The new data indicates that violent crime incidents in Toronto increased by 15% during 2022, which is more than three times the rate of increase observed nationally.

Statistics Canada released both the overall crime severity index and the violent crime severity index for 2022 on Thursday.

The data shows that violent crimes in Toronto, according to the index measure, rose by 15% year-over-year in 2022 compared to a national increase of only four percent.

It had one of the highest jumps in any census metropolitan area, with Winnipeg recording only a 20%, Gatineau 20%, and Saint John 19% larger increases.

Meanwhile, other areas in Ontario such as Windsor and London saw declines of 89% respectively.

The overall crime index for Toronto, which also tracks non-violent crimes, was not much better either, rising by 14%, compared to a 4% national jump.

Toronto Police Association President John Reid said, "These numbers are not a surprise to me or my members; I think the reality here is that everyone in the city feels that crime has risen and now we see it in the numbers, so we must ensure that the public doesn't hear about these issues and become numb to them."

Toronto has witnessed a series of brazen violent crimes in recent months, including a daytime shooting in Leslieville three weeks ago that claimed the life of an innocent bystander.

While it is worth noting that the violent crime severity index in the city is still lower than it was in 2019, largely due to the significant drop in crime seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, Reid expressed concern about this trend and asked Mayor Olivia Chow to hold a meeting.

Reid continued, "Just look at the incidents that occurred over the past few days; we had an officer in 14 Division seriously injured while attempting to stop a stolen vehicle and was nearly crushed between two cars, and we had two officers involved with a gun last night in which one of our police dogs was killed; these are not normal occurrences and cannot and should not be considered normal."

Statistics Canada states that the violent crime index has now reached its highest point since 2007 nationally, although the overall crime index is still lower than it was before the pandemic.

They say that the increase in violent crimes was driven by a 15% jump in robberies and an 8% increase in homicides, and the crime severity index takes into account the volume and severity of crime, according to Statistics Canada.