Crime in Canada is generally considered low overall.[2] Under the Canadian constitution, the power to establish criminal law & rules of investigation is vested in the federal Parliament. The provinces share responsibility for law enforcement (although provincial policing in many jurisdictions is contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police), and while the power to prosecute criminal offences is assigned to the federal government, responsibility for prosecutions is delegated to the provinces for most types of criminal offences. Laws and sentencing guidelines are uniform throughout the country, but provinces vary in their level of enforcement.[3]
According to Statistics Canada, overall crime in Canada had been steadily declining since the late 1990s as measured by the Crime Severity Index (CSI) and the Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI), with a more recent uptick since an all-time low in 2014.[4] Both measures of crime saw an 8% to 10% decrease between 2010 and 2018.[4] Violent crime, specifically homicide, has declined in Canada by over 40% since its peak in 1975, placing Canada 95th in the world by homicide rate—far worse than Australia, England, France and Ireland, and relatively close to poorer European countries. It is tied for first in the Americas with Chile (homicide rates are 2.7 times lower than in the United States).
More current crimes that are increasing include drug-related offences, fraud, sexual assault and theft, with fraud increasing 46% between 2008 and 2018.[5] The Crime Severity Index (CSI) in Canada rose by 2% in 2023, marking the third consecutive year of increase and the continuation of a trend that began in 2015.[6] The overall increase was significantly influenced by a rise in reported fraud, which was still identified as a major factor, extortion and child pornography cases, which soared by 52% in 2023.[6] According to the Institute for Economics & PeaceGlobal Peace Index, Canada is ranked the 11th safest country in the world out of 163 countries.[7]
Statistics Canada data
Police-reported Crime Severity Indexes, 1998 to 2023, index
The Crime Severity Index (CSI) in Canada rose by 2% in 2023, marking the third consecutive year of increase and the continuation of a trend that began in 2015. The increase was largely attributed to significant shifts in certain types of crime, particularly in the Non-violent CSI, while the Violent CSI saw minimal change. Data showed that the police-reported crime rate per 100,000 people was 5,843 in 2023, reflecting a 2.5% annual change. Both the Violent Crime Severity Index and the Non-violent Crime Severity Index recorded values of 99.5 and 73.5, respectively.[6]
In 2023, there were 778 victims of homicide, 104 fewer than in 2022. Gang-related homicides continued to account for about one-quarter (22%) of all homicides; 78% of these were committed with a firearm, most often a handgun. The proportion of women who were killed by their spouse or intimate partner was approximately 5 times higher than the proportion of men (31% versus 6%).The number of police-reported hate crimes was 4,777 a 32% increase from 2022. Hate crimes targeting a religion or a sexual orientation accounted for most of the increase.[8]
The overall increase in the CSI was significantly influenced by a rise in reported child pornography cases, which soared by 52% in 2023. The increase was deemed partly due to enhanced awareness and better collaboration among law enforcement agencies. Other contributors to the CSI included increases in fraud and shoplifting rates, with fraud rising by 12% and shoplifting of amounts under $5,000 rising by 18%.[6]
Conversely, some crime types saw a decline, including breaking and entering, which dropped by 5%, continuing a slow decline observed since the 1990s. While the Violent CSI remained virtually unchanged, the police reported lower rates of homicide and sexual offenses against children, with a decrease of 14% in homicide rates compared to the previous year.[6]
Several crime types emphasized in the report include fraud, which was identified as a major factor, and extortion, rising by 35% for the fourth consecutive year. Despite the rise in reported incidents, many cases of fraud remain unreported. Reports indicated that only about 11% of fraud victims decided to notify the authorities.[6]
The statistics also highlighted the changing landscape of theft-related crimes, as motor vehicle theft and robbery rates saw increases. Notably, while motor vehicle theft has risen by 5% from the previous year, the rate remains about 50% lower than it was 25 years ago. Relationships to robbery showed a similar trend, with a 4% rise in incidents but still being lower than historical figures from years ago.[6]
Police-reported Crime Severity Indexes, by province and territory, 2019 to 2023
Crime statistics vary considerably through different parts of Canada. In general, the eastern provinces have the lowest violent crime rates while the western provinces have higher rates and the territories higher still. Of the provinces, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have the highest violent crime rates.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the 2023 Crime Severity Index was 86.3, experiencing a 5.1% increase. The police-reported crime rate for the province stood at 7,175, also rising by 5.0%. Similar trends were noted across various provinces, with notable increases in other areas including Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, while some areas like Nova Scotia reported a slight decrease in their Crime Severity Index.[6]
The chart below also shows that Saskatchewan has the highest provincial assault rate, and that Manitoba has the highest provincial sexual assault rate, robbery rate and homicide rate of any Canadian province. In many instances the crime rates in the Yukon, North West Territories and Nunavut are the highest in the country and can be up to ten times the national average.
