Safe Cities profile series: Key indicators by census metropolitan area
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Release date: May 15, 2020
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Satisfaction with safety

Winnipeg 82%, Manitoba 86%*, Canada 88%*

proportion of people who reported being satisfied with their personal safety from crime in 2014

* significantly different from Winnipeg (p < 0.05)

Police-reported violent crime rate in 2018

Winnipeg 1,358; Manitoba 1,996; Canada 1,143

rate per 100,000 population

Ten-year change in police-reported crime rate (2008 to 2018)

Winnipeg -5%, Manitoba -6%, Canada, -17%

Population and demographics

Map showing the location of Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Winnipeg was home to 832,186 people in 2018, and it had a population density of 157 residents per square kilometre. Three in ten (30%) residents were aged 24 and younger, on par with the distribution in Manitoba (32%) and across Canada (28%).

About 12.2% of Winnipeg residents were part of the Indigenous population (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) in 2016, lower than Manitoba (18.0%) but more than twice as high as Canada (4.9%). Immigrants represented one in four (24%) residents, higher than Manitoba (18%) and Canada (22%). Three in ten (29%) immigrants in Winnipeg were recent immigrants (since 2011), similar to Manitoba (28%) but higher than Canada (16%). While there was a notably higher proportion of people who identified as a visible minority in Winnipeg (26%) than Manitoba (17%), it was slightly higher than the proportion in Canada overall (22%).

Education, employment and income

In 2016, nearly two in three (63%) Winnipeg residents aged 25 to 64 had completed some form of postsecondary education, just over one in four (27%) had completed high school (or equivalent) as their highest level of education, and one in ten (10%) had completed neither.

In 2018, the unemployment rate in Winnipeg (6.3%) was similar to Manitoba (6.0%) and Canada's provinces (5.8%). Households in Winnipeg earned a median after-tax annual income of $51,280 in 2017, similar to Manitoba ($50,130) and Canada ($52,090). The percentage of families considered low-income was lower in Winnipeg (18%) than in Manitoba (21%) but similar to Canada (17%).

Housing and families

On average, there were 2.5 persons per household in Winnipeg in 2016, similar to Manitoba (2.5) and Canada (2.4). The majority of (67%) households in Winnipeg owned their homes, on par with Manitoba (69%) and Canada (68%). When a household spends 30% or more of its income on shelter costs, it is considered to live in unaffordable housing: this was the case for one in five (21%) Winnipeg households, slightly higher than in Manitoba (19%) but slightly lower than Canada (24%). A small proportion (7.6%) of occupied private dwellings in Winnipeg were in need of major repairs, in between Manitoba (9.0%) and Canada (6.5%). About one-fifth (18%) of Winnipeg families were lone-parent families, similar to Manitoba (17%) and Canada (16%). In 2018, there were an estimated 1,519 homeless individuals living in Winnipeg.

Community safety and sense of belonging

Self-reported experiences of victimization

Police-reported crime

  • In 2018, Winnipeg police reported an overall crime rate of 7,863 incidents per 100,000 population, 16% lower than in Manitoba (9,392) but 43% higher than in Canada (5,488).
  • Over the past decade (2008 to 2018), police-reported crime declined by 5% in Winnipeg, while a similar decline was seen in Manitoba (-6%) and a larger decline was seen in Canada (-17%).
  • The severity of crime in Winnipeg increased by 10% between 2017 and 2018, mostly due to an increase in breaking and entering, robbery, shoplifting of $5,000 or under, fraud and theft of $5,000 or under (non-shoplifting). Over the past decade (2008 to 2018), the severity of crime in Winnipeg declined by 5%, compared with a 3% decline in Manitoba and a 17% decline in Canada.

Property crime

Violent crime

  • In 2018, there were 1,358 incidents of violent crime per 100,000 population reported by police in Winnipeg, 32% lower than Manitoba (1,996) but 19% higher than Canada overall (1,143).
    • Around half of victims of violent crime in Winnipeg (51%), Manitoba (56%) and Canada (53%) were female.
  • Between 2008 and 2018:
    • The violent crime rate in Winnipeg declined by 4%, slightly larger than the decline seen in Manitoba (-2%) but smaller than the decline in Canada (-14%).
    • The severity of violent crime in Winnipeg declined by 2%, whereas Manitoba saw an increase (+6%) and Canada had a much larger decrease (-13%).
  • Violent crime against girls and women declined to a smaller extent in Winnipeg than violent crime against boys and men between 2009 and 2018 (-9% versus -19%).

