Canada's anti-American reflex

[TomOfBoston]

Another area where Canada and the U.S. are becoming more similar is urban crime.

 

First of all, I am American born of Newfoundland born parents. I attended university and grad school at McGill in the 70's but have lived in the U.S. since. So I am somewhat bi-national.

 

I read on line about street gangs in Montreal and Toronto, a gang shootout in downtown Toronto that killed an innocent bystander, drive by shootings, race riots in Montreal North etc. etc. In the 70's, Canadian cities were models of law and order, no more.

 

I know that the crime rates in Montreal and Toronto are still very, very low compared to big American cities but they are moving in a disturbing direction.

 

Also, Montrealers should be the last to look down their noses at Columbine style school shootings: Ecole Polytechnique, Concordia, Dawson!

[MTLskyline]

^Actually in the 1970s, Montreal used to get well over 100 murders a year. Today we get around 30.

[TomOfBoston]

^Actually in the 1970s, Montreal used to get well over 100 murders a year. Today we get around 30.

 

100 murders per year in the 70's?? Do you have a source for that figure? Back then there was a lot of "reglement de comptes" among organized crime groups but not much random violence.

[Malek]

Back then there was a lot of "reglement de comptes" among organized crime groups but not much random violence.

 

its very similar today.

[OursNoir]

100 murders per year in the 70's?? Do you have a source for that figure? Back then there was a lot of "reglement de comptes" among organized crime groups but not much random violence.

 

http://www2.lactualite.com/pierre-cayouette/2008-08-19/montreal-ville-%C2%ABsecuritaire%C2%BB/

[MTLskyline]

100 murders per year in the 70's?? Do you have a source for that figure? Back then there was a lot of "reglement de comptes" among organized crime groups but not much random violence.

 

Yeah even 16 years ago, Greater Montreal was the murder capital of Canada with 105 (26 more than the larger Greater Toronto). It had more per capita than

 

http://homepage.usask.ca/~sta575/cdn-firearms/Stats/crime.can.1994.html

 

Now Montreal (aside from Quebec City) is just about the safest big city in Canada. Our rate used to be between 3 and 4 murders per 100,000 people, now its between 1 and 1.5.

[Malek]

beginning of the 90s was in the middle of the gang wars!!!

[TomOfBoston]

I stand corrected!

 

I guess time and distance makes the past seem rosier. Still, in the 70's I never felt any sense of apprehension walking in the city or taking the metro late at night. From what I read in The Montreal Gazette and Cyberpresse on line, I get the impression that things have deteriorated since that time.

[Malek]

Its called sensationlism, and our medias have caught up on how the press is written in the US... sadly.

 

Montreal is a very safe city, random crime is not an issue.

[Alexcaban]

Is there a list of the number of murders per year in montreal dating back a while like from the 1980's to 2008