Gun violence, by the numbers
The statistics on gun violence in Canada tell an alarming storyLiving in Canada, it’s tempting to view stories of gun violence south of the border as an American epidemic. But the statistics tell a different story. Year of the Gun, a documentary featured on CBC Docs POV, shines a spotlight on Toronto, where gun-related violence is rising at an alarming rate. This increase isn’t unique to Canada’s largest city — it’s a trend seen across the country.
Here are some surprising numbers relating to gun violence in Canada.
- 5: Where Canada ranks, as of 2010, among 36 OECD nations in number of gun deaths per capita. Only the U.S., Finland, Austria and France had worse numbers.
- 428: The number of shooting incidents in Toronto in 2018, nearly two and a half times the amount of incidents in 2014.
- 33%: According to Statistics Canada, there was a record 33 per cent drop in gun-related crime across the country between 2009 and 2013.
- 42%: The rate of gun-related crime in Canada has increased by 42 per cent since 2013, due in large part to the increasing number of victims in Toronto.
- 7,700: The number of victims of a crime involving a firearm in 2017 in Canada.
- 55%: More than half of firearm-related homicides in 2017 were committed using a handgun. Rifles or shotguns were used in 23 per cent and other types of firearms, such as fully automatic firearms or sawed-off rifles or shotguns were the primary weapon in 9 per cent of all firearm-related homicides.
- $327.6 million: The Canadian government announced $327.6 million in funding, over five years, to tackle the increase in gun violence and gang activity across the country.
Watch Year of the Gun on CBC Docs POV.
Please note: This article has been amended from its original version to better reflect the context of the documentary, Year of the Gun.