Canada’s crime rate rose by one per cent in 2021, at 5,375 crimes per 100,000 people, which is much less than the 11,112 crimes per 100,000 for Kelowna, the city with the highest crime rate, according to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Lethbridge was next followed by Moncton and then Regina in fourth spot with a four per cent increase from the previous year in its crime rate at 7,497 crimes per 100,000 population. Saskatoon took fifth spot with a crime rate increase of 2 per cent to 7,412.

Police reported 788 homicides across the country in 2021, which is 29 more than the year before, and as has been the case with provincial comparisons historically, the report says the rates were highest in Saskatchewan with 5.93 homicides per 100,000 population followed by Manitoba with 4.41 homicides per 100,000. In Saskatoon and area, there were 8 homicides in 2021, down from 14 the year before and 16 in 2019, for a rate of 2.32 homicides per 100.000. Saskatoon had the eleventh highest rate out of 35 cities. Regina and area topped the country’s list with 15 homicides and a rate of 5.67 homicides per 100,000 population.

There were 190 Indigenous homicide victims last year, which is 18 fewer than in 2020, but the report notes that despite the decline, the rate of homicides for Indigenous people was nearly six times higher than the non-Indigenous population in Canada at 9.17 per 100,000 compared to 1.55 for non-Indigenous. As well, 247 homicide victims were identified by police as belonging to a group designated as racialized, which works out to 32 per cent of all homicide victims in 2021.