When people around the world think of Canada, they generally think of a safe country to live in, but that does not mean that it is always safe and there are no crimes.
Even with all the stay at home orders in 2020, there were still plenty of crimes. While a Statistics Canada report found that the Crime Severity Index (CSI) reported a decreased of 8% from 79.8% in 2019 to 73.4% in 2020, there were still 743 homicides nationally, which is 56 more than the year before.
The Crime Severity Index monitors the severity levels of reported crimes in Canada each year. It measures crimes in each jurisdiction, and breaks down the intensity of crimes and criminal trends over the last 5 years to pinpoint exactly where the most crimes are happening.
These reported statistics can help uncover where the most dangerous places in Canada are.
Which are the Most Dangerous Cities In Canada?
Canada’s most dangerous cities are found mostly in the Prairies. The most violent city in Canada is Thompson, Manitoba, which is around 650 kilometers north of Winnipeg.
At first glace this small northern community in Manitoba’s coldest regions, with a population of less than 15,000 residents, seems like an idyllic city. Looking further, Thompson continues to be the worst crime city in Canada for the past 4 years.
Thompson, Manitoba received a 570 score on the Violent Crime Severity Index, while the average score in Canada is 82.44, having gone up 111.08% over the last 5 years.
While Thompson, Manitoba wins the prize for being the most violent city in Canada, there is another city that has a higher score when measuring the most crime in Canada.
Which City Has the Highest Crime Rate in Canada?
While Thompson, Manitoba is be the most violent city in Canada by some measures, there is another city that beats its score on the Crime Severity Index. According to a 2020 Maclean’s article, the highest crime rate in Canada actually goes to North Battleford, Saskatchewan with a CSI of 385 over Thompson’s score of 366.
While both cities are struggling with criminal activity and have an increased CSI of almost 5 times the national average of 75.01, neither are considered safe. North Battleford has incredible high rates of breaking and entering, assaults, fraud, and cases involving other controlled substances, both trafficking or production.
Unfortunately, Thompson, Manitoba continues to score far above the national average in many other areas as well, including:
- The rate of homicide in Thompson is 21.21, far above the national average of 1.76.
- An increased rate of sexual assaults totalling 339,32 over 75.89 being the average.
- A score of 35.35 over the national rate of 7.58 when it comes to total firearm offenses.
- Impaired driving incidents in Thompson scored a rate of 1095.72 over the average of 190.49.
- A rate of 650.36 over Canada’s average of 20.03 in cocaine trafficking or production.
- The average national score for youth criminal justice act offenses is 13.01, whereas in Thompson, it is a staggering 445.36.
Is Canada a Safe Country?
Even though Thompson, Manitoba is one of Canada’s most dangerous cities, that is not a reflection of the whole country. The locality of the highest crime rate in Canada is still a concern, but it should not be cause for worry elsewhere in the country.
Canada as a whole is one of the safest countries in the world to live in. According to one study done by Vision of Humanity Canada was found to be one of the top 10 most peaceful countries. This shows that even though we have looked at some of the most dangerous places in Canada, the overall levels of crime are low, and the peacefulness of the country is high.
In fact, according to a recent University Magazine article, the city that has the least amount of crime in Canada in Quebec City in Quebec. It has a safety index of 85.42 with a crime index of 14.58, which is more what newcomers and tourists will find to be the norm in most of Canada’s beautiful cities.
While Canada has their fair share of crime, the peacefulness and safety that citizens have is something that all Canadians can be proud of.