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7 Canadian Cities Rank Among The Most Dangerous In World

Most Dangerous Cities In Canada – Here Is The Full List!

Last Updated On 13 October 2022, 2:52 PM EDT (Toronto Time)


One of the safest countries in the world is Canada. However, it does not mean the country does not have high crime rates. Likewise, some of Canada’s most dangerous cities aren’t often in the places you’d anticipate.

Seven Canadian cities are among the top 100 most dangerous places in the world, according to the worldwide statistics database Numbeo.

Each position’s “Crime Index,” an evaluation of the total level of crime over the previous 36 months, is taken into account while determining the ranking.

When classifying high and low crime areas, places with scores below 20 have very low crime rates. While areas with a score of 20 to 40 have low crime rates. Moreover, places with 40 to 60 scores have moderate crime levels. 

On the upper end of the scale, crime rates between 60 and 80 are considered high. Similarly, areas with scores of 80 or above are thought to have significantly high crime levels. 

Additionally, each city receives a “Safety Index,” indicating how risky it is for visitors and locals.



Most high-risk cities in Canada 

Surrey, British Columbia, which received scores of over 63 on the crime index and barely 36.66 on the safety scale, tops the list of Canadian cities.

Data from Numbeo, which is based on the opinions of site users, indicates that Surrey has “very high” levels of drug use, “high” levels of car break-ins, and “low” levels of violent crimes.

Alberta’s Lethbridge and Red Deer, B.C’s Kelowna, and Ontario’s Sudbury are among Canada’s top five most dangerous cities. These locations all have crime indexes of 60 or above and safety indexes of less than 40.

Sault Ste. Marie, located in Ontario, is in sixth place, while Winnipeg, in Manitoba, is the final Canadian city to be listed among Numbeo’s 100 most dangerous cities. It is placed seventh in Canada and 87th overall.

According to the research, vandalism, drug use, and assault are all typical crimes in Winnipeg, but automobile and home burglaries seem less frequent.

List of Canadian Cities With Crime & Safety Index

World RankCanadian CityCrime IndexSafety Index
50Surrey, Canada64.5835.42
55Lethbridge, AB, Canada63.8936.11
71Red Deer, Canada61.7538.25
72Kelowna, Canada61.5638.44
81Sudbury, Canada60.1039.90
85Sault Ste. Marie, Canada59.8140.19
93Winnipeg, Canada58.9341.07
116Oshawa, Canada55.0844.92
119Brampton, Canada54.9845.02
124Hamilton, Canada54.5345.47
132London, Canada53.5946.41
145Regina, Canada52.8247.18
146Kamloops, Canada52.6347.37
171Nanaimo, BC, Canada49.2350.77
175Saskatoon, Canada48.8151.19
190St.Catharines, Canada47.4252.58
198St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada46.9953.01
225Moncton, Canada45.0454.96
229Edmonton, Canada44.5655.44
239Windsor, Canada43.2556.75
240Mississauga, Canada43.0656.94
241Vaughan, Canada42.7057.30
252Toronto, Canada41.5258.48
260Halifax, Canada41.1658.84
263Kitchener, Canada40.9759.03
282Vancouver, Canada38.2561.75
300Calgary, Canada36.8263.18
324Kingston, Canada34.1765.83
337Guelph, Canada33.1766.83
354Montreal, Canada30.9969.01
368Burlington, Canada30.0070.00
385Ottawa, Canada27.2772.73
399Richmond Hill, Canada26.2873.72
403Oakville, Canada25.7474.26
408Markham, Canada25.1574.85
423Coquitlam, Canada22.5177.49
449Quebec City, Canada15.1484.86
Canadian Cities Crime & Safety Index

Cities with the highest crime rates in the world 

Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, is regarded as the most dangerous city in the world. Next are Pretoria, Durban, and Johannesburg, all in South Africa. 

These areas have extremely low safety scores (19 or less) and are also thought to have very high crime rates.

The most unsafe areas to live in Canada

Based on rates of violent crime, Maclean’s issued a report in 2020 listing Canada’s most dangerous cities.

On that list, Thompson, Manitoba, came in first, followed by North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Portage la Prairie, Prince Albert, British Columbia, and Quesnel (B.C.).

However, there were some overlaps with the Numbeo data, with places like Hamilton and Brampton in Ontario, Kamloops and Nanaimo in British Columbia, and Regina in Saskatchewan showing up on both lists.

While large cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are included in the lists, they both have relatively high safety ratings.

The riskiest areas in Canada in 2022

The federal data on crime statistics across Canada show Kelowna has the worst crime rates this year. 

According to CTV, the greatest crime rate recorded by Statistics Canada for 2022 is 11,112 crimes per 100,000 population in the city of British Columbia.

Further, in crime statistics, Lethbridge is ranked among the most dangerous areas in Canada. Numbeo’s research showed similar results. 

Overall, it’s evident that no particular location is consistently regarded as Canada’s most dangerous location.

Source: Numbeo