Hate crime

Intimate partner violence

Homicide

Charts and tables

Chart 1 start

Chart 1 Police-reported violent and non-violent Crime Severity Indexes, census metropolitan area of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, 1998 to 2018

Data table for Chart 1 
Data table for Chart 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 1. The information is grouped by Year (appearing as row headers), Violent Crime Severity Index, Non-violent Crime Severity Index, Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, calculated using index units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Year Violent Crime Severity Index Non-violent Crime Severity Index
Winnipeg Manitoba Canada Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
index
1998 175 154 98 155 155 127
1999 177 162 99 146 149 116
2000 179 160 98 151 146 110
2001 177 159 97 156 150 108
2002 169 154 96 146 146 107
2003 173 164 98 163 160 110
2004 178 163 96 168 163 107
2005 188 170 99 155 151 102
2006 189 171 100 157 150 100
2007 181 175 98 139 142 94
2008 165 160 95 111 118 89
2009 191 178 94 117 122 85
2010 167 169 89 98 111 81
2011 163 164 86 82 98 75
2012 149 156 82 80 99 73
2013 122 137 74 70 87 67
2014 117 128 71 68 85 65
2015 126 139 75 77 94 68
2016 145 153 77 88 101 70
2017 155 161 81 91 104 71
2018 161 170 82 104 110 72

Chart 1 end

Chart 2 start

Chart 2 Police-reported violent crime, by sex of victim, census metropolitan area of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, 2009 to 2018

Data table for Chart 2 
Data table for Chart 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 2. The information is grouped by Year (appearing as row headers), Female victims, Male victims, Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, calculated using rate per 100,000 population units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Year Female victims Male victims
Winnipeg Manitoba Canada Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
rate per 100,000 population
2009 1,446 2,044 1,206 1,557 1,854 1,202
2010 1,404 2,120 1,209 1,420 1,785 1,162
2011 1,319 2,010 1,124 1,291 1,659 1,087
2012 1,291 2,003 1,079 1,174 1,622 1,048
2013 1,133 1,793 1,004 1,027 1,435 947
2014 1,094 1,707 952 1,001 1,363 898
2015 1,186 1,821 970 1,062 1,466 914
2016 1,313 1,987 978 1,195 1,572 910
2017 1,308 2,008 1,019 1,256 1,611 926
2018 1,316 2,036 1,048 1,268 1,623 936

Chart 2 end

Chart 3 start

Chart 3 Police-reported property crime, census metropolitan area of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, 2009 to 2018

Data table for Chart 3 
Data table for Chart 3
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 3. The information is grouped by Year (appearing as row headers), Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, calculated using rate per 100,000 population units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Year Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
rate per 100,000 population
2009 6,933 6,692 4,122
2010 5,425 5,750 3,838
2011 4,496 4,973 3,536
2012 4,345 4,963 3,438
2013 3,616 4,307 3,154
2014 3,723 4,329 3,100
2015 4,097 4,780 3,231
2016 4,656 5,114 3,239
2017 4,936 5,241 3,266
2018 5,751 5,590 3,339

