Planning to move to Canada? Here’s what Indian students and immigrants should know about the latest safety rankings

Canada ranks among the world’s safest nations, but crime rates still vary dramatically from city to city. (Photo: AI-Generated)

For thousands of Indian students and families planning to move to Canada, safety can matter just as much as university rankings or job opportunities. A new mid-2026 ranking based on Numbeo data identifies the country’s safest cities, and the results may surprise many newcomers.

The l, highlighted Immigration News Canada using Numbeo’s latest Crime Index, ranks Quebec City as Canada’s safest major city, followed Burlington, Ottawa, Montreal and Guelph. While the rankings are based on public perception rather than police data, they offer a useful snapshot of how residents view safety in different parts of the country.

Numbeo is a crowd-sourced database that measures residents’ perceptions of crime and safety. Its Crime Index is not the same as Canada’s official Crime Severity Index published Statics Canada.

Here are the 5 safest cities in Canada right now, based on the mid-2026 Numbeo dataset, along with what’s actually driving their strong safety scores.

Quebec City, Quebec

Quebec City holds the top spot a wide margin, with a Crime Index of just 22.3, the lowest in Canada and among the lowest anywhere in North America. Quebec City has consently ranked among Canada’s safest urban centres in recent Numbeo surveys, with residents reporting low levels of violent crime and strong perceptions of personal safety.Story continues below this ad

Burlington, Ontario

Burlington comes in second with a Crime Index of 28.6. As a smaller city bordering Toronto’s broader metro region, Burlington benefits from strong municipal policing, higher average household incomes, and lower rates of the visible disorder that tends to drag down perception scores in bigger cities.

Ottawa, Ontario

Canada’s capital ranks third at 30.9. Despite being a major urban centre, Ottawa maintains comparatively low crime perception thanks to steady government employment, a large public-sector presence, and consent investment in community policing across its neighbourhoods.

Montreal, Quebec

Montreal follows closely at 33.0. As one of Canada’s largest cities, it has a relatively low score, reflecting active neighbourhood policing, strong public transit safety measures, and a dense, walkable urban layout that supports natural surveillance in busy areas.

Guelph, Ontario

Rounding out the top five, Guelph scores 33.8. Its strong safety profile is often linked to its size: large enough to offer opportunity, small enough to maintain close-knit community dynamics, and anchored a stable local economy anchored its university population.Story continues below this ad

What this means for newcomers

For newcomers using these rankings to choose a city, the safest approach is to look at both perception data and official crime figures together, then dig into neighbourhood-level detail before deciding.

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The rankings
Scorecards
Ontario vs Quebec
How to read this
For Indian students
Toronto & Vancouver

22.3Quebec City — lowest crime index
3Ontario cities in the top 5
2Quebec cities in the top 5

Lowest Numbeo crime index (mid-2026)

Lower index = lower perceived crime. All five fall in Numbeo’s “low” band (20–40).

#1Quebec City22.3QuebecHoric old town; consently the lowest perceived crime in Canada.
#2Burlington28.6OntarioA Halton-region suburb; a fixture among Canada’s safest since 2019.
#3Ottawa30.9OntarioThe national capital; a large federal workforce and stable services.
#4Montreal33.0QuebecA major metro with a high police-per-resident ratio.
#5Guelph33.8OntarioPraised for a “small-town feel”; stable year on year.

Four of the top five sit in two provinces

3OntarioBurlingtonOttawaGuelph
2QuebecQuebec CityMontreal

Quebec takes the top spot; Ontario places the most cities in the top five.

Two very different measures

Numbeo Crime Index✓ Resident & visitor perception✓ Crowdsourced surveys✓ Updated continuously
StatCan Crime Severity Index✓ Police-reported data✓ Official government stats✓ Measures crime severity

These ls don’t match. Numbeo measures how safe people feel; the official CSI measures reported crime and its severity. It’s normal for the two to diverge — and CSI-based ls surface different cities (Barrie, Saguenay, Halton).
Numbeo updates continuously, so snapshots differ — some mid-2026 ls place Oakville in the top five and shift the order. Treat rankings as a starting point, and check official police data and neighbourhood-level information before deciding.

Choosing a city: what to weigh

◉Universities & courses
★Jobs & post-study work

Safety is only one factor when choosing where to study or settle — weigh it alongside universities, jobs, housing and community.
Before you move: a checkl

✓Safety
✓Rent
✓University
✓Jobs
✓Healthcare
✓Transport
✓Weather
✓Indian community

Not in the top five

Toronto
Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton

Canada’s biggest cities don’t top perception rankings — but citywide averages hide big neighbourhood variation. Toronto has streets that feel very safe and pockets that don’t; the same is true of Vancouver. Use city rankings as a starting point, then research specific neighbourhoods.

Rankings and values are from one Numbeo mid-2026 snapshot (perception-based, crowdsourced); order and inclusion shift as the dataset updates, and differ from official Statics Canada data.
Sources: Numbeo Crime Index (mid-2026) · Statics Canada Crime Severity Index (for comparison).

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The good news is that Canada’s overall trajectory remains strongly positive; the national Crime Severity Index is now 34% below its 1998 peak, meaning the country as a whole continues to get safer, even as individual cities face their own localised challenges.