Gun violence, by the numbers

Living 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.

• MORE
• We need to build a culture of peace to fight gun violence

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.