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Murder Capital of Canada 2025: Homicide Rates by City
Thunder Bay had Canada's highest metro-area homicide rate in 2025, at 6.06 per 100,000. Toronto had the most homicides (64) but one of the lowest rates.
Crime Canada newsroomPublished
Thunder Bay, Ontario, had the highest homicide rate of any census metropolitan area (CMA) in Canada in 2025: 6.06 homicides per 100,000 people (8 incidents). That is nearly four times the national rate of 1.61 per 100,000. Saint John, New Brunswick (4.87 per 100,000) and Greater Sudbury, Ontario (4.05) came next.
These are the latest police-reported figures from Statistics Canada, for 2025, released in summer 2026. Ranking by the number of homicides gives a very different answer. The Toronto metro area had the most, with 64, but one of the lowest rates of any large city, at 0.91 per 100,000.
What is the murder capital of Canada in 2025?
"Murder capital" is not an official title. It is a nickname people give to the place with the most killings for its size. The fair way to compare places of very different sizes is the homicide rate: the number of homicides per 100,000 residents.
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On that measure, the Thunder Bay CMA ranked first among Canada's 40 metropolitan areas in 2025, at 6.06 per 100,000. Its rate was almost the same as in 2024 (down 0.3%). That matters, because many other cities near the top of the 2025 list jumped there after a single unusual year.
A CMA is a city plus its surrounding suburbs and nearby communities. The figures in this article are for metropolitan areas, not for a single police service. A police service's numbers cover only its own area and can differ from the CMA figure.
Statistics Canada's "homicide" category is broader than murder. It includes first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter and infanticide. Attempted murder is counted separately and is not included here.
Homicide rate by metropolitan area, 2025
The table below ranks all 40 Canadian census metropolitan areas by their 2025 homicide rate per 100,000 population, with the number of incidents and the change in rate from 2024.
| Rank | Metropolitan area (CMA) | Rate per 100,000 (2025) | Incidents (2025) | Change in rate from 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thunder Bay, Ont. | 6.06 | 8 | -0.3% |
| 2 | Saint John, N.B. | 4.87 | 7 | +130.8% |
| 3 | Greater Sudbury, Ont. | 4.05 | 8 | +297.1% |
| 4 | Abbotsford-Mission, B.C. | 3.58 | 8 | +95.6% |
| 5 | Regina, Sask. | 3.45 | 10 | +63.5% |
| 6 | St. John's, N.L. | 3.41 | 8 | +296.5% |
| 7 | Kamloops, B.C. | 3.22 | 4 | +297.5% |
| 8 | Peterborough, Ont. | 2.72 | 4 | +98.5% |
| 9 | Winnipeg, Man. | 2.48 | 23 | -46.9% |
| 10 | Chilliwack, B.C. | 2.28 | 3 | -51.0% |
| 11 | Brantford, Ont. | 2.25 | 4 | -1.7% |
| 12 | Kingston, Ont. | 2.10 | 4 | -33.5% |
| 13 | Saskatoon, Sask. | 2.09 | 8 | -44.1% |
| 14 | Halifax, N.S. | 2.02 | 11 | -1.5% |
| 15 | Edmonton, Alta. | 1.88 | 32 | -13.8% |
| 16 | Red Deer, Alta. | 1.73 | 2 | -2.3% |
| 17 | Barrie, Ont. | 1.66 | 5 | +144.1% |
| 18 | Kelowna, B.C. | 1.58 | 4 | +97.5% |
| 19 | Nanaimo, B.C. | 1.55 | 2 | -1.3% |
| 20 | Vancouver, B.C. | 1.52 | 47 | +23.6% |
