New Brunswick saw a significant increase in the number of violent crimes involving a firearm in 2022.

Police recorded 300 firearm-related violent crimes, according to Statistics Canada, up from 236 in 2021.

That works out to 40.6 incidents per 100,000 population, a year-over-year increase of 24 per cent, which was the second-highest increase among provinces and territories.

In Moncton alone, the rate of firearm-related violent crimes rose by 46 per cent in 2022, said StatCan.

From a national perspective, there were 36.7 firearm-related violent crimes, an increase of 8.9 per cent.

It marked the highest rate of firearm-related violent crime since comparable data were first compiled in 2009.

Ontario saw the highest increase in 2022, largely driven by an increase in the number of these crimes in Toronto.

British Columbia and Alberta also contributed to the increase in the number of firearm-related violent crimes.

StatCan said the rate of firearm-related violent crime has generally been increasing since 2013, with the increase higher in rural areas.

While the rate has risen for all types of weapons since 2013, the increase was larger for crimes involving handguns than for crimes involving rifles or shotguns or for those involving fully automatic or sawed-off firearms.

But the category “firearm-like weapon or unknown type of firearm” posted the largest increase at 76 per cent.