Homicides in Winnipeg drop 20 per cent in 2015

Winnipeg's homicide rate continues its downward trend, new data from Statistics Canada show. In 2015 there were 22 killings in Manitoba's capital compared to 27 the year prior, down almost 20 per cent.

Winnipeg had the fourth-highest homicide rate in the country in 2015, with 2.72 killings per 100,000 people, behind Edmonton, Saskatoonand Regina.

The last time Winnipegwas the "murder capital" of Canada was in 2011, when the city's homicide rate was the highest among major municipalities in Canada at5.03 killings per 100,000 people.

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Looking provincewide, Manitoba's homicide rate remains one of the highest among Canadian provinces.

Saskatchewan is the highest, at 3.79 homicides per 100,000 people, followed by Manitoba at 3.63 and Alberta at 3.17, the national statistical agency said.

In 2014, Manitoba posted the highest homicide rate in the country.

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While the homicide rate is down in Manitoba, the number of gun-related homicides is up from 2014 with an increase of three additional homicides involving a firearm.

The number of homicides in Canada in 2015 is the highest it's been since 2011, largely due to increases in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, said Statistics Canada.

One-quarter of the 604 homicide victims in Canada last year were Aboriginal, while 33 per cent of those accused were reported as Aboriginal, said Statistics Canada. Aboriginal people make up five per cent of Canada's population.