Infographic: Police-reported crime in rural areas of the Canadian provinces, 2023

Release date: April 29, 2025
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Infographic: Police-reported crime in rural areas of the Canadian provinces, 2023
Description: Infographic: Police-reported crime in rural areas of the Canadian provinces, 2023

In 2023, rural areas accounted for 15% of the population of the provinces and 19% of all crimes reported to police.

The police-reported crime rate was 34% higher in rural areas than in urban areas, continuing a trend that has been observed for over a decade.

The Crime Severity Index (CSI), which measures the volume and severity of police-reported crime, is generally higher in rural areas.

Table 1 Table summary
This table displays the results of . The information is grouped by Province (appearing as row headers), , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
Province Rural Crime Severity Index Urban Crime Severity Index
N.L. 92 82
P.E.I. 67 76
N.S. 78 72
N.B. 92 83
Que. 67 61
Ont. 60 61
Man. 184 131
Sask. 204 142
Alta. 145 94
B.C. 105 104
Provincial total 99 76

The differences between rural and urban crime rates were mainly because of higher rates in the northern parts of the provinces

Rural crime rate: 7,317 incidents per 100,000 population

  • Rural North crime rate: 17,546 per 100,000 population
  • Rural South crime rate: 5,379 per 100,000 population
Urban crime rate: 5,440 incidents per 100,000 population

In 2023, 51% of all police-reported violent crime in rural areas was perpetrated by an intimate partner or family member of the victim.

Table 2 Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 2 , calculated using (appearing as column headers).
  Intimate partner or family member of victim Friend, acquaintance, or other person known to the victim Stranger
Rural areas 51% 36% 13%
Urban areas 37% 33% 30%

Persons accused of violent crime in rural areas were generally older than those in urban areas

Rural areas

Age group with highest rate of persons accused: 25 to 44 years (2,616 persons accused per 100,000 population aged 25 to 44)

Peak rate: age 27 (3,342 persons accused for every 100,000 27-year-olds)

Urban areas

Age group with highest rate of persons accused: 12 to 17 years (1,287 persons accused per 100,000 population aged 12 to 17)

Peak rate at age 15 (1,641 persons accused for every 100,000 15-year-olds)

Source: Cotter, A., 2025, “Characteristics of police-reported crime in rural areas in the Canadian provinces, 2023,” Juristat, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-X.

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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2025

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 11-627-M

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