A new report by Rentol.ca calculates that Ontario has some of the safest urban areas in the entire country, with Barrie securing the top spot. In fact, eight Ontario cities made up the top ten, according to the report.

The analysis looked at a number of different factors in order to compile the ranking, including the number of citizens per police officer, crime severity, the amount of violent and non-violent crimes, and the crime-solving rate.

Saint John, New Brunswick was the highest ranking city outside of Ontario, ranking in 5th overall.

Lethbridge, Alberta was the only other city outside of Ontario to rank in the top 10.  Alberta’s next safest cities, were Calgary in 20th, followed by Edmonton in 21st overall.

The reviewers concluded that while Québec City exhibits the lowest crime rate, it scored lower as “a significant portion of the crimes committed within the area are of a violent nature, and the ratio of its police force to the area’s population remains relatively small. Therefore, when compared to Lethbridge, which possesses the highest crime index, Québec City appears less secure.”

While Lethbridge has the highest crime rate among all Canadian metropolitan areas, “the majority of the offenses perpetrated are classified as non-violent.” The report goes on to state that, “Lethbridge maintains a sufficient number of police officers to ensure a high rate of crime detection.”

Quebec City is the first spot in Quebec to make the list, ranking 11th overall,  followed by Montreal ranking 12th.

Victoria, BC was the highest ranking city on the west coast. Next highest BC city was Vancouver in 18th spot, Abbotsford-Mission in 23, and Kelowna taking up 33rd overall.

  1. Barrie, Ontario
  2. Brantford, ON
  3. Guelph, ON
  4. Toronto, ON
  5. Saint John, New Brunswick
  6. Belleville, ON
  7. Windsor, ON
  8. St. Catharines-Niagara, ON
  9. Lethbridge, Alberta
  10. Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, ON
  11. Québec City, Quebec
  12. Montréal, QC
  13. Hamilton, ON
  14. Victoria, British Columbia
  15. Regina, Saskatchewan
  16. Saguenay, QC
  17. Peterborough, ON
  18. Vancouver, BC
  19. Gatineau, QC
  20. Calgary, AB
  21. Edmonton, AB
  22. Sherbrooke, QC
  23. Abbotsford-Mission, BC
  24. London, ON
  25. Kingston, ON

Source » Rentola