Statistics Canada Article on Homicide in Canada, 2015

The Statistics Canada publication Juristat has published an article on Homicide in Canada, 2015.

Among the highlights:

• Canadian police services reported 604 homicides in 2015, 83 more than the previous year. The homicide rate increased by 15% in 2015 to 1.68 per 100,000 population, the highest rate since 2011.
• The higher number of homicides for 2015 was primarily due to increases in Alberta (+27 homicides), Saskatchewan (+19) and Ontario (+18).
• One-quarter (25%) of the 604 homicide victims were reported by police as an Aboriginal person. As well, 33% of accused persons identified in solved cases were reported as an Aboriginal person. Overall, Aboriginal people accounted for about 5% of Canada's population in 2015.