Canada's homicide rate rose slightly in 2002, but the proportion of these deaths attributed to firearms fell to its lowest level (26%) since data were first gathered in 1961. The homicide rate of 1.85 per 100 000 people marked a 4% increase from 2001, largely because the deaths of 15 women in British Columbia, which had occurred earlier, were not reported until 2002. Canada's rate is similar to those in Australia and France, and one-third of the US rate.
Statistics Canada says 582 homicides were reported in Canada last year — 65 fewer than the 647 reported in the city of Chicago; 149 of them were committed with firearms, 22 fewer than in 2001. In the 1960s and early 1970s, firearms accounted for 40% to 50% of Canadian homicides, but the rate has been in decline since then. According to the US Department of Justice, firearms were responsible for about 10 500 homicides in the US in 2000.
Among the provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest homicide rate per 100 000 people, 0.38, while Manitoba had the highest, 3.13. Among Canadian cities, Sudbury, Ont., had the highest rate — 3.12. Toronto had 90 homicides in 2002, the most for any city, but its homicide rate of 1.80 was lower than the national average. — CMAJ