2020 crime statistics for the provinces and territories are given below, as reported by Statistics Canada.[9]
Crime Rates (per 100,000 residents) by Canadian Provinces & Territories (sortable by province)[9]
Map of police per 100,000 population across Canada, 2012:
< 176
176-200
201-300
301-400
> 400
In 2005, there were 61,050 police officers in Canada which equates to one police officer per 528.6 persons, but with significant regional variations.[19]Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island have the fewest police per capita with 664.9 and 648.4 persons per police officer, respectively. Conversely, the highest ratio of police to population is found in Canada's northern territories; Nunavut has 247.9 persons per police officer, the Northwest Territories has 248.5 persons per officer and the Yukon has 258.2 persons for each police officer.[20]
That is a substantially lower rate than most developed countries with only Japan and Sweden having so few police officers. The United States has one officer per 411.5 persons, and Germany 344.8.
Canada's national police force is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) which is the main police force in Canada's north, and in rural areas except in Quebec, Ontario, and Newfoundland. Those three provinces have their own provincial police forces, although the RCMP still operate throughout rural Newfoundland and also provide specific federal policing services in Ontario and Quebec. Many cities and districts have their own municipal police forces, while others have contracts with the provincial police or RCMP to police their communities.
Comparisons
Global Peace Index 2023. Countries appearing with a deeper shade of green are ranked as more peaceful, countries appearing more red are ranked as more violent.
Comparing crime rates between countries is difficult due to the differences in jurisprudence, reporting and crime classifications. National crime statistics are in reality statistics of only selected crime types. Data are collected through various surveying methods that have previously ranged between 15% and 100% coverage of the data. A 2001 Statistics Canada study concluded that comparisons with the U.S. on homicide rates were the most reliable. Comparison of rates for six lesser incident crimes was considered possible but subject to more difficulty of interpretation. For example, types of assaults receive different classifications and laws in Canada and the U.S., making comparisons more difficult than homicides. At the time, the U.S. crime of aggravated assault could be compared to the sum of three Canadian crimes (aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, and attempted murder). This comparison had a predicted bias that would inflate the Canadian numbers by only 0.1%. The study also concluded that directly comparing the two countries' reported total crime rate (i.e. total selected crimes) was "inappropriate" since the totals include the problem data sets as well as the usable sets.[22] For reasons like these, homicides have been favored in international studies looking for predictors of crime rates (predictors like economic inequality).
Crime Comparison Between Selected Countries (Reported crimes per 100 000 population)
Much study has been done of the comparative experience and policies of Canada with its southern neighbour the United States, and this is a topic of intense discussion within Canada.
Historically, the violent crime rate in Canada was far lower than that of the U.S.. For example, in 2000 the United States' rate for robberies was 65% higher, its rate for aggravated assault was more than double, and its murder rate was triple that of Canada. However, the rate of some property crime types is lower in the U.S. than in Canada. For example, in 2006, the rates of vehicle theft were 22% higher in Canada than in the U.S.[40]
The homicide rate in Canada peaked in 1975 at 3.03 per 100,000 and has dropped since then; it reached lower peaks in 1985 (2.72) and 1991 (2.69). It reached a post-1970 low of 1.73 in 2003. The average murder rate between 1970 and 1976 was 2.52, between 1977 and 1983 it was 2.67, between 1984 and 1990 it was 2.41, between 1991 and 1997 it was 2.23 and between 1998 and 2004 it was 1.82.[41] The attempted homicide rate has fallen at a faster rate than the homicide rate.[42] By comparison, the homicide rate in the U.S. reached 10.1 per 100,000 in 1974, peaked in 1980 at 10.7 and reached a lower peak in 1991 (10.5). The average murder rate between 1970 and 1976 was 9.4, between 1977 and 1983 it was 9.6, between 1984 and 1990 it was 9, between 1991 and 1997 it was 9.2 and between 1998 and 2004 it was 6.3. In 2004, the murder rate in the U.S. dipped below 6 per 100,000, for the first time since 1966, and as of 2010 stood at 4.8 per 100,000 [43]
From 2014 to 2022, Canada's violent crime rate rose by 43.8% to 434 with 1 violent crime per 100,000 people. In the U.S, the increase was 5.3% to 380 with 7 per 100,000 people. Property crimes in Canada stood at a rate of 2,491 per 100,000 people in 2022, a 7.0% increase since 2014, while U.S. property crimes fell by 24.1%. Homicides in Canada grew from 1.5 to 2.3 per 100,000, rising by 53.4%, while the U.S. homicide rate is significantly higher at 5.8 per 100,000, increasing by 49.4%.[44]
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