Crime Statistics in Canada

Canada is generally seen as a safe country and has a low rate of crime compared to many other countries around the globe. Canada consistently ranks among the ten most peaceful countries, while Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary are among the safest cities in the world. However, Canada is not crime-free and there are significant differences between areas.

In this article, we explore the crime statistics of Canada. You will find information on various aspects of crime in Canada, including the number of reported crimes, crime rates, and types of crime.

Crime Statistics for Canadians

• Over two million crimes were reported to the police in 2024 in Canada.
• Canada’s Crime Severity Index was 77.9 in 2024.
• Breaking and entering, theft up to $5,000, and fraud account for around 35% of crimes in Canada.
• Drug-related offences increased by about 13% in 2024.
• In Canada, hate crime incidents reported to the police have increased by 145% since 2019.
• Over 90% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police.
• There were 8 fewer homicides in 2024 compared to 2023.
• Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island have the lowest CSIs in Canada.
• Barrie Region has the lowest CSI among Canadian cities.

Crime in Canada

In 2024, there were about 2.20 million police‑reported crimes in Canada. This was around 25,500 more than in 2023, and this number does not include traffic‑related incidents reported to the police. There were 5,672 incidents per 100,000 residents, which represented a 3.6% decrease from 2023 when the number of incidents had previously increased.

Canada’s Crime Severity Index

The Crime Severity Index (CSI), which is used in Canada to measure the severity and volume of crime reported to the police, was 77.9 in 2024, after increasing for three consecutive years prior. This represents the most recent official figure available from Statistics Canada. 

In 2024, the overall CSI fell by 4% compared with 2023, driven largely by declines in non‑violent crime severity. Non‑violent crime — including property and drug offences — declined by about 6%, while the violent crime severity index was nearly unchanged (slightly down) in the same period. 

Non-Violent Crime in Canada

Crimes included under non‑violent CSI range from drug offenses to property offenses. There were 11% fewer cases of breaking and entering in Canada in 2024, with 121,033 incidents reported to the police. This is 32% fewer than a decade ago. However, it still makes the largest contribution to the overall CSI in Canada at 13% of all crimes reported.

The number of thefts below $5,000 reported to the police also fell in 2024, by 9%. Reported shoplifting incidents of up to $5,000 increased by 14% in 2024. Even with the increase, the shoplifting rate in 2024 was still not directly comparable to a decade ago but has risen significantly over that period.

The rate of robberies reported to the police was essentially unchanged in 2023, with 23,651 incidents and a rate of 59 per 100,000 population; more recent 2024 figures are not yet released in the same format. Overall, the CSI for property crime continued to be influenced by these trends.

Despite the decrease, these crimes, together with fraud, still account for approximately 35% of all reported crimes across Canada. In Northwest Territories and Nunavut, mischief accounts for almost a third of police‑reported offenses.

Drug Offenses

Overall, drug offenses in Canada increased by about 13% in 2024 compared with the previous year. This was after more than a decade of decline, in part due to the legalization of non‑medical cannabis. While this looks positive, the number of opioid‑related offences, including possession, trafficking, importation, exportation, and production, has shown mixed trends in recent years. 

The number of opioid‑related offences was about 3,577 in 2024, which represents a rate of 13 per 100,000 residents. This is down from the peak rate of 16 per 100,000 in 2021.

British Columbia continued to have one of the highest rates of drug offences, with the overall drug crime rate in the province at 251 per 100,000 population in 2024. Among Canadian cities, rates of drug crime were highest in Vancouver (269 per 100,000), followed by Québec (152) and Montréal (116).

However, rates of offences for heroin and ecstasy remain much lower compared with a decade ago and have generally declined. In 2024, the rates of incidents involving cannabis, cocaine, and methamphetamine were approximately 22, 35, and 21 per 100,000 population, respectively.

Fraud

While the total fraud rate reported to the police has remained stable before, during, and after the pandemic (500 incidents per 100,000 in 2024 compared with 498 in 2023 and 437 in 2021), the number of cyber‑related fraud cases has risen fast.

The number of cyber‑fraud incidents increased substantially over the past decade, with close to 48,900 cyber‑related fraud cases reported to the police in 2023 — almost double the number reported in 2019. However, there are likely to be thousands more because only around 11% of fraud victims report the case to the police.

Hate Crimes

There was an increase of 32% in hate crimes reported to the police, with 4,777 reported incidents in 2023. This rate was 145% higher than it was in 2019, showing an alarming rise in hate crime.

Hate crime incidents where people were targeted for religious reasons increased by 67%, with most victims belonging to Jewish, Muslim, and Catholic religions. There were 1,284 religion‑motivated hate crimes in 2023.

Hate crimes related to sexual orientation increased by 69% in 2023. There were 860 hate crimes targeting sexual orientation reported that year.

There was also a 6% rise in hate crimes based on race or ethnicity in 2023. There were 2,128 hate crimes motivated by race or ethnicity in that year.

