The arrival of COVID-19 in Canada in 2020, and the subsequent setback to life in society, had the effect of curbing the rise of violence involving firearms in the country, revealed Statistics Canada in a report released Friday.

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After hitting a low of 19 events per 100,000 population in 2013, the number of crimes involving firearms had risen by half in the following years to reach 29 offenses per 100,000 population in 2019, a rate that ultimately remained. identical in 2020.

It should be noted that these statistics exclude Quebec, due to the inability of the province to provide precise information on the weapons involved in various crimes.

The increase in the number of crimes involving firearms until 2019 did not necessarily lead to many more murders, however Statistics Canada put it into perspective, mentioning that it was rather the number of discharges of firearms or robbery with firearms which has rather increased, even doubled.

A phenomenon... rural?

"The national rate of violent crime committed using a firearm was unchanged in 2020, as rates increased in some parts of the country and decreased in others," the report continued. federal organization in its analysis.

The phenomenon was particularly marked in rural areas of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, while the number of crimes involving weapons was down in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

"In most provinces, rates of violent crime involving a firearm were higher in rural areas than in urban centres, and were particularly high in rural northern areas," also pointed to Statistics Canada.

The style of weapons prized also varies between town and country. “For the majority (63%) of victims of violent crimes committed with a firearm in urban areas, the incident they were victimized involved a handgun. On the other hand, handguns were less often present at the scene of the case in rural areas (20%)”, indicated Statistics Canada, specifying that long guns represent 43% of crimes with weapons in the countryside, against 12% in town.

The federal organization had already argued, in a previous report at the end of 2021, that the outbreak of gun violence had resulted in an increase in the number of shooting murders. A total of 277 people were killed by firearms in 2020, up from 15 people.

On the other hand, without the Portapique massacre, during which 22 people were killed in Nova Scotia, the number of deaths by weapon would have in fact decreased in the country, had pointed out Statistics Canada.