Crime in Canada

Whether it is delivered by the lone officer in Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan, or by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Parliament Hill, the enforcement of Canada's criminal laws affects all of us. Over $11 billion was spent on policing, courts, legal aid, criminal prosecutions, and adult and youth corrections in 2000/01.

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The crime rate in Canada is measured by the number of Criminal Code incidents reported to police. In 2001, Canada posted its lowest crime rate in 25 years with 7,655 incidents per 100,000 people. The drop in police-reported crime is not the only indicator that the crime rate has actually fallen, however. According to a 1996 survey, victim-reported crime (which includes incidents not reported to police) decreased from 1993 to 1996. Interestingly, better behaviour seems to be catching on abroad as well as at home: Canada's waning police-reported crime rate has been mirrored in several other countries.

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There are no simple reasons behind the lessening crime rate. The declining proportion of young people—those most prone to criminal activity—may be one factor. Other factors may be at play as well, such as education, unemployment, changing family structures or drug use.

Crime rates differ from coast to coast. Historically, the East has had lower crime rates than the West. However, crime rates in all of the Atlantic provinces have increased in recent years and rates are now generally higher than in Quebec and Ontario. In 2002, Alberta reported its greatest rate of crime since 1994, but still has much lower crime rates than its neighbouring provinces. Quebec enjoyed the lowest crime rate of any province in 2002, with less than 5,700 incidents per 100,000 people, compared with over 13,300 incidents in Saskatchewan, the highest among the provinces.