Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

“Real Change” – Canada’s Violent Crime, Homicide Rates Hit Historical Highs

Monday, August 14, 2023

“Real Change” – Canada’s Violent Crime, Homicide Rates Hit Historical Highs

When Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party was elected in 2015, its official election platform promised “real change” for Canadians. The Liberal public safety “plan will keep Canadians safe and protect their rights, without resorting to the politics of fear or letting ideology trump evidence in decision-making.” On guns specifically, the Liberal Party asserted that the Conservative government, under then-Prime Minister “Stephen Harper has steadily weakened our gun laws in ways that make Canadians more vulnerable and communities more dangerous. We will take pragmatic action to make it harder for criminals to get, and use, handguns and assault weapons.”

In his most recent campaign for reelection in 2021, Trudeau repeated his promises on crime and public safety. He claimed his government had “delivered on this commitment” through his 2020 ban of so-called “military assault-style firearms,” a classification that doesn’t legally exist but which has been applied to thousands of firearms lawfully acquired and used by ranchers, hunters, and recreational shooters. 

For all of the Liberals’ lofty rhetoric, there’s one indication that the big talk of enhanced public safety falls short of reality. At the end of July, Statistics Canada (StatsCan), a federal government agency, released year-over-year crime data for 2022.

Crime, overall, continues to rise in Canada. Violent crime (as measured by the Violent Crime Severity Index) “rose in 2022, reaching its highest point since 2007.” The increase “included higher rates of robbery (+15%), extortion (+39%), homicide (+8%) and level 1 sexual assault (+3%),” and the rate of Level 2 assault involving a weapon or bodily harm has increased every year since 2015. The general Crime Severity Index (which measures changes in the level of severity of overall crime in Canada from year to year, with “more serious offences hav[ing] a greater impact on changes in the index”) had declined every consecutive year since 2004, dropping from 106.84 (2003) to 66.90 (2014). This downward trend began to reverse in 2015 and, with the exception of the pandemic year of 2020, the annual CSI continues to rise. In another notable milestone, the homicide rate in 2022 reached a level that has not been seen since 1992.

According to the federal agency, Canadians also experienced higher rates of non-violent and property crimes in 2022. Rates of shoplifting (+31%), minor theft (+10%) and breaking and entering (+4%) increased, and a 24% increase in motor vehicle theft “was 17% higher than in 2019.” In another disturbing development, StatsCan data shows the youth crime rate in 2022 jumped by almost 18% from the year before. 

Given Trudeau’s restrictive new gun laws, gun bans and promises of “safer communities,” the expectation may have been that rates of violent crimes involving guns should have been rolled back, but here, too, the evidence suggests otherwise. StatsCan reports that the rate of violent Criminal Code firearm offences (e.g., discharging a firearm with intent, pointing a firearm or using a firearm in the commission of an indictable offence) has increased for the eighth consecutive year, rising 4% in 2022. Criminals are apparently not at all hindered by changing gun laws, as the rate at which a firearm is used in the commission of an offense has almost tripled, from 0.65 (in 2000) to 1.86 (2022). Likewise, Trudeau’s war on guns appears to have had no impact on the rate of homicides that are linked, or suspected to be linked, to organized crime or a street gang, as those rates increased in 2021 and again in 2022.

Trudeau has been the leader of Canada’s Liberal Party and the prime minister for eight years. His party’s gun control policies haven’t delivered a safer Canada; instead (as we’ve said all along) they have focused on criminalizing responsible gun owners when lawful ownership and use of firearms is very much not the problem.

The StatCan report coincided with a federal cabinet shuffle in which three prominent ministers were stripped of their portfolios without reassignment, including Justice Minister David Lametti and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the 2020 gun ban/ confiscation law (which is fast coming up on the expiry of the already-extended amnesty period). Writing of Mendocino’s demotion as the holder of one of these “disaster portfolios,” a newspaper observed that “Mendicino evaded seemingly endless blunders. On firearms, he attempted to lead a sweeping gun ban that threatened to criminalize hundreds of hunting rifles with an amendment to Bill C-21 in November — a fact he denied until the Liberals walked the amendment in February.” It concluded with the gloomy prediction that the “problems of old will likely continue into the new cabinet.”

