According to a StatCan report, crime rates are on the rise across Canada

According to Statistics Canada (StatCan), New Brunswick was the only province in the country to have fewer crimes recorded by police in 2022 than the previous year.

The StatCan Crime Severity Index, a measure that includes violations of the criminal code and other federal laws, rose 4% across Canada last year. The province of Manitoba saw the largest increase, up as much as 14%. Manitoba was followed by Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, where crime rose 6%.

However, New Brunswick goes against the trend common to the rest of the country. Here, the crime severity index for 2022 is down 2% from 2021.

Neil Boyd — a professor emeritus in the criminology department at Simon Fraser University — spoke to CTV News and said it's important to take a close look at the factors that may protect New Brunswick from the problems seen in other provinces.

"We tend to think sometimes that crime goes up and down because of the legislation that we impose. But if you look at the legislation we've imposed over time in the Criminal Code amendments, they don't really have much impact. It's cultural change that matters," Boyd shared his thoughts.

The crime situation in New Brunswick is not clear-cut. While overall crime rates across the province have declined, the City of Fredericton has seen an increase in non-violent crime. While violent crimes — robbery, extortion, homicide and sex crimes — are down in the city, property and drug offenses are on the rise.

Fredericton Police Chief Martin Gaudet told CTV News that the crime situation, both violent and non-violent, doesn't surprise him. Police are aware of the trends and are trying to take action.

He said the government has invested millions in programs aimed at combating gun trafficking and organized crime, which has helped reduce violent crime. Non-violent crime, he said, is largely a social problem.

"The drug addictions and the homelessness is very difficult. It's a social problem. We're not going to police ourselves out of homelessness. We have to work with our community partners. It's a complicated social situation, a complex problem. We can try to understand it better and put the resources around it, maybe we can start to make a difference. But it's going to take a while. It's a marathon," Martin Gaudet stated.

According to Godet, other non-violent crimes, such as stealing food from stores, can be attributed to the fact that some people are forced to resort to "survival mode" because they have been left destitute.

"They need food and they go into a store, grab a sandwich and walk out. So we're seeing more of that for sure. In my humble opinion, the reason is probably the fact that they are very desperate. I mean, it's a basic human necessity. When you have no money, or you spent your money on drugs because you have an addiction, or other basic human needs ... it's very sad and complex, and then we go there and we arrest them for shoplifting or thefts when really the underlying issue is an addiction problem. And that's what we need to tackle," Godet said.

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A StatCan report published last week also showed that homicides in Canada rose 8% last year. In 2022, 874 were recorded, while in 2021 — 796. Last year's homicide rate was the highest since 1992, with British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec being the leaders among provinces.

It is also noted that 225 indigenous people were victims of homicide in 2022, 32 more than in 2021. The homicide rate among indigenous peoples is almost 7 times higher than among non-indigenous peoples, as reported by StatCan.

There were 9,198 victims of violent crime involving firearms in 2022 in Canada. This is a 10% increase from 2021. The number of gun crime victims has been rising since 2013, according to a Statistics Canada report.

According to Prof. Boyd, crime rates have "certainly" been rising over the past 4-5 years, and this is a valid concern. However, the changes are not that significant.

Boyd also notes that a broader data set from the last decade could help better understand what's going on with the nation's crime rate.