Sexual Assault in Canada

In 2024, the number of level 1 sexual assaults reported to the police decreased by 3%, and this category still accounts for the vast majority of sexual assault offences in Canada. In total, there were 35,956 police‑reported sexual assaults in 2024, which is 87 incidents per 100,000 residents, which was slightly lower than in previous recent years. Level 1 sexual assaults made up about 97.8% of all police‑reported sexual assaults in 2024. 

There were 35,956 sexual assaults reported to the police in 2024, which represented 87 incidents per 100,000 residents. This was lower than the peak rates seen in earlier years. Police‑reported sexual assaults continue to be highest in some larger urban areas, with local rates exceeding the national average. 

However, the number of sexual assaults on all levels is a lot higher in reality. Despite public discussion about sexual violence and some increases in reporting, most sexual assaults still go unreported in Canada. Surveys indicate that only about 5%–6% of sexual assault incidents are reported to police, meaning the actual number is much higher. 

Homicides in Canada

In 2024, there were 788 homicides in Canada, which was 8 fewer than in 2023. The rate of homicides decreased slightly to 1.91 homicides per 100,000 residents, representing a small decline compared with the previous year.

The rate of homicides among Indigenous people in Canada remains much higher than the national rate. In 2024, there were 225 homicides where the victim was an Indigenous person reported to the police. This represents a rate of 10.84 per 100,000 people. Among non-Indigenous people, the rate was 1.35 per 100,000 people.

Homicides among racialized populations continue to be higher than the national average. In 2024, the rate of homicides among racialized people was approximately 2.5 per 100,000, representing a continued elevated risk.

Firearms were involved in 36% of homicides in Canada in 2024, amounting to 287 firearm-related homicides. Police classified less than 20% of these firearm homicides as gang-related.

Crime in Canada is Seasonal

Looking at the statistics, there is a clear seasonal pattern to crimes reported to the police in Canada. Crime is typically lower between October and March and peaks in July and August.

This is likely because people socialise more during the warmer months, which leads to more opportunities for thefts, assaults, and other types of crimes. It is also likely that crime is more visible during these months.

Crime Across Canada

There were contrasting changes to the CSI across Canada between 2023 and 2024. The CSI increased in three out of ten provinces and in one of the territories (Northwest Territories). The remaining seven provinces and two territories reported decreases in CSI. 

Among the provinces, the Prairie provinces (Manitoba at 141.2 and Saskatchewan at 153.9) have the highest CSIs. All three territories (Northwest Territories at 526.9, Nunavut at 415.2, and Yukon at 209.2) have higher CSIs than any of the provinces. Northwest Territories has the highest overall and non‑violent crime CSIs, and Nunavut has the highest rate of violent crimes. 

While Quebec (+1%) reported a rising CSI, Ontario (-1%) reported a slight decrease in CSI. Both provinces, together with Prince Edward Island (72.6), still have the lowest CSIs in Canada. 

The biggest decreases in CSI were seen in British Columbia (-11%) and Alberta (-9%). There were significantly fewer reported breaking and entering incidents and other non‑violent crimes in both provinces. However, in these provinces too, levels of certain offences such as shoplifting increased.

Crime in Urban and Rural Areas in Canada

The rate of crime in Canada’s urban areas increased by about 9% between 2021 and 2023 and remained higher overall in 2023 than in 2021. In rural areas, reported incidents increased by about 7% between 2021 and 2023 and remained higher overall in 2023 than in 2021.

In rural areas, the rate of violent crime was higher in 2023 than it was in 2021 and was also higher than in 2019. Property crime in rural areas was about 13% higher in 2023 than in urban areas, reflecting overall growth in rural crime rates. In contrast, the rate of property crime in urban areas was about 3,262 incidents per 100,000 population in 2023, compared with about 3,692 per 100,000 in rural areas in 2023.

Cities With the Most and Least Crime in Canada

There are considerable differences among cities in Canada when comparing their CSIs. The places with the highest CSIs are Chilliwack,  BC: Kamloops, BC: Winnipeg, MB: Kelowna, BC: and Nanaimo, BC. CSIs in these cities range from 141.7 in Chilliwack to 95.0 in Abbotsford–Mission (the lowest among the top five listed here).

The lowest rates are in the Barrie Region at 48.1, Sherbrooke QC at 53.9, Ottawa ON at 53.8, Québec QC at 55.3, and Trois‑Rivières QC at 61.2.

Unreported Crime in Canada

There is still a lot of crime in Canada that is never reported to the police. A 2019 survey on victims of crime in Canada indicated that only around 29% of crimes measured in the survey were reported to the police.

The rate is the lowest for sexual assault with only 6% reported to the police and highest for motor vehicle, or parts of the vehicle, thefts at 52%. Furthermore, surveys asking retrospective questions have found that 93% of child abuse cases are not reported to child protective services or the police.

Conclusion

Canada is one of the safest countries in the world and consistently ranks among the ten safest countries in the world. Large Canadian cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary are very safe when compared to cities of similar size.

However, the crime rates vary across Canada and some places have crime rates that are notably above the national average. In addition, a significant number of crimes go unreported in Canada every year.