REGINA -- Saskatchewan has the second highest homicide rate in the country according to a new report by Statistics Canada.
The report is based on police-reported homicides in 2018.
Last year, Saskatchewan saw the highest rate of firearm-related homicides in the country with 1.03 per 100,000. This is up from 0.87 per 100,000 in 2017.
The 2018 national average for firearm-related homicides was 0.67 per 100,000.
Saskatchewan’s police-reported homicides decreased in 2018 from the previous year. The provinces rate is 2.93 homicides per 100,000 people.
Eight Saskatchewan murders in 2018 were determined to be gang-related.
The rate in Saskatchewan’s northern communities is six times higher than what is seen in southern regions. This has been a consistent trend since data for these areas became available in 2009.
Saskatchewan has the second highest Indigenous homicide rate with 11.2 per 100,000 people. Overall, 65 per cent of homicides of Indigenous people occurred in rural areas and small towns.
Regina and Saskatoon had the second and fifth highest rate of Indigenous homicide victims respectively, with 63 per cent in the Queen City and 50 per cent in Saskatoon.
