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New numbers from Calgary police show cases of domestic violence rose last year, and have been trending up for the last several years.
The 2025 Crime Report shows domestic violence incidents rose seven per cent in 2025 compared to the year prior, and were up 22 per cent compared to the five-year average.
That translates to 6,415 cases last year, compared to 5,997 in 2024.
Cases that involved assault with a weapon were up 33 per cent in 2025 compared to the five-year average, according to the report.
Police are also seeing an increase in domestic incidents that do not meet the criminal threshold, such as when an individual might ask call police to be on standby while they pick up their belongings, said Chief Katie McLellan.
Part of the increase could be that more people are reporting incidents and Calgary’s population is growing, McLellan said.
But she said there could be other factors at play, like economic stressors.
‘Tip of the iceberg’
The stats aren’t surprising to the head of the Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society.
CEO Andrea Silverstone says economic and societal unrest have risen since the pandemic, and organizations have seen domestic violence rise accordingly.
And she says the real numbers are likely even higher.
“We know that police-reported statistics are only the tip of the iceberg,” said Silverstone.
On Wednesday, Silverstone testified before the federal justice committee on Bill C-16, the Protecting Victims Act. She spoke in favour of the part of the proposed legislation that would criminalize coercive control.
“Someone who is experiencing coercive control is not able to make decisions that are in their own best interest, because of … fear of repercussions from their abuser,” she said.
Silverstone said coercive control is the most prevalent type of abuse her organization encounters, and if it does become a criminal offence, she expects police crime stats to increase even further.
Calgary police said they are also in favour of criminalizing coercive control.