A new Statistics Canada report reveals that crime rates in rural parts of Canada are significantly higher than in urban areas, with violent offenses also more severe overall. The report, titled 'Police-reported crime in rural and urban areas in the Canadian provinces, 2024,' was released Tuesday.
Crime rate gap widens
While the majority of Criminal Code (excluding traffic) offences occurred in urban areas, the crime rate in rural areas was 42 per cent higher than in urban areas, with 7,421 incidents per 100,000 population compared to 5,235 in urban areas. Ten years earlier, in 2014, this gap was 29 per cent.
Crime Severity Index
StatCan uses the Crime Severity Index (CSI) to measure both volume and severity of crimes, with weights based on incarceration rates and average prison sentences for violent offences. In 2009, the violent CSI was lower in rural areas (84.5) than in urban areas (95.3). By 2024, the situation reversed: the violent CSI was 46 per cent higher in rural areas (134.8) than in urban areas (92.5).
Provincial breakdown
Rural crime was initially an issue primarily in the Prairie provinces and Newfoundland and Labrador when first compared in 2017. Now, crime is higher in rural areas in nearly every province. Only rural Prince Edward Island and Ontario had crime rates lower than urban areas in 2024. Violent crime rates increased more in rural areas than urban areas in most provinces between 2014 and 2024, with notable increases in New Brunswick (+92 per cent), Quebec (+90 per cent), and Prince Edward Island (+83 per cent).
Homicide trends
The homicide rate in rural areas rose from 1.86 per 100,000 population in 2014 to 2.92 in 2024, a 57 per cent increase. The increase was more pronounced among women perpetrators: the rate of homicides committed by women in rural areas increased 68 per cent (from 1.16 to 1.96 per 100,000 women) compared to 50 per cent for men (from 2.55 to 3.83 per 100,000 men). Women accounted for 57 of the 173 homicide victims in rural areas in 2024.
Organized crime and assault
The rise in rural homicide rates is partly attributed to organized crime or gangs. In 2014, eight homicides (8.0 per cent) in rural areas were linked to organized crime; in 2024, this rose to 23 (13.3 per cent). However, this type of homicide remains less likely in rural areas than urban areas, where 21 per cent of homicides were gang-related.
Assault is the most frequently reported violent crime in both rural and urban areas, with higher rates in rural areas. Police-reported sexual assaults have also increased: from 2014 to 2024, the rate rose by 56 per cent in rural areas (from 79 to 124 per 100,000) and by 55 per cent in urban areas (from 53 to 82 per 100,000).
Intimate partner violence
Crimes in rural areas are more likely to be committed by someone known to the victim, such as an intimate partner. In 2024, police in rural areas reported 573 incidents of intimate partner violence per 100,000 population, nearly double the urban rate of 310 per 100,000. StatCan notes this gap is widening.
