A woman who was nearly killed by a former partner says recent statistics showing a significant increase in the proportion of women in Canada who were killed by a spouse or intimate partner are not surprising.

Though the homicide rate actually fell, the proportion of fatal attacks on a female partner increased to 42 per cent in 2024 from 32 per cent the year before.

Georgina McGrath, who was living in Labrador when she endured a near-fatal beating, spearheaded a campaign to have a federal bill introduced in the Senate to create a national strategy to combat violence against women.

The dissolution of Parliament earlier this year cancelled the bill, but she hopes to have it back on the Order Paper by Christmas. One of the cornerstones of the act is awareness of the problem.

McGrath says Premier John Hogan is a big supporter of the bill, and has taken steps to educate himself about intimate partner violence, and to ensure that supports are in place for victims and their families.