Manitoba has the highest rate of youth homicide in Canada, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

In Manitoba, 18 youths were accused of homicide in 2006, giving the province the highest rate of youth homicide in the country — 17.6 per 100,000 — more than double that of the next highest province, Alberta, and double the rate in Manitoba in 2005.

In both Manitoba and Alberta, youths accounted for about one in four persons accused of homicide.

"Why is Manitoba double everybody else? We have a huge gang problem here," said Bernice Getty, director of Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad, an organization that runs a safe house and programs for children in the city's troubled North End neighbourhood.

Although Winnipeg has a much smaller population, its gang problems are similar in size to Toronto's, Getty said, and that gang involvement leads to killing.

Youth, particularly aboriginal youth, are led to gangs because they have few activities and few supports, Getty said.

Similar issues are in play for children of recent immigrants and refugees, she added.

"They're given very few supports," she said. "Kids are left to fend for themselves in communities they're not familiar with when they're coming from extremely violent countries."

The parents of some children are also in gangs, she said, and sometimes parents appear not to mind if their children are involved in gang activities.

"We had a mom who was sitting there, you know, whose 11-year-old is running drugs and she didn't really care that he was doing that because he was bringing home money," she said.  "That's a crime of poverty.

"It starts with stuff like that, and at some point it turns into double murder at [age] 16," she said.

Nationally, the rate of young people accused of homicide was at its highest since data were first collected in 1961, Statistics Canada said.

3 murders per 100,000 in Manitoba

Homicide rates among all ages was highest in Western Canada.

Saskatchewan, followed by Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. reported the highest rates among the provinces.

Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick recorded the lowest rates among the provinces.

With 39 homicides reported in 2006, Manitoba's murder rate was 3.31 per 100,000 people — about the same as the average for the previous 10-year period.

For the second year in a row, Winnipeg was not the homicide capital of Canada. 

Edmonton reported the highest rate among cities with populations over 500,000, with a rate of 3.58 per 100,000. 

Winnipeg came in second, with a rate of 3.03.

Homicide rate down 10% nationally

Nationally, the homicide rate dropped 10 per cent last year, while the number of killings committed with firearms fell for the first time in four years.

Canada's police services reported 605 homicides in 2006, putting the national homicide rate at 1.85 per 100,000 people. On the international front, the rate puts Canada between Finland and Scotland.

Some 190 of the killings were committed with firearms, more than half of those with handguns.

Most homicide victims — 83 per cent — were killed by someone they knew.

About one-third were killed by an acquaintance, 17 per cent by a spouse, 19 per cent by another family member and 12 per cent by someone known through criminal activities. 

Strangers accounted for the remaining 17 per cent.