Compare Crime Rates in Canadian Cities: CSI Data Guide

Canada measures crime mainly with the Crime Severity Index (CSI), published by Statistics Canada. Unlike a raw count of offences, the CSI combines how many police-reported crimes occur with how serious each one is. The national CSI fell 4% to 77.9 in 2024 and stood at 75.0 in the 2025 data. Comparing cities therefore means comparing index values for the same year, not raw incident counts.

How crime is measured in Canada

What the CSI counts

• Volume and severity: each police-reported offence contributes to the index, so frequency and seriousness both affect the score.
• Weights from court sentences: each offence is weighted using sentences handed down by Canadian courts, so more serious offences carry more weight.
• Base year 2006 = 100: a value above 100 means crime is higher than in 2006, and a value below 100 means it is lower.

Statistics Canada also publishes a Violent CSI and a Non-violent CSI, which show whether a total score is driven by one category. In 2024 they were 99.9 and 69.8 respectively, according to Statistics Canada (22 July 2025).

Reference figures for a comparison

Offence-level trends are reported separately. In 2024, the national rate of motor vehicle theft fell 17% and the rate of breaking and entering fell 11%, while the rate of shoplifting of $5,000 or under rose 14%, according to Statistics Canada (22 July 2025).

Steps for a fair city comparison

1. Match the year. Use the same reference year for every location. Figures from 2024 and 2025 are not interchangeable.
2. Match the geography. The CSI is published for census metropolitan areas (CMAs), provinces and territories. Territories recorded the highest 2024 values: Northwest Territories 526.9, Nunavut 415.2 and Yukon 209.2. Compare them with other territories rather than with large CMAs.
3. Check the violent and non-violent split when the total score hides a difference in pattern between two places.
4. Benchmark against the national figure. For 2025, the national value of 75.0 gives a reference point for any CMA, province or territory.

The Crime Severity Index in brief

The Crime Severity Index (CSI) is the main measure Statistics Canada uses to compare crime levels across the country. It reflects both the volume of police-reported crime and its severity, because each offence is weighted using sentences handed down by Canadian courts. The base year is 2006 = 100, so values are read relative to that year. In 2024, the national CSI fell 4% to 77.9, the first decline in four years, according to Statistics Canada (2025-07-22). In the 2025 data, the national CSI was 75.0, according to Statistics Canada, The Daily (2026-07-22).

The 2024 index breaks down into two components: the Violent CSI was 99.9 and the Non-violent CSI was 69.8 (Statistics Canada, 2025-07-22). The same release reported that motor vehicle theft fell 17% and breaking and entering fell 11%, while shoplifting of $5,000 or under rose 14%.

For city comparisons, the 2025 CSI values for major census metropolitan areas (CMAs) were:

Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily (2026-07-22).

Across all CMAs in 2025, the highest values were Chilliwack (134.3), Kamloops (126.2) and Red Deer (114.4). The lowest were Barrie (46.9), Saguenay (49.3) and Sherbrooke (50.3). Territories sit far above the provincial range: in 2024, the highest values were in the Northwest Territories (526.9), Nunavut (415.2) and Yukon (209.2).

Which Canadian cities have the lowest crime severity index?

In the 2025 data, Barrie had the lowest Crime Severity Index (CSI) among Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMAs), at 46.9, according to Statistics Canada (The Daily, 2026). Saguenay (49.3) and Sherbrooke (50.3) followed. The national CSI for 2025 was 75.0, so all three sat well below the national figure.

The CSI weights each offence by the sentences Canadian courts hand down, so a serious offence raises the index more than a minor one. The base year is 2006 = 100. A lower value means lower crime severity relative to the national baseline, not lower overall risk.

For large metropolitan areas, the 2025 values were:

Among these, Ottawa had the lowest index. Winnipeg had the highest, at 113.4. At the other end of the national range, Chilliwack (134.3), Kamloops (126.2) and Red Deer (114.4) recorded the highest CMA values.

To compare cities on this basis:

• Use the same year. The 2025 figures come from a different release than the 2024 figures, and mixing years distorts the ranking.
• Compare CMA with CMA. The CSI is published per CMA, so a city proper figure cannot be read against a metro figure.
• Use the index for rank order and distance from the national value, not as a direct measure of how safe a neighbourhood feels.

Which Canadian cities have the highest index?

The highest 2025 Crime Severity Index (CSI) values among census metropolitan areas (CMAs) were in Chilliwack (134.3), Kamloops (126.2) and Red Deer (114.4), according to Statistics Canada, The Daily (July 2026). The national CSI for 2025 was 75.0. The lowest values were in Barrie (46.9), Saguenay (49.3) and Sherbrooke (50.3). The index uses 2006 = 100 as its base, so a value above 100 means severity is higher than in 2006. It does not count incidents.

The table below compares the nine major CMAs in the same publication, sorted from highest to lowest.

