Montreal homicide rate dropped by more than 20 per cent in 2023: Statistics Canada

An SPVM police officer outside a crime scene in Montreal, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

Newly released figures from Statistics Canada show that the rate of homicides in the Montreal area dropped significantly in 2023 compared to the previous year.

According to the statistics agency, the homicide rate fell by 20.5 per cent last year after the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) recorded 54 homicides, down from 66 in 2022. The CMA includes the north and south shores of Montreal and represents a population of 4,550,129.

The homicide rate was 1.19 per 100,000 people last year. In 2022, it was at 1.49.

The decrease is in line with other parts of the country that also saw fewer homicides. Nationally, the homicide rate fell by 14 per cent in 2023, thanks to "significant" decreases in Canada's three largest cities — Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. There were 778 homicides in Canada last year, with 104 fewer victims compared to 2022.

Toronto's homicide rate dropped by 14 per cent last year, while in Vancouver, the decrease was at a whopping 36 per cent.

• 5 suspected organized crime figures arrested for 3 Montreal and Quebec homicides

Statistics Canada said homicides represent a rare crime in the country, accounting for about 0.1 per cent of all police-reported violent crimes in 2023.

"Despite their low frequency, homicide rates serve as a key indicator of overall societal violence. When considered alongside other measures like violent crime rates and the Violent Crime Severity Index, homicide rates provide a more comprehensive picture of violence trends in Canada," the agency said in a news release on Wednesday.

Despite its size, Quebec ranked third among the provinces and territories with the lowest homicide rates per 100,00 people in 2023. The province with the lowest rate was Prince Edward Island (0.58), followed by New Brunswick (1.08) and Quebec at 1.14 — a decrease of nearly 11 per cent from 2022. Ontario's rate in 2023 was 1.68.

The Northwest Territories had the highest homicide rate (13.34), after Yukon (8.89) and Manitoba (5.09).

Other key homicide stats for Canada:

• Almost 6 in 10 firearm-related homicides involved a handgun.
• About one-quarter of homicides are gang-related.
• While the number of youth accused of homicides dropped, the proportion of gang-related homicides involving youth doubled in 2023.
• One in four homicide victims were Indigenous, despite representing 5 per cent of the overall population.
• Thirty per cent of all homicide victims belonged to a racialized group.
• The number of intimate partner homicides dropped from 103 to 67 in 2023. Women accounted for 73 per cent of victims.