Over the past three years, growing concern has emerged within the Punjabi community regarding incidents of murder, assault, arrests, and other serious crimes involving individuals originating from the Punjab region and living in Canada. These concerns have been amplified by frequent media coverage, viral social-media narratives, and deepening community anxieties about personal safety, public perception, and systemic shortcomings in law enforcement and integration mechanisms. However, a clear understanding of the true scale and nature of the problem requires careful examination of official data, which itself presents notable limitations due to how crime statistics are collected and categorized in Canada.
Canada does not publish crime data based on narrow ethnic or regional identities such as “Punjabi.” Instead, Statistics Canada relies on broader classifications like “South Asian” or “racialized communities.” As a result, there is no authoritative national dataset that provides precise figures on how many Punjabi-origin individuals have been murdered, assaulted, arrested, or charged with crimes—including sexual offences—during the past three years. What can be examined, however, is the broader context through national crime trends, available South Asian data, and documented high-profile cases involving individuals identified as being of Punjabi origin.
Between 2022 and 2025, Canada recorded hundreds of homicides annually, with the number reaching 788 in 2024 alone. Although the overall homicide rate showed a slight decline in 2024 compared to previous years, violent crime continues to pose a serious challenge nationwide. Statistics Canada data indicates that racialized individuals—including South Asians and therefore many Punjabis—constitute a significant proportion of homicide victims. Yet, these figures do not identify victims or accused persons by specific ethnic, religious, or regional background, limiting their usefulness for Punjabi-specific analysis.
Hate crime is one area where ethnicity-related data is more visible. Over the last three years, police-reported hate crimes targeting South Asians have risen sharply across Canada. Incidents motivated by bias related to South Asian ethnicity or religion increased from fewer than 200 cases in 2022 to well over 250 cases in 2023. These offences include physical assaults, threats, vandalism, and harassment, highlighting the increasing vulnerability of visible minority communities, including Punjabis. Nevertheless, these figures capture only reported cases and do not reflect the full scale of violence or intimidation, as many incidents go unreported.
Alongside these trends, several violent incidents involving Punjabi-origin individuals have drawn national and international attention. These include murders of Punjabi students, businesspersons, and community figures in provinces such as British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. Some of these cases have been linked to gang rivalries, extortion networks, or organized crime, while others appear to be isolated acts of violence. Although relatively limited in number, such incidents have had a profound psychological impact on the community and have intensified fears related to safety, trust, and social cohesion.
Arrests and criminal charges involving Punjabi-origin individuals have also featured prominently in media reporting over the past three years. Canadian law-enforcement agencies have dismantled organized networks involved in vehicle theft, drug trafficking, mail theft, fraud, and extortion, with some accused individuals identified as being of Punjabi or Indian origin. In certain cases, dozens or even hundreds of charges were laid against small groups. However, these incidents represent a minute fraction of the overall Punjabi population in Canada and should not be misconstrued as indicative of widespread criminality within the community.
Sexual crimes represent another sensitive and complex area of concern. Canadian crime statistics do not disclose sexual-offence data based on specific ethnic or regional identity due to strict privacy protections. Consequently, there is no reliable public information on how many Punjabi-origin individuals have been arrested for, or victimized by, sexual crimes over the last three years. Claims circulating on social media that suggest disproportionate involvement of Punjabis in such offences lack verified evidence and should therefore be treated with caution and responsibility.
It is essential to place these issues within Canada’s broader demographic context. Census data indicates that nearly 280,000 people of Punjabi ethnic origin live in Canada, making them one of the country’s most established and economically active immigrant communities. The vast majority are law-abiding citizens contributing significantly to education, agriculture, transportation, business, healthcare, and public service. Nevertheless, criminal cases involving a small number of individuals tend to receive disproportionate media attention, often shaping public perception far beyond their actual scale.
In conclusion, while the past three years have witnessed several troubling incidents involving Punjabi-origin individuals as both victims and accused persons, there is no comprehensive or official dataset that quantifies how many Punjabis have been murdered, assaulted, arrested, or charged with crimes in Canada. Available evidence points to rising hate crimes against South Asians, isolated yet serious violent incidents, and limited organized criminal activity involving individuals of Punjabi origin. At the same time, data limitations, privacy laws, and media sensationalism make it imperative to distinguish individual criminal acts from the broader Punjabi community, which remains overwhelmingly peaceful, productive, and deeply rooted in Canadian society.