Vancouver seen as one of Canada’s least safe cities, poll finds

Vancouver is perceived as one of Canada’s least safe cities, according to a national public-safety perception study from Liaison Strategies. The firm surveyed a random sample of 1,500 Canadians on Aug. 30 and 31, asking them to rate 15 major cities as very safe, somewhat safe, somewhat unsafe, very unsafe, or too unfamiliar to assess. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.53 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Liaison Strategies defines net safety as the share calling a city very or somewhat safe minus the share calling it somewhat or very unsafe. Quebec City led at 57, followed by Ottawa at 56 and Charlottetown at 51.

Vancouver’s score was minus eight. Only Toronto, at minus 18, and Winnipeg, at minus 28, ranked lower. Fifty-two per cent of respondents considered Vancouver somewhat or very unsafe.

The firm first conducted the study in 2017, when Vancouver had a positive net score of 20. The 28-point decline over nine years shows how quickly reputations can move, Liaison Strategies said.

David Valentin, the firm’s principal, said only 12 per cent of respondents identified crime statistics as the main influence on their perception of city safety. News coverage influenced 28 per cent, personal experience 23 per cent and friends or family 14 per cent. He said that when people primarily rely on news, personal experience and word of mouth, city safety is a reputation issue as well as a policing issue.

Women saw safety as a larger problem in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Toronto, Valentin said. He added that some cities look better when judged closer to home, but Vancouver does not. Residents, visitors and investors respond to a city’s reputation as well as police-reported crime, and building or repairing that reputation can take years, he said.

Vancouver’s 2025 Crime Severity Index was 83.5. The index measures the volume and seriousness of police-reported crime across Canada. Toronto recorded 55, Calgary 61.7 and Victoria 74.6.