ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the incidence and characteristics of homicide in Canada by focusing on three sources of variation: temporal, spatial, and social. It begins by tracing trends in Canadian homicide rates from the 1920s through the 1980s. The chapter evaluates recent concerns over rising levels of homicide from the perspective of trends over several decades. It discusses spatial variation in homicide rates: the distribution of homicide across regions and communities of different sizes. The chapter examines the distribution of homicide among social groups distinguished by gender, race, and age. It addresses the growing fears of Canadians that patterns of homicide in Canada are coming to resemble those in the United States—not just in levels, but also in some characteristics. The chapter draws on both legal and non-legal criteria in its analysis of homicide in Canada. Regardless of gender or race, age will shape the likelihood of involvement in homicide either as victim or as offender, though in somewhat different ways.
