The saying may be "Move west, young man," but a new report on Canada's most dangerous cities says if you want to live in a safe city -- you might want to consider moving east.
Of the top-10 most dangerous cities in the country, the first nine are all west of Ontario. Halifax, which took the final spot in the top-10, was the only eastern entry.
The Maclean's magazine report, based on crime reports from 2006 and calculated per capita, deems Regina -- home of the RCMP training facility-- the most dangerous city in Canada.
The rankings of cities on the most dangerous list:
- Regina
- Saskatoon
- Winnipeg
- Prince George, B.C.
- Edmonton
- New Westminster, B.C.
- Chilliwack, B.C.
- Victoria
- Vancouver
- Halifax
Despite the often-grisly headlines, both Montreal and Toronto fell well outside the top-ten at 19, and 26, respectively.
Ken MacQueen, Maclean's B.C. bureau chief, spoke with CTV's Canada AM Thursday.
"The biggest surprise was that so many were in the West," MacQueen said of the report.
MacQueen said he spoke to a number of criminologists who gave him a number of reasons for the West's crime problems.
He said that while the 'Wild West" syndrome was mentioned, the main reason given was the West's "pockets of dysfunction." He referred to the high number of drug users in Vancouver and Victoria as a reason for crime in those cities and a large "at-risk" community of urban aboriginals in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Regina.
The report also broke down the most dangerous cities for specific crime:
- Murder - Arthabaska, Que.
- Auto theft - Winnipeg
- Aggravated assault - Regina
- Sexual assault - Saskatoon
- Robbery - Saskatoon
- Break and enter -Chilliwack, B.C.
The report also listed the safest places in Canada, which were mostly smaller communities in Central Canada.
The top five safest places in Canada:
- Caledon, Ont
- Maskoutains, Que.
- Nottawasaga, Ont
- Halton Region, Ont
- York Region, Ont
For more, see the Maclean's report.
