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New data from Statistics Canada has found that more Canadian youth are being charged for crimes, surpassing numbers from the past four years.
From April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, 56,956 Canadian youth between the ages of 12 and 17 at the time of their offences were charged with a crime. Nearly 13,000 of those were crimes “against property,” which Statistics Canada confirmed to Global News can range from motor vehicle theft, theft, break and enter, fraud, mischief and possess stolen property, among others.
Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), youth sentencing can range from a judicial warning, a fine, community service and probation to intensive rehabilitative custody.
Nearly 10,000 male youths were charged with a crime against property during this time, compared with 2,301 female youths.
A July 2022 Statistics Canada study states that male youths (30 per cent) were “slightly more likely than girls (26 per cent) to report that they had committed acts against property.”
In addition, 22,042 youths were charged with crimes “against the person,” which include violent offences like criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death. Of those, 15,531 were male youths, while 5,002 were female youths.
More than 1,000 traffic charges were laid in the same time period, with 6,684 charges laid in “other Criminal Code” offences, which can vary from violations to the Customs Act, Employment Insurance Act, Firearms Act, Food and Drugs Act, Income Tax Act and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
The 2019-2020 year was the highest recorded year for total youth offences at 74,551. In total, 18,024 of those were crimes against property, the second highest offence type.
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Since then, crimes against property have not exceeded that number, dipping as low as 7,227 in 2022-2023.
Between 2009 and 2019, the rate of youth accused of crime fell 51 per cent and the youth crime severity index (YCSI) — which measures both the volume and severity of crime involving youth accused (charged and not charged) — fell 43 per cent.
A 15-year-old male youth and a 19-year-old man are currently facing dozens of charges in connection to a shooting outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto late last month, with the city’s police Chief Myron Demkiw alleging the two suspects were criminals for hire.
Statistics Canada July 2026 figures state that while violent crime in Canada lowered last year for a second year in a row, Quebec saw a notable rise amongst youth.
The youth crime severity index in Quebec has been trending upward since 2015, according to Statistics Canada, with an increase of about 71 per cent over the past 10 years.
In addition, data from the Calgary Police Service and Statistics Canada show that youth crime has shifted away from property crimes and toward more violent offences.
While incidents of property crime decreased from 1,151 incidents in 2014 to 674 incidents in 2024, the number of violent crimes committed by youth nearly doubled from 685 offences in 2014 to 1,218 in 2024.
While robberies committed by youth decreased by six per cent and property crime declined by 15 percent, police said in approximately half of all youth crimes, the young offenders were also repeat offenders.
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