What are the safest cities in Canada?
The Crime Severity Index CSI available with Statistics Canada is an enhanced measure of crime levels, taking into account not only the occurrence number of incidents but also the severity of crime compared with the crime rates. New immigrants to Canada can employ the CSI to select their place to live. Still, they should also factor in other factors such as safety, economy, and housing to better evaluate an area as safe.
Canada’s Safest Cities: Crime Severity Index (CSI) Average for the Years 2019 to 2023
Based on data from 2019 to 2023, the following cities in Canada have consistently ranked among the safest in terms of reported crime, as reflected by their overall CSI scores:
- Quebec City, QC: CSI Score – 45.73
- Barrie, ON: CSI Score – 47.71
- Toronto, ON: CSI Score – 51.54
- Ottawa-Gatineau (All Parts): CSI Score – 55.59
- Hamilton, ON: CSI Score – 57.74
- St. Catharines-Niagara, ON: CSI Score – 58.94
- Montréal, QC: CSI Score – 59.98
- Halifax, NS: CSI Score – 66.92
- Kingston, ON: CSI Score – 70.92
- St. John’s, NL: CSI Score – 72.92
- London, ON: CSI Score – 73.71
- Victoria, BC: CSI Score – 75.40
- Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, ON: CSI Score – 75.94
- Brantford, ON: CSI Score – 77.09
- Calgary, AB: CSI Score – 79.79
- Vancouver, BC: CSI Score – 90.74
- Edmonton, AB: CSI Score – 105.16
- Regina, SK: CSI Score – 113.18
- Saskatoon, SK: CSI Score – 114.85
- Kelowna, BC: CSI Score – 120.51
- Winnipeg, MB: CSI Score – 125.82
Provinces/Territories Not Measured by CSI in CMAs
For provinces and territories where Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) were not specifically measured under the CSI, the following scores are available:
- Prince Edward Island: CSI Score – 62. 59
- New Brunswick: CSI Score -84. 94
- Yukon: CSI Score – 215. 87
- Nunavut: The CSI score has come down to 390. 66
- Northwest Territories: CSI Score – 427. 88
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Understanding the Crime Severity Index (CSI)
The Crime Severity Index (CSI) is assessed every year to measure the levels of crime severity in Canada. It provides point scores to various crimes by the degree of seriousness of the offense and in proportion to the number of months of the actual jail terms given by the courts of different provinces and territories. The seriousness of a crime attracts higher weightage, thus affecting the index more than the less serious crime having less weight.
Breakdown of the CSI
The CSI is divided into two key components:
- Violent Crime Severity Index: This encompasses all violent crimes recorded in the incident-based UCR2 survey, including threats, stalking, and kidnapping.
- Non-Violent Crime Severity Index: This involves misdemeanors that are a violation of the Criminal Code but does not include violent offenses such as traffic offenses, violations of drug laws, and violations of other federal laws.
Note: The CSI primarily concentrates on offenses taking place in the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) of Canada. A CMA thereby consists of one or more municipalities that serve a core population point. Specifically, population and density criteria are such that the total population of the area must be at least 100,000, with at least 50,000 in the core CMA.
Therefore, it is necessary to admit that crime rates are manifold, and it is necessary to use the CSI to define which cities are the safest in the country. The CSI results show that some of the safest cities in Canada are, for instance, Quebec City and Toronto, but there are other aspects of safety as well. In building an environment for safety, it is crucial to involve the community and seek economic stability as well as the provision of social services. For those who are going to move or just want to know whether Canadian cities are safe or not, CSI is useful, but it is necessary to bear in mind that this value is insufficient to define the state of safety of a definite city.