| 21 | Fredericton, N.B. | 1.47 | 2 | -61.2% |
| 22 | St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont. | 1.45 | 8 | -47.7% |
| 23 | Windsor, Ont. | 1.43 | 7 | +15.3% |
| 24 | Lethbridge, Alta. | 1.41 | 2 | +95.8% |
| 25 | Sherbrooke, Que. | 1.33 | 3 | -0.7% |
| 26 | Ottawa-Gatineau, Ont./Que. | 1.31 | 22 | -32.5% |
| 27 | Montréal, Que. | 1.12 | 52 | -11.1% |
| 28 | London, Ont. | 1.10 | 7 | -30.8% |
| 29 | Hamilton, Ont. | 0.95 | 8 | -28.0% |
| 30 | Toronto, Ont. | 0.91 | 64 | -52.1% |
| 31 | Victoria, B.C. | 0.90 | 4 | +100.0% |
| 32 | Calgary, Alta. | 0.82 | 15 | -36.4% |
| 33 | Belleville-Quinte West, Ont. | 0.80 | 1 | -66.9% |
| 34 | Guelph, Ont. | 0.62 | 1 | -67.0% |
| 35 | Trois-Rivières, Que. | 0.58 | 1 | -1.7% |
| 36 | Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ont. | 0.56 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 37 | Moncton, N.B. | 0.49 | 1 | -2.0% |
| 38 | Québec, Que. | 0.45 | 4 | +32.4% |
| 39 | Saguenay, Que. | 0.00 | 0 | -100.0% |
| 40 | Drummondville, Que. | 0.00 | 0 | n/a |
For the wider picture, including police services and provinces, see our homicide rate rankings for Canadian cities and provinces.
The runners-up: which cities came closest in 2025?
After Thunder Bay, the metropolitan areas with the highest homicide rates in 2025 were:
- Saint John, N.B.: 4.87 per 100,000 (7 incidents), about three times the national rate. Its rate rose 130.8% from 2024.
- Greater Sudbury, Ont.: 4.05 per 100,000 (8 incidents), up 297.1% from 2024.
- Abbotsford-Mission, B.C.: 3.58 per 100,000 (8 incidents), up 95.6%.
- Regina, Sask.: 3.45 per 100,000 (10 incidents), up 63.5%.
- St. John's, N.L.: 3.41 per 100,000 (8 incidents), up 296.5%.
Notice that every runner-up in the top six had a much higher rate in 2025 than in 2024. Thunder Bay was the only one of the top six whose rate held steady. That is why it has the strongest claim to the top spot: it was not a one-year jump.
Winnipeg, which many people associate with high homicide numbers, ranked ninth in 2025 at 2.48 per 100,000 (23 incidents). Its rate fell 46.9% from 2024.
Which city has the most murders in Canada?
If you count homicides instead of using the rate, the biggest cities rise to the top simply because more people live there. Here are the metropolitan areas with the most homicide incidents in 2025.
| Metropolitan area (CMA) | Homicide incidents (2025) | Rate per 100,000 (2025) | Rank by rate (of 40) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto, Ont. | 64 | 0.91 | 30 |
| Montréal, Que. | 52 | 1.12 | 27 |
| Vancouver, B.C. | 47 | 1.52 | 20 |
| Edmonton, Alta. | 32 | 1.88 | 15 |
| Winnipeg, Man. | 23 | 2.48 | 9 |
| Ottawa-Gatineau, Ont./Que. | 22 | 1.31 | 26 |
| Calgary, Alta. | 15 | 0.82 | 32 |
| Halifax, N.S. | 11 | 2.02 | 14 |
| Regina, Sask. | 10 | 3.45 | 5 |
| Thunder Bay, Ont. | 8 | 6.06 | 1 |
Thunder Bay tied with six other metro areas at 8 incidents: Greater Sudbury, Abbotsford-Mission, St. John's, Saskatoon, St. Catharines-Niagara and Hamilton.
The Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver metro areas together had 163 of Canada's 672 homicide incidents in 2025, about a quarter of the national total. Yet all three had rates below the national rate of 1.61 per 100,000.
Is Toronto the murder capital of Canada?
