Rural crime fact sheets, 2023: Quebec

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Demographic and household characteristics

In 2021, 8,572,020 people lived in Quebec. More specifically, 18% of the population lived in rural areas of the province, with the remaining 82% living in urban areas.^Note 

According to the latest data from the Census of Population, people living in rural areas of the province were typically older than those living in urban areas. In 2021, two-thirds (66%) of people living in rural areas were aged 35 years and older, compared to 60% of people living in urban areas (Table 1). However, the population in the rural North was much younger than in the South.

The rural North had the largest First Nations, Métis or Inuit (Indigenous) population in the province in 2021, with Indigenous people accounting for 42% of the population. The proportion of Indigenous people living in the rural South was similar to the proportion living in urban areas of the province.

Roughly 2 in 10 (19%) people living in urban areas were part of a racialized group, a proportion much larger than in rural areas of the province (1%). This was similar to the proportion of the urban population who reported that they were either an immigrant (17%) or a non-permanent resident (3%).

There was a notable gap in educational attainment between rural and urban areas of the province, especially in the rural North. Almost 3 in 10 (27%) people living in the rural North did not have a high school diploma, a proportion much higher than in the rural South (17%) and more than double the proportions in both the urban North (13%) and the urban South (11%).

Labour force participation was lower in rural areas. In 2021, 41% of people aged 15 years and older living in rural areas of the province reported that they were not part of the labour force, compared with 35% of people in urban areas. A similar proportion of people living in rural (13%) and urban (11%) areas were considered to be low-income.^Note 

It is important to note that the nature and extent of crime is influenced by various demographic, social and economic characteristics. For more information, see Characteristics of police-reported crime in rural areas, 2023: Provincial fact sheets.

Characteristics of police-reported crime

In 2023, 15% of people living in Quebec were served by a police service covering a predominantly rural area.^Note 

Police-reported data from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey show that rural police services in Quebec reported 49,720 Criminal Code violations (excluding traffic) in 2023, representing a rate of 3,585 incidents per 100,000 population (Table 2).^Note  This rate was 4% lower than what was reported by urban police services (3,738 incidents per 100,000 population).^Note 

Four of the five most common types of police-reported crime in 2023 were the same in both rural and urban areas: assaults and firearm-specific offences, theft of $5,000 and under (non-motor vehicle), administration of justice offences and mischief. These four types of crime accounted for around half of Criminal Code (excluding traffic) offences in both rural (50%) and urban (53%) areas of the province.

Rural police services recorded sharp declines from 2018 to 2023 for other federal statute offences (-61%),^Note  Criminal Code traffic violations (-30%) and offences against the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (-28%),^Note  in addition to smaller declines in other Criminal Code offences (-6%) and property crime (-4%). The violent crime rate increased 11% over the same period. 

In 2023, there was a large variation between crime rates reported by rural police services in the North and South. Although 5% of Quebec’s rural population were served by a rural North police service, they reported 21% of all rural crime, and the crime rate in the rural North was more than three times higher than in the rural South (9,948 incidents versus 3,058 incidents per 100,000 population).^Note 

Overall, the crime rate in rural and urban areas has remained relatively stable in Quebec over the past decade, with the exception of the rural North (Chart 1). The crime rate was 3% higher in rural areas and 6% lower in urban areas in 2023 compared to 2013.

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There were several large increases in the rural North crime rate from 2013 to 2019 (Chart 1). While the crime rate has steadily declined since peaking in 2019, the rural North was the only region in the province to have a higher rate in 2023 compared to 2013.

Characteristics of police-reported violent crime

In 2023, the police-reported violent crime rate was 35% higher in rural areas (1,726 incidents per 100,000 population) than in urban areas (1,280), a difference driven by the rural North (Table 2). More specifically, the violent crime rate in the rural North was nearly five times higher than in the rural South (6,379 versus 1,341 per 100,000 population), where the rate was similar to or lower than the rates reported in the urban areas of the province.

Violent crime accounted for a larger proportion of all criminal incidents reported by police in rural areas than in urban areas of the province. More specifically, two in five (39%) incidents reported by police in rural areas were violent, compared to 3 in 10 (30%) incidents in urban areas. However, there were considerable differences between the North and the South: violent crime made up over half (56%) of all crime in the rural North compared to around one-third (34%) in the rural South. Violent crime also accounted for a larger proportion of all crime in the urban North (38%) compared to the urban South (30%).

