When looking for a place to call home, everybody wants to live somewhere that offers peace of mind and security. People want to feel safe in their neighbourhoods, knowing that the area is well-maintained and has low crime rates.
Canada is one of the safest countries to live, but what is the safest city in Canada? With over 7,000 cities and towns spanning across 13 territories and provinces, it’s hard to say that one city is just as safe as the next.
To decide which cities are the safest, we need to look at various factors such as population, crime rate, and the predominant types of crime committed. From this, we can assess and compare the safety levels of each city, providing citizens with valuable insight into where to live.
With that, you’ll find the top 10 safest cities in Canada below:
Located in southern Ontario, Barrie is the 10th safest city in Canada. It boasts a 44.9 CSI, or Crime Severity Index. This number indicates the prevalence and seriousness of crimes. The lower the number, the better.
Barrie’s crime rate is 34% lower than the national average, which is hovering around 73.44%. Most crimes in this city comprise of break-and-enter offences.
Ranking 9th on this list is Saguenay, Quebec. The city has a CSI of 43.9—the lowest crime rate among all the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA). This rate is 48% lower than the national average.
In the last year, there were 1,450 cases of property crimes in Saguenay. Property crimes include theft, breaking and entering, fraud, motor vehicle theft, and other property crime violations.
Quebec City, Quebec is one of the safest cities in Canada, despite being one of the largest and most populous. Among the major metropolitan areas in Canada, it has the lowest CSI of 42.1.
Approximately 94.93% of the residents say they feel safe when walking alone during the day, and 86.13% say they feel safe walking alone at night.
Aurora is located in the central York Region, just a short drive from Toronto, and has a crime prevention score of 39.01.
Violent crimes occur at a rate of 514 per 100,000 people in the city, while they occur at twice that rate in other places in Canada. Reports indicate that there were an estimated 1,489 cases of break-ins, theft, and other property crime violations in the area.
Wellington County is located in southwestern Ontario and is part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. It’s one of the safest cities in Canada, enjoying a low CSI of 38.05.
Aside from the low crime rate, Wellington County is also included in the top 25th percentile of all cities with low unemployment and healthy population growth.
With a CSI of 29.81—that’s half of the country’s average—Oak Bay, British Columbia ranks fifth among the safest Canadian cities to live.
Although violent crime rates are low, there were 1,838 cases of property crimes reported in the city in the last year. Property crime rates include break-ins, theft, and other property crime violations.
A suburb of Montreal, Blainville, Quebec boasts of a crime rate that’s 41% lower than the Quebec province and 61% lower than the national average.
But even though Blainville is relatively safe, there were 967 reported cases of break-ins, theft, and other property crime violations in the last year.
Lévis, Quebec holds the number three spot on our list of the safest cities in Canada. It has a CSI of 26.77, registering only 463 violent crimes for every 100,000.
Although violent crime rates are low, there were 902 reported cases involving break-ins, theft, and other property crime violations.
Coming in second place is Burlington. Located in the Greater Toronto Area, it has a CSI score of 22.77—that’s significantly lower than the national index.
Although the crime index is low, it saw a 40.2% increase in break-ins, theft, fraud, mischief, etc. in 2022. There were 3,373 reported cases, which rose to 4,728 the following year.
With an impressively low CSI at 19.15, LaSalle, Ontario is currently the safest city in Canada. That score is 74% lower than the national average!
But there’s still no place completely safe from burglars as the city reported 971 cases of break-ins, theft, and other property crime violations in the last year.
Related article: Canadian Cities Perceived as “Most Dangerous”
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