Residents of Thunder Bay are learning that officers have investigated eight homicides so far in 2026, but none of them were random, the service's deputy chief noted.
"These are isolated incidents, and they're incidents in which the parties involved are known to each other or have an interaction that deteriorates," Jeremy Pearson advised in an interview on CBC Thunder Bay'sSuperior Morning. "At this point in time, we're not seeing random violence resulting in death, and we're not seeing a connection between incidents that would suggest a trend in the homicides themselves." Still, the number of homicides reported so far this year ishigher than the total number of 2025; Pearson indicated the number "is not inconsistent with some of our more-active years in recent history." "Obviously I would never tell the area that eight homicides at this point in the year is not something to be concerned about," he shared. "Any homicide is a concern for the region and the authorities service, but it is not an unprecedented pace for our service." When it comes to overall crime trends in the community so far this year, Pearson remarked it's too early to draw any conclusions.
"When we talk about your crime severity index, we have to look at all the factors of causality," he stated. "Are we simply seeing more reporting because we've made online reporting available, because we've tried to remove some barriers and streamline our reporting process?" "We're going to have to do some analysis to determine if that's an surge in reporting, or an actual trending line." the Lakehead Mayor Ken Boshcoff advised he'd like to see more resources directed to policing communities like the regional capital. "It's a lot to ask for a neighborhood authorities force. We do have the support of the RCMP and the OPP, but the crime stats all weigh on the municipality." Boshcoff confirmed an expansion in staffing for the OPP and RCMP would help take pressure off municipality officers, and area taxpayers.
"Much of the crime is not necessarily in the regional capital, but this is where criminals go to hide and all that kind of thing," he declared.
"Much of the crime is not necessarily in the regional capital, but this is where criminals go to hide and all that kind of thing," he declared. "And you have port lands and border areas that not many other cities have, that mix of potential issues that need both protection, enforcement." Pearson indicated he'd also like to see financing reflect the city's call volume, but there's more to it than that. "I also think that if we're looking holistically at the area safety, we have to look at the vulnerabilities that lead people to become victims or perpetrators of crime," he noted. "We have to look at what is our social safety net, what supports do we have for people who are looking to leave an at-risk lifestyle, what supports we have for all of those social determinants of health that help to make for a safer the public overall in the long term." "There are, quite frankly, people that need to be arrested, and we need to be actively engaging energetically in enforcing the law. But if we're talking about responsibility across the province, across the nation, throughout the public, we also have to be working at the root causes, at the upstream of social determinants of health." "And I think it's only when you look at a holistic picture that you truly, truly get to the end goal, which is a safer the region." Kris Ketonen is a reporter with CBC Thunder Bay. Send story ideas to kris.ketonen@cbc.ca. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered onCBC Gem..
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📍 Source: CBC News Thunder Bay · By: CBC News Staff · 🗓️ August 11, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