Police-reported violent crime rates were driven by relatively higher rates of assault and firearm-specific offences, accounting for around half of all violent incidents in rural (52%) and urban (54%) areas. These offences were reported almost six times more often by police services in the rural North than by police services in the rural South.

From 2018 to 2023, the violent crime rate decreased 18% in the rural North (from 7,806 incidents per 100,000 population in 2018 to 6,379 in 2023) but increased 33% in the rural South (from 1,006 incidents per 100,000 population in 2018 to 1,341 in 2023).

Characteristics of police-reported non-violent crime

In 2023, rural police services reported 1,402 incidents of property crime per 100,000 population, a rate 32% lower than what was reported by urban police services (2,060) (Table 2). Property crime accounted for half (49%) of all crime in urban areas and slightly less than one-third (31%) of all crime in rural areas in 2023.

In rural areas, the rate of property crime in the northern region of the province was almost double the rate in the southern region (2,173 per 100,000 versus 1,338). Police services in the rural North recorded a 37% decrease in property crime from 2022 to 2023, largely driven by a decline in the rates of mischief (-58%) and theft over $5,000 (non-motor vehicle) (-33%). In contrast, the property crime rate in the rural South slightly increased (+2%) over the same period.

In urban areas, the property crime rate was higher in the southern region of the province (2,080 versus 1,605 in the North). Both the urban North and the urban South recorded rate increases from 2022 (+7% and +6%, respectively).

The rate for other Criminal Code offences—which includes offences against the administration of justice, disturbing the peace and other offences—was 15% higher in rural areas (457 incidents per 100,000 population) than in urban areas (399) in 2023 (Table 2). However, this was largely reflective of a much higher rate in the rural North (1,396) compared to the rural South (379).

Although police services in the rural North recorded a 73% decrease in the rate of disturbing the peace from 2022 to 2023, the rate was still much higher in the rural North (182 per 100,000) than in the rural South (2). The rate in the rural South was aligned with the rates observed in the urban areas of the province.

Characteristics of victims of police-reported violent crime

Women and girls accounted for around half of all victims of police-reported violent crime in both rural (52%) and urban (51%) areas of the province in 2023 (Table 3).

In 2023, 9,325 women and girls were victims of violent crime in rural areas of the province, translating to a rate of 1,429 victims per 100,000 women and girls. This rate was higher than the rate recorded among men and boys in rural areas (1,243) and women and girls in urban areas (1,267).

Rates of violent crime were more than two times higher among women and girls (2,858 per 100,000) and men and boys (2,643) in the rural North than in the rural South (1,348 and 1,164, respectively).

Violent crime rates were higher in rural areas of the province for most age groups in 2023. Rates peaked between the ages of 18 and 44 in both rural (2,318 victims per 100,000 population) and urban (1,820) areas and declined with age (Table 3). While rural violent crime rates were considerably higher in the North than in the South for most age groups, the biggest difference was among victims aged 18 to 44 years where the rate in the North was more than double in the South (5,275 versus 2,143).

Most victims of violent crime knew the accused in both rural (88%) and urban (80%) areas. Regardless of geography, the accused was most commonly someone other than an intimate partner or a family member.^Note  While a similar proportion of victims were victimized by an intimate partner (28% in rural areas versus 27% in urban areas), victims in rural areas were more likely than victims in urban areas to be victimized by a non-spousal family member (18% versus 14%).

The large majority of victims of violent crime were not injured in rural (77%) and urban (73%) areas of the province. However, a larger proportion of victims in the rural North were injured compared to victims in the rural South (30% and 23%, respectively).

Characteristics of police-reported violent crime incidents

While the vast majority of violent incidents reported by rural and urban police services in Quebec in 2023 did not involve the presence of a firearm, the rate was higher in the rural North (27 incidents per 100,000 population) compared with other parts of the province (Table 4).^Note 

The majority (70%) of violent incidents reported by rural police services in 2023 occurred in a private residence—a proportion 11% higher than what was reported by urban police services (59%). While a private residence was still the most commonly reported location of violent crime by urban police services, a higher proportion of incidents occurred in a commercial or non-residential location compared to what was reported by rural police services (21% versus 16%).

A police-reported incident can be classified as not cleared,^Note  cleared by charge or “cleared otherwise” (i.e., an accused had been identified but charges were not laid or recommended).^Note  In 2023, around half of all violent crime incidents in rural (53%) and urban (49%) areas resulted in charges being laid or recommended by police. A larger proportion of incidents remained uncleared in urban areas (39%) than in rural areas (27%), with the proportion of uncleared incidents being highest in the urban South (39%). In rural areas, 2 in 10 (20%) incidents were cleared otherwise compared with 13% in urban areas.

