The rate of police violence in 2023 has decreased
Journalists have tallied the death toll across Canada and by province.
Canadian journalists have calculated the number of people shot by police officers in Canada for the year 2023 from police reports and other public data. A total of 85 people were hurt because of the weapons of law enforcement officers from January 1 to December 15, including 41 deaths. In 2022, the data was sadder: 90 injured, of whom 50 were fatally wounded.
Police shootings in Canada remain rare compared to many other countries, but year after year, police officers are having more and more encounters with people with guns.
Why is this happening?
Criminologists say police officers need more training and restraint. But leaders of a union that advocates for law enforcement officers say police are forced to be on the front lines of Canada's mental health crisis and face increasingly dangerous situations. National Police Federation president Brian Sauve commented:
"No cop that I have ever dealt with wants to go down this road."
The union also insists that such situations also negatively affect the psychological state of the shooters themselves.
Distribution by province
Incidents of police-involved shootings are not evenly distributed across the country. Alberta remains the clear leader. In 2023, it accounted for 21 out of 85 cases. That's 0.45 cases per 100,000 population. For Alberta itself, that's a significant increase — up 90% since 2020.
The full article is only available to members of the Immigrant.Today community. Log in to your account to read it for free.
