Statistics Canada does not publish the Crime Severity Index for individual cities, towns, or villages the way it does population figures - only for provinces, territories, and Census Metropolitan Areas. The tables below show the 10 safest and 10 highest-crime CMAs on record for this scope, not the full list of tracked metro areas.
Safest Metro Areas
| # | Metro Area | Crime Severity Index | Violent CSI | Non-violent CSI | 5-Year Change | Core Municipality Pop. (2021) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barrie | 46.9 | 55.9 | 43.8 | -2.8% | 147,829 |
| 2 | Saguenay | 49.3 | 88.0 | 34.3 | -12.6% | 144,723 |
| 3 | Sherbrooke | 50.3 | 77.9 | 39.6 | -7.1% | 172,950 |
| 4 | Ottawa-Gatineau | 52.8 | 68.8 | 46.8 | -5.4% | — |
| 5 | St.Catharines-Niagara | 53.8 | 69.8 | 47.9 | -8.7% | — |
| 6 | Hamilton | 54.8 | 68.8 | 49.7 | -6.6% | 569,353 |
| 7 | Québec | 55.0 | 81.0 | 45.0 | -1.0% | 549,459 |
| 8 | Toronto | 55.0 | 71.6 | 48.8 | -7.5% | 2,794,356 |
| 9 | Windsor | 55.4 | 70.8 | 49.7 | -11.9% | 229,660 |
| 10 | Trois-Rivières | 56.0 | 92.3 | 41.9 | -9.5% | 139,163 |
Highest-Crime Metro Areas
| # | Metro Area | Crime Severity Index | Violent CSI | Non-violent CSI | 5-Year Change | Core Municipality Pop. (2021) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chilliwack | 134.3 | 164.7 | 123.2 | -3.5% | 93,203 |
| 2 | Kamloops | 126.2 | 129.0 | 126.2 | -4.5% | 97,902 |
| 3 | Red Deer | 114.4 | 121.9 | 112.3 | -3.4% | 100,844 |
| 4 | Thunder Bay | 114.1 | 195.1 | 82.7 | +3.1% | 108,843 |
| 5 | Winnipeg | 113.4 | 170.1 | 91.7 | -9.4% | 749,607 |
| 6 | Lethbridge | 107.7 | 125.3 | 101.6 | +1.9% | 98,406 |
| 7 | Nanaimo | 106.0 | 115.4 | 103.2 | -1.4% | 99,863 |
| 8 | Moncton | 105.6 | 107.8 | 105.7 | +11.2% | 79,470 |
| 9 | Kelowna | 103.7 | 101.9 | 105.3 | -3.5% | 144,576 |
| 10 | Saskatoon | 98.9 | 130.6 | 87.0 | -7.0% | 266,141 |
CSI = Crime Severity Index.
Crime Severity Index Over Time
Crime Severity Index Breakdown
Crime Severity Index vs. Average
Clearance Rates
With a Crime Severity Index of 46.9, Barrie ranks as Canada's safest metro area — down 2.8% since 2024, when it stood at 48.3. Barrie's metro population stood at 147,829 in the 2021 Census. Police cleared 46.0% of cases overall — 69.4% of violent cases and 34.1% of non-violent cases, with the non-violent clearance rate up 4.5% from the previous year.
Chilliwack is Canada's least safe metro area by Crime Severity Index, with a score of 134.3 — down 3.5% from 139.2 in 2024. The metro area had a population of 93,203 as of the 2021 Census. Police cleared 22.4% of cases overall — 30.3% of violent cases and 18.2% of non-violent cases, with the non-violent clearance rate up 11.0% from the previous year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Barrie has the lowest Crime Severity Index among Canada's metro areas, at 46.9, based on Statistics Canada's 2025 data.
Chilliwack has the highest Crime Severity Index among Canada's metro areas, at 134.3, based on Statistics Canada's 2025 data.
Thunder Bay has the highest Violent Crime Severity Index among Canada's metro areas, at 195.1.
The Crime Severity Index (CSI) is Statistics Canada's official measure of police-reported crime, weighted by the relative severity of each offence rather than a simple count - a small number of serious crimes moves the index more than a large number of minor ones. A national average of 100 is set for the base year 2006; a CMA scoring below 100 has lower overall crime severity than that baseline, and one scoring above 100 has higher.