Despite what you read from some kneejerk columnists, Toronto doesn’t have the worst crime in Canada. In fact, it’s not even close.

According to newly released statistics, it’s the prairie cities which are the most dangerous in the country. Statistics Canada, who released their data on 2017’s crime stats this week, found that Saskatoon and Edmonton topped their crime charts.

This fact is par for the course actually.

The data is broken down into a “crime severity index,” this number monitors the severity of police-reported crime within an area. According to this index Saskatoon has the highest rate at 115, Edmonton and Regina come in at 112, and Winnipeg is at 106. No other city was over 100. The national average was 72.9, Toronto was at 48.7.'

Photo via Screenshot of Stats Canada infographic.

The national average increased slightly —marking the third year in a row that it did so. Another increase came from crimes involving guns. The biggest increase in crimes reported was that of sexual assault which went up 13 percent and the biggest decrease was from cannabis offences which dropped 15 percent. In total, nationally, the police recorded crime rate of 100,000 people was 5,334 for last year.

It’s important to remember that fact when you see articles like the one which just ran in the Toronto Sun. This particular screed, which can only be classified as fear-mongering garbage, makes Toronto out to be a horrific war zone in which anyone can be shot at any time. Obviously, Toronto has seen a wave of high-profile shootings this summer, but given its size, it remains a tremendously safe city.

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