Canada’s national crime rate, based on data reported by police, declined for the third consecutive year in 2007, continuing the downward trend in police-reported crime since the rate peaked in 1991.

The 7 percent drop in the national crime rate was driven mainly by decreases in counterfeiting and high-volume property offences such as theft ($5,000 and under), break-ins and motor vehicle thefts.

Following two years of increases in most serious violent offences, police reported fewer homicides, attempted murders, sexual assaults and robberies in 2007.

Police-reported crime rates were down in all provinces and territories, except Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

Violent crime
Police reported 594 homicides, down slightly from 606 in 2006. The homicide rate fell for the second year in a row, continuing a long-term decline that began in the mid-1970s.

In 2007, there were almost 30,000 robberies. While the robbery rate declined 5 percent from 2006, it has remained relatively stable since 2000. Robbery committed with a firearm declined 12 percent from the previous year to its lowest point in more than 30 years.

The two most serious forms of assault, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, remained virtually unchanged in 2007. Prior to 2007, the offence of assault with a weapon had increased in each of the previous seven years, reaching an all-time high in 2006.

Property crime
Police reported just over 230,000 break-ins, of which about 6 in 10 were residential. The rate of residential break-ins fell 9 percent in 2007 and break-ins to businesses dropped 8 percent.

The rate of break-ins has been steadily declining since peaking in 1991, reaching its lowest level in over 40 years. According to Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey, Canadians increased their use of home security devices, such as burglar alarms and motion detectors, between 1999 and 2004.

On average, there were about 400 motor vehicle thefts per day in 2007, totalling over 145,000 incidents. The rate of motor vehicle theft has been declining since its peak in 1996, including a 9 percent drop in 2007.

Research suggests that factors such as anti-theft devices built into newer model vehicles, as well as specialised police enforcement teams have contributed to the decrease.

Youth crime
About 176,000 youth aged 12 to 17 were accused of a criminal offence last year. This includes youths who were either formally charged by police or dealt with by other means such as a warning, caution, or referral to a diversionary program.

The youth crime rate, which has remained relatively stable over the past decade, declined 1.5 percent in 2007 following a 3.3 percent increase in 2006. The 2007 drop was due to a decrease in non-violent crimes.

The youth violent crime rate remained stable in 2007 after increasing steadily over the past two decades. The 2007 rate was more than double the rate reported in the mid-1980s.

The provinces
Among the provinces, the highest crime rates were in Western Canada, continuing a pattern observed over the past 30 years.

Despite a 3.5 percent decline, Saskatchewan continued to report the highest overall crime rate, as well as the highest rate of violent crime. British Columbia had the highest property crime rate, primarily the result of a large number of thefts $5,000 and under.

For the fourth year in a row, the lowest provincial rates occurred in Ontario and Quebec.

Police reported declines in homicide in every province except Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. The homicide rates in British Columbia and Quebec were at their lowest in over 40 years.

Manitoba reported 62 homicides, 23 more than in 2006, giving it the highest rate among the provinces and its highest homicide rate since recording began in 1961. Most of the increase occurred in small urban and rural areas. The province also reported a large increase in attempted murder, up 53 percent.

Metropolitan areas
Crime rates fell in most metropolitan areas last year, including the nine largest. The biggest declines occurred in Kitchener, Montréal and Winnipeg.

The highest overall crime rates occurred in the western metropolitan centres of Regina, Saskatoon, Abbotsford, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Victoria and Vancouver. Toronto reported the second lowest overall crime rate among all 27 metropolitan areas.

Violent crime rates also tended to be highest in Western Canada. The metropolitan areas of Saint John, Thunder Bay and Halifax were exceptions to the general pattern, with each reporting violent crime rates similar to or higher than those in the West.

One in five homicides in Canada occurred in Toronto in 2007. However, taking population differences into account, homicide rates were highest in Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary.

For the first time since recording began in 1981, Québec reported no homicides, the only metropolitan area to do so in 2007.

Impaired driving and drug offences
Impaired driving and drug offences were among the few police-reported crimes to increase in 2007. More so than other crimes, these offences tend to be influenced by local police enforcement practices.

The impaired driving rate rose 3 percent in 2007, mainly due to a 19 percent increase in Alberta. Despite this recent increase, impaired driving rates have generally been declining over the past 25 years in Canada.

The rate of drug offences rose 4 percent last year, driven by an increase in cannabis possession offences, which accounted for about half of all drug offences.

Employment was unchanged in June for the second consecutive month according to figures from Statistics Canada. The unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 6.2 percent, still among the lowest in 30 years. Over the past 12 months, employment in Canada has grown by 1.7 percent or 290,000.

Employment continued to grow in professional, scientific and technical services in June (+37,000). From a year ago, employment in the industry has grown by 7.5 percent, an increase of 86,000 workers. The biggest contributors to this year-over-year increase have been computer design services and legal services.

Business, building and other support services had the largest decline in employment in June, down 18,000, bringing employment in this industry to a level similar to that of a year ago.

