000 population). The homicide rate in British Columbia (1.54 per 100,000 population) was the lowest rate recorded in the province since data collection began in 1961, and for the first time, the province’s rate was similar to the national rate.

Homicides Across Canada 2011, 2012