In the meantime, the Liberals are avoiding taking political ownership for the rise in crime by pretending it hasn’t happened. Canada’s National Post describes the “federal Liberals’ new communication strategy” as “doubling down on their signature tactic: gaslighting Canadians into thinking there’s no problem and, if that fails, blaming them for thinking there’s a problem at all.” The replacement Justice Minister, Arif Virani, “is telling Canadians their concerns about crime may be all in their heads. He told Reuters: ‘I think that empirically it’s unlikely’ Canada is becoming less safe. ​​‘But I think there’s a sense coming out of the pandemic that people’s safety is more in jeopardy.’ The facts disagree with him.”

Is this, then, the crux of Liberals’ version of “real change” for Canadians – a propaganda move where crime rates unlike anything seen in recent years are presented as nothing more than a “perceived lack of safety from crime”?

IN THIS ARTICLE
Canada
TRENDING NOW
California: Governor Newsom Continues His Vendetta Against Lawful Gun Owners Signing Multiple Anti-Gun Bills into Law

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

California: Governor Newsom Continues His Vendetta Against Lawful Gun Owners Signing Multiple Anti-Gun Bills into Law

On Tuesday, September 26th, California Governor Gavin Newsom hosted a signing ceremony in Sacramento where he signed multiple anti-gun bills into law, most notably: an 11% excise tax on all firearms and ammunition; vastly expanded concealed carry ...

New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

The F-35 stealth jet isn’t the only example of expensive technology that crashed recently. The implementation of New York’s ammunition background check law – the rollout of which was, to be generous, extremely low visibility – was ...

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Monday, July 17, 2023

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Late last month, Massachusetts politicians put forth HD 4420, “an act modernizing firearm laws.” This massive piece of legislation re-writes gun laws in the Commonwealth and imposes unprecedented gun-control.

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Professional gun control advocates have always had a seat at the table in the Biden White House. Now, however, they will not only sit at the table but determine its menu, set it, and compile ...

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

News  

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

More than three years have passed since Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban and mandatory confiscation (“buyback”) of what he called “military grade assault weapons,” which was followed by a national handgun “freeze” ...

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

After several weeks of the abject failure of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) attempt to suspend constitutional rights in her state, there are a number of theories as to what, exactly, she was ...

NRA Slams Gov. Newsom's Latest Assault on Second Amendment

Gun Laws  

Second Amendment  

News  

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

NRA Slams Gov. Newsom's Latest Assault on Second Amendment

The National Rifle Association released the following statement on California Gov. Newsom's signing of gun control: "The NRA condemns the legislation enacted by Gov. Newsom. It is a blatant and egregious attack on the rights ...

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

News  

Monday, August 21, 2023

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

There are some significant changes due to take effect early next month in the Empire State.

Colorado: Anti-Hunting Legislation Initiative 91 Scheduled for Public Comment

Hunting  

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Colorado: Anti-Hunting Legislation Initiative 91 Scheduled for Public Comment

On Friday, September 22nd, Initiative 91 was filed to appear on the ballot in the November 2024 election in a push by anti-hunting advocates trying to stop the age-old practice of hunting predators, such as ...

NRA to Move for Expedited Relief for Its Members in Light of Fifth Circuit Pistol Brace Ruling

Hunting  

News  

Second Amendment  

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

NRA to Move for Expedited Relief for Its Members in Light of Fifth Circuit Pistol Brace Ruling

The National Rifle Association of America (“NRA”) announced today that it would be expediting its motion for a preliminary injunction to protect its members from the Biden Administration’s unlawful attempt to reclassify braced pistols as ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.