Construction employment decreased by 16,000 in June, the first significant monthly decline in the industry in two years. Over the last 12 months, however, employment growth in the industry has been strong, up 7.2%.

Employment in health care and social assistance also decreased in June (-17,000). Despite this decline, employment in the industry has grown 2.8 percent from 12 months ago.

Alberta
Alberta saw employment increases of 10,000 in June. These gains pushed the employment rate in the province up to 72.2 percent, a new record high. Employment growth over the past 12 months has been the fastest of the provinces at 3.1 percent, largely driven by gains in professional, scientific and technical services; trade; agriculture; and finance, insurance, real estate and leasing.

Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia also experienced a new record-high employment rate of 59.3 percent, pushed by monthly gains of 6,200. Over the past 12 months, employment in the province has grown by 2.2 percent.

Manitoba
Manitoba was the only other province to report monthly gains in June, with an increase of 4,000. Since June 2007, employment growth in the province has been 1.9 percent.

Ontario
In June, employment declined by 24,000 in Ontario, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.3 percentage points to 6.7 percent. The overall decline in employment was the result of a drop in full-time work (-46,000), which was tempered by gains in part time (+22,000). Since June 2007, part-time work in the province has been on the rise, growing by 10.3 percent. Overall, annual employment growth in Ontario has kept pace with the national average.

Newfoundland and Labrador
Employment declined in Newfoundland and Labrador in June. Over the last 12 months, however, employment grew by 1.8 percent, with strong gains in construction; public administration; as well as transportation and warehousing.

Quebec
In June, the unemployment rate in Quebec decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 7.2 percent, due to a decline in labour force participation. Over the past 12 months, employment in the province has grown by 0.5 percent, well below the national average. Declines in trade and education offset growth in professional, scientific and technical services and construction as well as some other service industries.

A new survey of immigrants living in Canada’s three largest cities shows that they possess a powerful sense of belonging to their adopted country — an attachment that generally runs deeper than linguistic, ethnic or regional identity, reported the Vancouver Sun.

The poll was commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies and generated responses from immigrants in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Respondents were asked whether they had a strong or weak sense of belonging to Canada, their province, city, country of origin, ethnic identity and language.

Canada ranked highest, with 87 per cent of those surveyed expressing a “very strong” or “somewhat strong” attachment to the country. Eighty-one per cent of respondents conveyed a strong sense of belonging to their city, the same percentage of immigrants who said their language provided a strong attachment.

Province (78 per cent), country of origin (66 per cent) and ethnic or cultural group (65 per cent) were also strong sources of respondents’ sense of belonging.

In Toronto, “Canada” topped the list of attachments with 91 per cent of those surveyed expressing a strong sense of belonging to the country.

Eighty per cent of immigrant Montrealers said they felt strong attachments to Canada; both “city” and “language” ranked slightly higher at 81 per cent.

In Vancouver, which has a relatively high proportion of Chinese immigrants, language topped the list with 85 per cent expressing a strong linguistic identity. But a strong sense of belonging to Canada was also conveyed by 84 per cent of Vancouver’s immigrants.

Each month, The Canadian Real Estate Association compiles the statistics of existing homes and properties sold. The average price of a house sold in May in Canada was $318,761 an increase of 1.8 percent over the year. The residential average price is forecast to rise 5.3 percent in 2008 and a further 4.2 percent next year, pushing prices to new heights. Price gains are predicted to become smaller as the resale housing market becomes more balanced. The market is forecast to remain tightest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and as a result price increases there are expected to be biggest.

House Prices In Canada
May 2008

assumed exchange rate $1.00 = £0.492

Canada is putting skilled workers on a fast track for immigration visas to encourage more applications. Alberta’s employment minister Hector Goudreau has been sent to the UK to ‘target’ those tempted by a new life in Canada.

Canadian immigration are hoping to recruit GPs, teachers, nurses, electricians, carpenters, engineers, construction workers, management consultants, and cardiac and diabetic specialists, although anyone of any age can apply.

Mr Goudreau, who has been in Britain for a week, said, “Somebody from London might be able to sell their small flat and come to Alberta where they can buy a detached house with a huge back yard and huge front yard for the same amount. The cost of living is considerably less than in the UK. Our salaries are comparable or even higher, so anyone who moves over would be able to make money and set some aside.”

Mr Goudreau added that the economy in Alberta - which is founded on oil reserves - was constantly growing, and has remained steady despite the global credit crunch.

He continued. “We are looking at attracting 50,000 foreign workers within the next year alone. There is beautiful scenery, the health care system is second to none in the world and our educational system is second to none in the world. We have some of the lowest business taxes, there is no province sales tax on goods.”

Alberta covers a large chunk of prairie and Rocky Mountains and its major cities are Edmonton and Calgary. Its population is 3.4 million and it covers an area over two and a half times the size of the UK.

The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the province. Edmonton is the main supply and service centre for Canada’s oil sands and other northern resource industries. Calgary, the capital, is Alberta’s largest city and is one of Canada’s major commerce centres. These two cities both have populations over 1 million people.