Chart 3 end

Table 1 start


Table 1
Police-reported crime rate for selected offences, census metropolitan area of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, 2018
Table summary
This table displays the results of Police-reported crime rate for selected offences. The information is grouped by Type of offence (appearing as row headers), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Percent difference between Winnipeg and Manitoba and Percent difference between Winnipeg and Canada, calculated using rate units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Type of offence Winnipeg Manitoba Canada Percent difference between Winnipeg and Manitoba Percent difference between Winnipeg and Canada
rate
Total crime (excluding traffic) 7,863 9,392 5,488 -16 43
Total violent crime 1,358 1,996 1,143 -32 19
Violations causing death and attempted murder 6 7 4 -21 30
Sexual assault and sexual violations against childrenTable 1 Note 1 127 155 101 -18 26
AssaultsTable 1 Note 2 726 1,280 649 -43 12
Other violent offences 499 554 389 -10 28
Total property crime 5,751 5,590 3,339 3 72
Breaking and entering 780 753 431 4 81
TheftTable 1 Note 3 2,662 2,243 1,720 19 55
Fraud 392 369 402 6 -2
MischiefTable 1 Note 4 1,773 2,090 699 -15 154
Other property crime offences 144 135 86 7 68
Total other Criminal Code offences 755 1,806 1,006 -58 -25
Total Criminal Code traffic offences 132 326 339 -59 -61
Total alcohol-impaired drivingTable 1 Note 5 77 237 178 -68 -57
Total drug-impaired drivingTable 1 Note 6 3 11 12 -74 -75
Alcohol and drug-impaired drivingTable 1 Note 7 0.2 0.2 0.7 10 -64
Impaired driving (not specified)Table 1 Note 7 0.1 0.1 0.3 66 -52
Other Criminal Code traffic offences 52 78 148 -33 -65
Total drug offences 100 190 225 -48 -56
Total other federal statute offences 21 75 70 -72 -71
Total all offences 8,116 9,983 6,123 -19 33

Table 1 end

Table 2 start


Table 2
Police-reported violent crime rate for selected offences, by sex of victim, census metropolitan area of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, 2018
Table summary
This table displays the results of Police-reported violent crime rate for selected offences. The information is grouped by Type of offence (appearing as row headers), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Female victims and Male victims, calculated using rate units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Type of offence Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Female victims Male victims Female victims Male victims Female victims Male victims
rate
Total violent crime 1,316 1,268 2,036 1,623 1,048 936
Violations causing death and attempted murder 3 8 4 11 2 6
Homicide 1 4 2 7 0.9 3
Other violations causing deathTable 2 Note 1 0 0.5 0 0.6 0.3 0.3
Attempted murder 2 3 2 4 1 3
Sexual offences 227 20 273 28 170 23
Sexual assault 182 15 206 19 134 16
Sexual assault – level 3 – aggravated 2 0.2 2 0.3 0.7 0.1
Sexual assault – level 2 – weapon or bodily harm 3 0.2 4 0.3 2 0.4
Sexual assault – level 1 177 15 200 18 131 16
Sexual violations against childrenTable 2 Note 2 45 5 67 10 36 7
Assaults 731 717 1,389 1,130 613 644
Physical assault 719 635 1,367 1,031 599 590
Assault – level 3 – aggravated 12 32 22 50 6 13
Assault – level 2 – weapon or bodily harm 200 296 323 400 111 173
Assault – level 1 507 307 1,022 580 483 404
Assault against a peace officer 10 81 18 98 10 48
Other assaults 2 0.2 4 1 4 7
Other violent offences 356 523 371 454 263 262
Firearms – use of, discharge, pointing 4 9 6 10 2 6
Robbery 195 360 135 242 31 75
Forcible confinement or kidnapping 9 2 19 3 15 3
Trafficking in personsTable 2 Note 3 1 0 0.9 0 1 0sNote: value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded. A “0” represents a true zero value.
Extortion 1 1 2 1 6 9
Criminal harassment 10 4 12 5 53 17
Uttering threats 124 141 171 181 114 134
Indecent or harassing communications 3 2 10 4 22 9
Non-consensual distribution of intimate images 3 0 7 2 7 1
Commodification of sexual activityTable 2 Note 4 1 0 1 0 1 0.1
Other violent offences 5 4 7 6 10 8
Total traffic offences 4 6 8 10 16 21
Traffic violations causing death 0.7 0.2 0.9 2 0.4 0.9
Traffic violations causing bodily harm 3 6 7 8 6 7
Traffic violations – injury unspecified or unknownTable 2 Note 5 0 0 0 0 9 12

