Homicides by firearm in Canada
Canada: Homicides by firearm was 289 homicides in 2023. ▲ Rising
Homicides by firearm in Canada, 2005–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in homicides.
Analysis
Canada recorded 289 homicides for homicides by firearm in 2023.
That represents a change of down 15.7% on the previous year and up 115.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicides by firearm in Canada peaked at 343 homicides in 2022 and was at its lowest, 134 homicides, in 2013.
Canada ranks 21st of 82 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 194.4 homicides | 182 homicides | 215 homicides | 5 |
| 2010s | 197.8 homicides | 134 homicides | 267 homicides | 10 |
| 2020s | 302.75 homicides | 280 homicides | 343 homicides | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More social development data for Canada
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 416,028 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 360 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Key features of democracy 0.84 (2025)
- Freedom of Expression Index 0.933 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.865 (2025)
- Electoral Democracy Index 0.84 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.589 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.736 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicides by firearm in Canada?
- Homicides by firearm in Canada was 289 homicides in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicides by firearm recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 343 homicides in 2022.
- What is the lowest homicides by firearm recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 134 homicides in 2013.
- How does Canada rank for homicides by firearm?
- Canada ranks 21st out of 82 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicides by firearm rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 115.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicides by firearm. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of intentional homicides where the weapon was a firearm.