Canada’s most dangerous cities: 2010
The West claimed the worst top 10 slots, as it did 10 years ago, when seven B.C. cities and three in Saskatchewan came in worst. Ontario and Quebec dominate the good list.
WORST CITIES | PERCENTAGE ABOVE THE NATIONAL CRIME SCORE |
Prince George, B.C. | +90% |
Victoria, B.C. | 81 |
Regina, Sask. | 73 |
Saskatoon, Sask. | 69 |
Fort McMurray, Alta. | 68 |
Kelowna, B.C. | 65 |
Grande Prairie, Alta. | 64 |
Surrey, B.C. | 60 |
Chilliwack, B.C. | 58 |
Winnipeg, Man. | 57 |
BEST CITIES | PERCENTAGE BELOW THE NATIONAL CRIME SCORE |
Caledon, Ont. | -70% |
Wellington County, Ont. | 58 |
Halton Region, Ont. | 58 |
Lévis, Que. | 51 |
Nottawasaga, Ont. | 50 |
York Region, Ont. | 49 |
Richelieu Saint-Laurent, Que. | 48 |
South Simcoe, Ont. | 44 |
Vaudreuil-Soulange MRC, Que. | 44 |
Blainville, Que. | 42 |
Sources: 2009 and 1999 Crime Severity Index data from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Maclean’s
See where your city ranks
Overall by rank | Sexual assault | Auto theft |
Robbery | Breaking & Entering | Homicide |
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METHODOLOGY: Maclean’s obtained annual crime data from Statistics Canada for municipal police services serving the nation’s 100 largest populations, each encompassing a city or town of at least 10,000 people. Using 2009 rates per 100,000 people for six crimes—homicide, sexual assault, aggravated assault, vehicle theft, robbery plus breaking and entering—in each area, Maclean’s calculated the percentage difference from the national rate. The overall crime score ranking for the 100 communities was created in consultation with StatsCan, using its Crime Severity Index (CSI) score and calculating the percentage difference from the national CSI score.