Canada is mostly a safe country unless you go to “really bad” places. And not just remote small towns have high crime rates: there is even one capital of a province among the top 20 most dangerous cities.
According to Maclean’s’ analysis of the Statistics Canada data on all police-reported crime in 229 locations in Canada, the most dangerous city in the country is North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
The town’s Crime Severity Index (CSI) is 353 while the average index across Canada stands at 71. North Battleford has a population of around 14,500, but is reputed to be “the crime capital of Canada”. The most common types of crime here are youth crime, firearms offenses, breaking and entering, and impaired driving.
Next comes Thompson, Manitoba (CSI: 284). With an even smaller population than North Battleford (less than 14,000), it tops the charts for homicide, violent crime, assault, cannabis and cocaine trafficking.
The third in line is Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (CSI: 244). This city with a population of 36,000 ranks high in violent crime, breaking and entering, as well as in robbery.
Williams Lake in British Columbia (CSI: 222) and Red Deer in Alberta (CSI: 207) are listed as the fourth and the fifth most dangerous cities correspondingly.
Regina, Saskatchewan is the most dangerous city among capitals of Canadian provinces — it ranks 20th in all crime categories.
Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, accounts for more robberies than anywhere else in Canada. Port Hope, Ontario ranks at the top of the list for fraud-related crimes. And Yorkton, Saskatchewan tops the charts for sexual assault and drug trafficking (other than cannabis and cocaine trafficking).
Vancouver is the 35th most dangerous city in the country, but other large cities in Canada are rather safe: Calgary is 93rd, Montreal is 97th, Toronto is 124th, and Ottawa is 144th.
And here is the list of the safest places in Canada (CSI under 25):
- Kennebecasis Region, New Brunswick
- Northumberland (Hamilton), Ontario
- Peterborough County (Selwyn), Ontario
- Essex, Ontario
- North Saanich, British Columbia
- Essex County (Lakeshore), Ontario
- Halton Region (Oakville/Burlington), Ontario
- LaSalle, Ontario
- Wellington County, Ontario