Ottawa, ON – After the first three Liberal terms of reckless soft-on-crime policies, Canadians are less safe, criminals are less afraid, and our streets are less secure. The latest police-reported crime stats for 2024 confirm what Canadians already know: under the Liberals, crime pays, and Canadians pay the price.
Since 2015, gun crime has skyrocketed 130 percent. Instead of targeting the criminals responsible, Carney is doubling down on the failed Liberal playbook of targeting law-abiding firearm owners. Taxpayers are on the hook for tens of millions to pay for a failed gun grab despite Carney’s Public Safety Minister not knowing basic facts about Canada’s existing firearms regulations.
Failing to tackle the criminals who cause crime is why violent crime has risen by almost 55 percent, with the number of homicides increasing by over 29 percent and sexual assault increasing by almost 76 percent. Despite this rapid rise, the Liberal Minister of Public Safety has refused to commit to repealing the soft-on-crime laws, Bill C-5 and C-75, which have caused it.
Canadians also continue to be victimized by fraud, which has spiked 94 percent since 2014. Extortion alone has surged 330 percent during the Liberals’ time in office. Yet, they refused to protect the ever-growing list of victims and voted against Conservative Bill C-381, which would have increased the penalty for extortionists.
This data confirms what Canadians have been seeing in their day-to-day lives. Since Carney was elected in April, high-profile cases have painted a grim picture of how dangerous Canada has become under the Liberals’ reckless policies.
Last month, we learned of a thirty-year-old who was arrested, cash in hand, after attempting to pay for sex with a fifteen-year-old girl. Despite the clear-cut crime, he was given a conditional discharge with just three months’ house arrest – all because it would delay his citizenship application by four years.
It’s not the only light sentence handed down recently. In May, a BC man who pleaded guilty to both possessing and distributing child pornography will serve his 18-month sentence at home. The judge’s rationale infamously called the convict’s collection of child porn “modest,” despite the 54-year-old having communicated with a 15-year-old.
Meanwhile, the proportion of female victims of domestic violence has been rising, increasing from 32 percent in 2023 to 42 percent last year. Earlier this month, a Kelowna man was charged with the horrifying second-degree murder of his ex-wife, just three hours after being released, while awaiting sentencing for choking another individual and uttering threats.
The chief architect of the Liberals’ soft-on-crime agenda that has unleashed dangerous thugs charged with violent crimes on our streets, David Lametti, is now Carney’s top advisor. The Carney Liberals can never deliver the change that Canadians need to reverse the scales of justice being tipped in favour of criminals.
Only Conservatives will repeal reckless policies that endanger Canadians, deport temporary residents convicted of crimes and restore safety to our streets.