Manitoba leads with highest youth homicide rate

Regina is still murder capital of Canada

Chelse McKee, Staff

Eighteen Manitoba youths were charged with homicide in 2006 — the most in Canada.
Statistics Canada reported that this is the highest year for youth homicide crime since they began keeping records of youth crime in 1961. That increase parallels with the rise in overall youth crime in 2005-06.
Just five years ago, Canada was at a 30-year low for youth homicide. Statistics Canada said that the variation was due to the small number of youths who commit homicide.
Overall, Canada’s homicide rate is lower than it has been since 1973. The murder rate increased dramatically between 1971 and 1995.
Manitoba’s rate of youth homicide is nearly double that of the next highest province, Alberta. Manitoba reports that one in four persons charged with homicide is a youth, but they aren’t alone. Alberta reports the same figures for their homicide rates.
Gang involvement was reported for 22 per cent of youth homicides, according to police evidence. Only nine per cent of adult homicides were gang-related.
About one in six homicides are gang-related, the report said. There was a reported 104 gang-related homicides in 2006; half of these homicides took place in Canada’s nine biggest cities. Quebec had the highest rate of gang homicide with just over one in four homicides related to gangs.
In 2006, the highest rates for homicides were found in the four western provinces, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia, respectively.
Homicide rates have always been higher in the western provinces, according to Statistics Canada.
The lowest homicide rates were in the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
The murder capital of Canada for 2006 is once again Regina with a reported 4.49 homicides per 100,000 people or, in other words, nine homicides
for the entire year. Manitoba had 3.31 murders per 100,000 people, or 39 victims, down from 49.
Again, the province with the highest number of homicide is Ontario, with 196 for 2006, which equates to 1.54 homicides per 100,000 persons.
While Quebec reported a 40-year low for homicides, the Yukon and Northwest Territories had zero homicides reported for 2006.