No. The Toronto CMA had the most homicides of any metro area in 2025 (64), but its rate of 0.91 per 100,000 was well below the national rate and ranked 30th out of 40. Thunder Bay had eight times fewer homicides than Toronto but a rate more than six times higher.
Toronto's rate also fell sharply, down 52.1% from 2024. Calgary (0.82 per 100,000) had an even lower rate than Toronto in 2025.
Why small cities swing so much from year to year
In a smaller metro area, one or two homicides can move the rate a long way. In Thunder Bay, each homicide adds roughly three-quarters of a point (about 0.76 per 100,000) to the rate. In the Toronto metro area, a single homicide changes the rate by only about 0.01 per 100,000.
The 2025 data shows how big these swings can be:
- Greater Sudbury (+297.1%), Kamloops (+297.5%) and St. John's (+296.5%) all saw their rates nearly quadruple, with 8, 4 and 8 incidents.
- Saint John more than doubled (+130.8%) with 7 incidents.
- Saguenay went to zero homicides in 2025 (-100.0%).
- Guelph (-67.0%) and Belleville-Quinte West (-66.9%) each had a single homicide in 2025.
Because of this, the "murder capital" can change from one year to the next for reasons that have little to do with long-term safety. A single incident with several victims, or a cluster of cases in one year, can push a smaller city to the top of the list. A better test is whether a place stays near the top over several years. In 2025, Thunder Bay's rate was essentially the same as in 2024, which is why its ranking is more meaningful than a one-year spike.
The same caution applies even more strongly to the territories, which have very small populations.
Which province or territory has the highest homicide rate?
The table below ranks provinces and territories by their 2025 homicide rate per 100,000 population.
| Rank | Province or territory | Rate per 100,000 (2025) | Incidents (2025) | Change in rate from 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nunavut | 16.73 | 7 | +73.2% |
| 2 | Northwest Territories | 10.88 | 5 | -17.9% |
| 3 | Yukon | 6.21 | 3 | n/a |
| 4 | Saskatchewan | 5.21 | 66 | -1.5% |
| 5 | Manitoba | 3.64 | 55 | -42.9% |
| 6 | Newfoundland and Labrador | 2.18 | 12 | +198.6% |
| 7 | British Columbia | 1.81 | 103 | +9.0% |
| 8 | Alberta | 1.77 | 89 | -12.4% |
| 9 | Nova Scotia | 1.74 | 19 | -24.7% |
| 10 | New Brunswick | 1.72 | 15 | -18.1% |
| 11 | Prince Edward Island | 1.64 | 3 | +47.7% |
| 12 | Ontario | 1.27 | 207 | -28.2% |
| 13 | Quebec | 0.97 | 88 | -11.0% |
Nunavut had the highest rate in Canada in 2025, at 16.73 per 100,000, more than 10 times the national rate. But that rate comes from 7 incidents, so it can rise or fall sharply from year to year.
Among the provinces, Saskatchewan had the highest rate (5.21 per 100,000, 66 incidents), followed by Manitoba (3.64, 55 incidents). Only 18 of Saskatchewan's 66 homicides were in its two metropolitan areas, Regina (10) and Saskatoon (8). Most took place in smaller cities, towns and rural areas, which is why no Saskatchewan city tops the CMA list even though the province ranks first.
Quebec had the lowest rate of any province or territory (0.97 per 100,000), followed by Ontario (1.27). Ontario had the most homicides of any province (207) because of its large population.
Is the homicide rate in Canada going up or down?
Down. Canada's homicide rate fell to 1.61 per 100,000 in 2025 (672 incidents), the lowest rate in the 11 years from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Homicide rate per 100,000 | Homicide incidents |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.71 | 609 |
| 2016 | 1.69 | 612 |
| 2017 | 1.82 | 666 |
| 2018 | 1.77 | 658 |
| 2019 | 1.83 | 687 |
| 2020 | 2.00 | 759 |
| 2021 | 2.08 | 796 |
| 2022 | 2.27 | 882 |
| 2023 | 1.99 | 796 |
| 2024 | 1.93 | 797 |
| 2025 | 1.61 | 672 |
The rate peaked in 2022 at 2.27 per 100,000 (882 incidents) and has fallen each year since. From 2024 to 2025, the number of incidents dropped from 797 to 672.
