National Overview

Street gangs were not perceived as a significant threat when they first emerged in larger Canadian cities; however, law enforcement has increasingly become aware of the threat they pose. Historically, street gangs have been concentrated in the larger urban areas such as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, however, they are increasingly present in smaller cities, rural areas and on Aboriginal reserves. The gangs’ organization and capacities range from unstructured and low-level criminal activities — such as assaults, shoplifting and bullying — to more structured gangs with high-level criminality, such as established drug trafficking and prostitution networks. Recently formed joint-forces operations, specifically targeting street gangs, are underway in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

The capacities of street gangs vary across the country but are generally limited in level and scope to unstructured, spontaneous, street-level criminal activities with little or no reinvestment of criminal proceeds. The fluid, transitory nature of street gangs also limits their stability and group cohesiveness. However, a number of gangs are becoming more organized and criminally sophisticated, and could be considered emerging organized crime groups. These groups remain involved in drug trafficking and prostitution and are becoming involved in counterfeit cheque and debit card fraud, primarily in the lower-level activities of stealing personal identification numbers (PINs) and card skimming. It is also known that some gangs are promoting themselves through websites and have members who have specialized computer knowledge which could facilitate criminal activities.

Many gangs support and facilitate the criminal activities of more established organized crime groups, like the outlaw motorcycle gangs or Asian-based organized crime groups by engaging in street-level drug trafficking and debt collection.

Although a number of street gangs often retain strong ethnic identities, multi-ethnic gangs are increasingly common. Some incarcerated gang members are involved in gang recruitment and criminal activities inside federal and provincial correctional institutions, as well as occasionally influencing gang activities outside institutions. A number of gang members are maturing criminally in prison, demonstrating greater awareness of law enforcement tactics upon release. Street gang members are known to attempt to intimidate both police and corrections officials.

Street gangs regularly use violence to control members, protect the gang or its turf and for retribution. Common forms of violence include threats, intimidation, the use of weapons, drive-by shootings and murders. The degree of violence and the number of gang rivalries has increased noticeably in recent years. The often public nature of street gang violence poses a potential risk to the safety of communities.

In British Columbia, a number of street gangs is concentrated in the Lower Mainland area. Street gangs are involved primarily in drug trafficking, particularly marihuana and cocaine. They are also engaged in fraud, home invasions and marihuana cultivation.

Street gangs in the Prairies are numerous and constitute a criminal threat, particularly in trafficking drugs supplied by the OMGs and Asian-based organized crime groups. In Alberta, some gangs remain involved in low-level trafficking of marihuana, crack cocaine, cocaine and methamphetamine. In Saskatchewan, gangs are involved in assaults, vehicle thefts and drug trafficking. In Manitoba, a number of street gangs are trafficking crack cocaine in the Winnipeg area.

In Ontario and Quebec, particularly in the greater Toronto and Montreal areas, the number of street gangs has increased. Some gangs in Northwestern Ontario continue to be influenced in their activities by gangs in Manitoba. Successful operations against OMGs in Quebec and Ontario have enabled street gangs to expand their share of the illicit drug market. It is also known that a few, more structured gangs, have interprovincial prostitution and drug networks. An example includes a large-scale teenager prostitution network, led by a Quebec City-based street gang, that was recently disrupted by Quebec law enforcement.

Although there is little presence of street gangs in the Atlantic provinces, some gangs are known to be operating in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. These gangs are predominately involved in low-level drug trafficking.