Table 2 end

Table 3 start


Table 3
Police-reported crime for selected offences, census metropolitan area of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, 2018
Table summary
This table displays the results of Police-reported crime for selected offences. The information is grouped by Type of offence (appearing as row headers), Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada, calculated using number and rate units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Type of offence Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
number rate number rate number rate
Total non-violent crime 55,197 6,758 107,994 7,987 1,845,269 4,979
Total property crime 46,971 5,751 75,580 5,590 1,237,324 3,339
Breaking and entering 6,369 780 10,184 753 159,812 431
Possess stolen propertyTable 3 Note 1 778 95 1,098 81 23,898 64
Theft of motor vehicle 3,020 370 4,706 348 86,132 232
Theft over $5,000 (non-motor vehicle) 331 41 561 41 20,113 54
Theft of $5,000 or under (non-motor vehicle) 18,392 2,252 25,060 1,853 531,312 1,434
Fraud 2,968 363 4,630 342 129,409 349
Identity theft 70 9 87 6 3,745 10
Identity fraud 165 20 273 20 15,839 43
MischiefTable 3 Note 2 14,477 1,773 28,258 2,090 259,064 699
Arson 401 49 723 53 8,000 22
Total other offences 6,164 755 24,423 1,806 372,834 1,006
Weapons violations 844 103 1,508 112 16,610 45
Child pornographyTable 3 Note 3 119 15 181 13 5,843 16
ProstitutionTable 3 Note 4 2 0.2 2 0.1 110 0.3
Terrorism 1 0.1 1 0.1 102 0.3
Disturb the peace 170 21 9,380 694 94,378 255
Administration of justice offences 4,542 556 12,118 896 226,864 612
Other offences 486 60 1,233 91 28,927 78
Total Criminal Code traffic offences 1,081 132 4,414 326 125,544 339
Total alcohol-impaired drivingTable 3 Note 5 626 77 3,198 237 65,820 178
Total drug-impaired drivingTable 3 Note 6 24 3 154 11 4,429 12
Alcohol and drug-impaired drivingTable 3 Note 7 2 0.2 3 0.2 250 0.7
Impaired driving (not specified)Table 3 Note 7 1 0.1 1 0.1 94 0.3
Other Criminal Code traffic offences 428 52 1,058 78 54,951 148
Total drug offences 813 100 2,568 190 83,483 225
Total other federal statute offences 168 21 1,009 75 26,084 70
Human traffickingTable 3 Note 8 1 0.1 1 0.1 112 0.3
Youth Criminal Justice Act 153 19 545 40 4,823 13
Other federal statute offences 14 2 463 34 21,149 57

Table 3 end

Table 4 start


Table 4
Police-reported crime rate, census metropolitan area of Winnipeg, 2008 to 2018
Table summary
This table displays the results of Police-reported crime rate. The information is grouped by Year (appearing as row headers), Violent crime, Property crime and Total crime, calculated using number, rate and percent change in rate from previous year units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Year Violent crime Property crime Total crime
number rate percent change in rate from previous year number rate percent change in rate from previous year number rate percent change in rate from previous year
2008 10,682 1,421 2 46,285 6,158 -19 61,933 8,240 -14
2009 11,997 1,582 11 52,566 6,933 13 69,712 9,194 12
2010 11,192 1,461 -8 41,546 5,425 -22 57,905 7,561 -18
2011 10,535 1,358 -7 34,867 4,496 -17 50,792 6,549 -13
2012 10,208 1,294 -5 34,287 4,345 -3 50,266 6,370 -3
2013 8,997 1,126 -13 28,887 3,616 -17 43,318 5,423 -15
2014 8,513 1,083 -4 29,272 3,723 3 42,845 5,449 0.5
2015 9,440 1,176 9 32,889 4,097 10 47,757 5,948 9
2016 10,289 1,307 11 36,651 4,656 14 53,021 6,736 13
2017 10,768 1,340 2 39,680 4,936 6 56,701 7,054 5
2018 11,088 1,358 1 46,971 5,751 17 64,223 7,863 11
Percent change from 2008 to 2018 4 -4 Note ...: not applicable 1 -7 Note ...: not applicable 4 -5 Note ...: not applicable

Table 4 end

E use with caution

Note: This fact sheet contains data that come from multiple sources across multiple reference years. Some figures may be presented differently than in other Statistics Canada publications due to rounding. For detailed information on data definitions and sources, please refer to the Safe Cities profile series: Definitions and data sources document.

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