Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest percentage increase in the rate of homicide in 2021 over the previous year, but a criminologist at Memorial University says that was mainly because the number was very low to begin with.

Statistics Canada figures show eight murders in the province—most of them in the St. John’s region—that year, a 100 percent increase over 2020.

Adrienne Peters, a criminologist and faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Memorial University, who just returned from an International Criminology Conference in Atlanta, says this province remains a very safe place in which to live. Nevertheless, she says the homicide rate should be something that people, our governments, and the community keep an eye on.

She says there are probably many contributing factors such as the lockdown, the pandemic, mental health, and addiction.