Canada’s homicide rate rose for the first time in three year, thanks to an overly violent year in Alberta, particularly in Edmonton.
According to numbers released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday, Alberta saw a jump of 32 murders in 2011 from the previous year. The increase was such that it thrust the national rate higher to 1.73 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2011, from 1.62 in 2010, reversing a three-year trend that had seen the homicide rate across the country steadily decrease.
When compared to other provinces, Alberta finished with the third highest homicide rate in the nation - Manitoba clinched number one and Saskatchewan finished second.
The Edmonton GMA was the site of 50 homicides in 2011, up from 32 the previous year, while Calgary saw 14 homicides in 2011, a drop of one from the year before.
Edmonton’s homicide rate for 2011, which is calculated using the number of homicides per 100,000 residents, was 4.17, earning the Alberta city third spot in one of Canada’s least desirable lists. Edmonton’s homicide rate for 2010 was 2.72.
Calgary’s rate for 2011 was 1.1, compared to 1.2 the year before.
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2011 Homicide Rates
According to Statistics Canada, the city with the highest homicide rate in the country in 2011 was Winnipeg, followed by Halifax, with Edmonton rounding out the top three.
The only other province to see an increase close to Alberta's dramatic jump was Quebec, which saw its homicide numbers jump by 21 from 2010.
The one good news for Edmonton is that currently, the number of homicides in the Alberta capital is less than half of what they were in 2011.