Family and intimate partner violence

Rates of police-reported intimate partner violence (IPV) were highest among women and girl victims in both rural and urban areas of the province (Table 5).^Note  Rates of IPV among women and girls were three times higher than rates among men and boys in both rural (638 victims versus 205 victims per 100,000 population) and urban (577 versus 183) areas. As with other types of crime, rates were generally highest in rural areas of the North.

As with IPV, rates of family violence^Note  were higher among women and girls than men and boys across the province. Rates of family violence among women and girls were double the rates among men and boys in both rural (725 victims versus 354 victims per 100,000 population) and urban (586 versus 273) areas of Quebec. The largest gap in rates between women and girls and men and boys was seen in the urban North (783 victims versus 338 victims per 100,000 population, respectively, a difference of +132%).

In both rural and urban areas, rates of IPV and family violence were generally highest among people aged 18 to 44 years (including both women and girls and men and boys who were victims).

Overall, three in ten of victims of IPV and family violence sustained injuries in both rural (29%) and urban (30%) areas of the province.

Rates of both police-reported family violence and IPV increased across the province from 2013 to 2023, with larger increases seen in rural areas than in urban areas (Chart 2). More specifically, rates of IPV increased by 55% in rural areas and 34% in urban areas, while rates of family violence increased by 43% in rural areas and 36% in urban areas. The largest increase in the rate of IPV was recorded in the rural North, which increased by 117% from 2013 to 2023.

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The gap between rural and urban rates of family violence and IPV has widened over the past decade, particularly for IPV. In 2013, rural police services reported 268 incidents per 100,000 population aged 12 years and older, 6% lower than what was reported in urban areas (284). In 2023, the rural IPV rate was 9% higher in rural areas than in urban areas (415 incidents per 100,000 versus 380) (Chart 2). 

When looking at North–South, much of the rate increase in rural areas was driven by the rural North. For example, there was a 78% increase in the rate of police-reported family violence in the rural North from 2013 to 2023 (from 635 incidents per 100,000 population in 2013 to 1,132 in 2023)—a much larger increase than what was reported in the rural South (+40%). This pattern was similar for intimate partner violence: the rate of police-reported IPV in the rural North increased 117% over the same period (from 413 incidents per 100,000 population aged 12 years and older in 2013 to 894 in 2023), compared to an increase of 49% in the rural South.

Characteristics of accused persons

In 2023, rates of persons accused of crime were much higher in rural areas than in urban areas, regardless of the age or gender of the accused (Table 6).

For women and girls accused of violent crime, rates were highest among those aged 12 to 17 years in both rural (1,011 persons accused per 100,000 population) and urban (720 per 100,000) areas, with the exception of the rural North, where rates were highest among those aged 25 to 44 years (2,504). This pattern was similar among men and boys accused of violent crime.

The median age of accused was higher in rural areas than in urban areas, regardless of the gender of the accused and the type of crime.

Once an accused has been identified by police, the incident can be either cleared by charge (charges laid or recommended) or cleared otherwise (no charges laid or recommended).

The proportion of incidents cleared by charge varied depending on the type of crime and the age group of the accused. In all, three-quarters (75%) of cleared incidents in rural areas resulted in charges being laid or recommended, compared with 8 in 10 (80%) of cleared incidents in urban areas (Table 7).

In general, violent crimes were more likely than property crimes to result in charges. In urban areas, 79% of violent crimes led to charges being laid against an accused, compared with 73% of property crimes. This difference was similar in rural areas (73% versus 66%).

In general, incidents involving youth accused (aged 12 to 17 years) were much more likely than incidents involving adults to be cleared otherwise, regardless of the type of crime.

Tables

Table 1 Demographic and household characteristics, by rural or urban area and North or South region, Quebec, 2021

Table 2 Police-reported crime, by selected violation, rural or urban area and North or South region, Quebec, 2023

Table 3 Police-reported violent crime, by victim characteristic, rural or urban area and North or South region, Quebec, 2023

Table 4 Police-reported violent crime, by incident characteristic, rural or urban area and North or South region, Quebec, 2023

Table 5 Police-reported family violence and intimate partner violence, by victim characteristic, rural or urban area and North or South region, Quebec, 2023

Table 6 Police-reported crime, by gender and age group of accused persons, rural or urban area and North or South region, Quebec, 2023

Table 7 Police-reported crime, by age group of accused, incident clearance status, rural or urban area and North or South region, Quebec, 2023