Homicide is a very small share of all crime. In 2025, Canada's police recorded 601,139 violent Criminal Code incidents (1,443.25 per 100,000) and 2,525,970 incidents in total (6,064.51 per 100,000).
Is Thunder Bay a dangerous city?
Thunder Bay had the highest homicide rate of any Canadian metro area in 2025, and its rate was steady from 2024, so the ranking is not a fluke of one year. But the number behind it is 8 homicide incidents in a metro area of roughly 130,000 people. Most residents are never directly affected by homicide.
A homicide rate is one measure of safety, not the whole picture. To compare overall and violent crime rates across cities, see our ranking of the highest crime rates in Canadian cities.
About the data
All figures come from Statistics Canada's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey, table 35-10-0177, which records crimes reported to and confirmed by police. The latest year is 2025, released in summer 2026.
- Rates are per 100,000 population, so places of different sizes can be compared fairly. We rank by rate, not count.
- Counts are homicide incidents. Statistics Canada's separate Homicide Survey counts victims, so its totals can differ slightly.
- Metropolitan areas (CMAs) include a core city and its surrounding municipalities. They are not the same as a single city's police service area.
- Change from 2024 is the change in the rate, not in the count.
Homicides are almost always discovered and reported, so police data on homicide is more complete than for crimes such as sexual assault or fraud, which often go unreported.
To look up homicide and crime rates for your own city, police service or province, visit statistics.crimecanada.ca.
Frequently asked questions
What is the murder capital of Canada?
Based on the latest Statistics Canada data (2025), Thunder Bay, Ontario, had the highest homicide rate of any census metropolitan area: 6.06 per 100,000 people, from 8 incidents. That is nearly four times the national rate of 1.61. Saint John, New Brunswick (4.87) and Greater Sudbury, Ontario (4.05) were second and third. Thunder Bay's rate was about the same as in 2024.
What is the murder capital of Canada in 2025?
In 2025, the Thunder Bay metro area ranked first among Canada's 40 census metropolitan areas, with a homicide rate of 6.06 per 100,000 people. These are the latest police-reported figures from Statistics Canada, released in summer 2026. By count, the Toronto metro area had the most homicides (64), but its rate of 0.91 per 100,000 ranked 30th of 40.
Which Canadian city has the most murders?
The Toronto metro area had the most homicide incidents in 2025, with 64, followed by Montréal (52), Vancouver (47), Edmonton (32) and Winnipeg (23). Because these are large cities, their rates are much lower: Toronto's was 0.91 per 100,000, Montréal's 1.12 and Vancouver's 1.52, all below the national rate of 1.61 per 100,000.
Which province has the highest homicide rate in Canada?
In 2025, Saskatchewan had the highest homicide rate of any province, at 5.21 per 100,000 people (66 incidents), followed by Manitoba at 3.64 (55 incidents). Including the territories, Nunavut was highest at 16.73 per 100,000, but that came from just 7 incidents. Quebec had the lowest rate at 0.97 per 100,000.
Is the homicide rate in Canada going up?
No. Canada's homicide rate fell to 1.61 per 100,000 in 2025, with 672 incidents, the lowest rate in Statistics Canada data from 2015 to 2025. The rate peaked in 2022 at 2.27 per 100,000 (882 incidents) and has dropped every year since, including from 1.93 in 2024.
Why does the murder capital of Canada change every year?
In smaller cities, one or two homicides move the rate a lot. In Thunder Bay, each homicide adds about 0.76 per 100,000. In 2025, rates in Greater Sudbury, Kamloops and St. John's nearly quadrupled, while Saguenay fell to zero. Looking at several years gives a fairer picture than a single year's ranking.
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