Chilliwack had the worst murder rate in B.C. and third-highest in the country last year, according to the 2023 homicide numbers from Statistics Canada.

With six murders on the books compared to three the year before, it marked an increase of 94.23 per cent for the Chilliwack Census Metropolitan Area, based on 2023 data.

Those six homicides in 2023 mark a murder rate of 4.77 per 100,000 population, putting the growing community behind just two other Canadian spots: Thunder Bay with its seven murders and a rate of 5.39, and Winnipeg with 45 homicides and a murder rate of 5.04.

Meanwhile, B.C.'s largest urban region 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” ranked among highest homicide declines in Canada. It recorded 73 in 2022 and a rate of 2.39 per 100,000, then dropped to 48 and 1.62 per 100,000 in 2023. Victoria CMA, Kelowna CMA and Abbotsford-Mission also recorded lower rates in 2023 compared to 2022.

The 2023 numbers dropped overall both federally and provincially.

"Homicides remain a relatively rare occurrence in Canada, constituting 0.1 per cent of all police-reported violent crimes in 2023," according to the Dec. 11 release on 2023 homicide trends in Canada report.

"Despite their low frequency, homicide rates serve as a key indicator of overall societal violence. When considered alongside other measures like violent crime rates and the Violent Crime Severity Index, homicide rates provide a more comprehensive picture of violence trends in Canada."

Looking at B.C. overall there was a decrease of 23 per cent with a total of 123 homicides down from 155 in 2022, while across Canada the murder rate was 14 per cent lower with 882 murders two years ago compared to 778 last year.

2023 numbers for other B.C. CMAs include:

• Victoria: 2 homicides, 0.46 per 100,00 population
• Kelowna: 5, 2.04
• Abbotsford-Mission 4, 1.88
• Nanaimo 3, 2.40
• Kamloops 4, 3.28

"Gang-related violence remains a contributor to Canada's homicide rate," according to the Stats Canada report. "Despite a decrease in gang-related homicides in 2023 compared with 2022, they still accounted for approximately one-quarter of all homicides in 2023. Specifically, 173 gang-related homicides were committed in 2023, 31 fewer than the previous year, corresponding to a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 population."

Similar to 2022, nearly four in 10 (39%) homicides were committed with a firearm in 2023, the release said.

"Consistent with recent years, handguns were the most common firearm used in these crimes, accounting for 56% of firearm-related homicides in 2023.

"Rifles and shotguns were used in 25 per cent of firearm-related homicides, while the remainder involved unknown types of firearms (e.g., firearms where the exact method used to fire the lethal projectile cannot be identified) or firearm-like weapons (including fully automatic firearms and improvised firearms)."