To compare cities correctly, follow these steps:

• Match the unit of analysis. CMA values, such as those above, describe metropolitan areas. Province and territory values describe much larger areas, so they cannot rank cities.
• Check the year. Use the same publication year for every city. Compare the 2025 CMA figures with each other, not with 2024 figures.
• Benchmark against the national figure. For 2025, the national CSI of 75.0 is the reference point for judging whether a CMA sits above or below average.
• Look at the violent and non-violent components separately. For 2024, the national Violent CSI was 99.9 and the Non-violent CSI was 69.8. A city can rank differently on each measure, so a single composite number can hide the mix of offence types.
• Read the index in its local context. Statistics Canada notes that the CSI reflects police-reported crime and is weighted by court sentences. It should be interpreted alongside local conditions.

Major metros: Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary

According to Statistics Canada (The Daily, July 2026), the national Crime Severity Index (CSI) was 75.0 in 2025. Measured against that benchmark, three of the four major census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in this group sit below the national figure, while Vancouver sits above it.

Toronto, Montréal and Calgary fall within a narrow band of 55.0 to 61.7. Toronto shares its 55.0 value with Québec, which is also a major CMA. Vancouver’s 83.5 is the highest of the four and the only one above the national average.

The CSI weights each offence using sentences handed down by Canadian courts, and it reflects both the volume and the severity of police-reported crime. Values are indexed to 2006 = 100, so the same index can be compared across years.

Statistics Canada states that the CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be read in its community context. The gaps above describe police-reported crime in each CMA. They do not rank the cities on overall livability.

The limits of comparisons between cities

Ranking Canadian cities by crime is only meaningful if the measure is understood. The main reference is the Crime Severity Index (CSI), which measures both the volume and the severity of police-reported crime. Each offence is weighted using sentences handed down by Canadian courts, and the index uses 2006 as its base year, set at 100. A city’s score is therefore a weighted index relative to that base, not a count of incidents. Two cities with similar scores can have very different mixes of offences. Statistics Canada states that the CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be read within each community’s context (Statistics Canada, 2025-07-22).

Several factors limit direct comparison:

• Geography differs. The 2025 city values use census metropolitan areas (CMAs). The highest 2024 values are reported by province or territory. The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon are not CMAs, so their figures cannot be placed on the same scale as city values.
• Years differ. The national CSI is reported as 77.9 for 2024 and 75.0 for 2025. Setting a city’s 2025 value against a provincial 2024 value produces a misleading comparison.
• Index type differs. For 2024, the violent CSI (99.9) and the non-violent CSI (69.8) show two different patterns beneath the overall figure. Check which index a source reports before comparing.
• Totals hide categories. Nationally in 2024, the rate of motor vehicle theft fell 17% and the rate of breaking and entering fell 11%, while the rate of shoplifting of $5,000 or under rose 14%. A city whose overall index falls can still record a rise in a specific offence.

The 2025 ranking shows a wide spread between Chilliwack (134.3) and Barrie (46.9), but a single-year score does not show how a city’s crime changed over time or which offences drive its result. Comparisons are more reliable when they use the same year, the same geography and the same index for every city.

Using the CSI as a first filter before checking prices and services

A safety score is most useful when it is compared with cost and service data for the same place. The Crime Severity Index (CSI) gives one value per area, but it says nothing about housing costs, schools, health services or transit. A practical comparison runs in three passes: filter the shortlist by crime severity, check prices for the remaining places, then test the daily services that determine whether a move will work.

Step 1: Use the CSI as a relative filter. The CSI measures both the volume and the severity of police-reported crime. Each offence is weighted using sentences handed down by Canadian courts, with 2006 = 100 as the base year. The national CSI fell from 77.9 in 2024 to 75.0 in 2025 (Statistics Canada, 2025-07-22; Statistics Canada, The Daily, 2026-07-22). Compare candidates with the national value and with each other, using the same year and the same CMA definition.

Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily (2026-07-22).

Step 2: Check prices for the same shortlist. Price data should use the same geographic unit as the crime data. A CMA-level CSI should not be set against a single street’s listings. The sources used for this section do not include housing price series for these CMAs, so record prices separately, noting the publisher and date for each figure.

Step 3: Test services and transit. Schools, clinics, grocery access and transit frequency decide whether a low-CSI area fits a household’s routine. Score each candidate only on the services used weekly, and treat any missing service as a disqualifier.

Frequently asked questions

Does a lower Crime Severity Index mean a city is safer?

Not necessarily. Statistics Canada states that the Crime Severity Index is not a measure of overall safety and should be read alongside the community context of each place. A lower score shows a lower weighted level of police-reported crime for that year, nothing more.

Which census metropolitan areas had the lowest CSI in 2025?

Barrie (46.9), Saguenay (49.3) and Sherbrooke (50.3) recorded the lowest values among all census metropolitan areas (CMAs), according to Statistics Canada, The Daily (22 July 2026). Among the largest CMAs, Ottawa (50.6) and Toronto (55.0) were the lowest, while Winnipeg (113.4) had the highest value.

Why are the territories’ CSI values so much higher than the provinces’?

The official sources consulted do not specify the causes behind the gap. In 2024, Statistics Canada (22 July 2025) reported the highest values in the Northwest Territories (526.9), Nunavut (415.2) and Yukon (209.2). These are per-population rates of weighted crime, so the figures should be compared only with other territories or with the same reference year.

Related reading

• Compare Population Growth in Canadian Cities (2024–25 Data)
• How to Compare Average Home Prices Across Canadian Cities
• Calgary vs Edmonton Cost of Living: Which City Is Cheaper?