Majority say that crime in their community has risen over the past five years

January 12, 2026 – As the federal Liberal government proposes changes to the country’s criminal justice system aimed at concerns over violent repeat offenders, Canadians are expressing a growing concern about rising crime in their own individual communities. Some of the most common crimes facing Canadians, however, don’t involve ever seeing another person’s face.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, the first in a series examining crime in Canada, finds three-in-five (62%) believe that over the last five years, crime has been rising in the communities where they live. It’s a proportion that far outnumbers those who say there’s been no change (24%) or a decrease (5%).

In 2014, more than a decade ago, Canadians were more likely to perceive stable crime rates (40%) than increasing ones (30%). The latter figure has doubled in the intervening years.

The perception is matched by empirical data from Statistics Canada, which shows a rise in both its Crime Severity Index and Violent Crime Severity Index since 2020.

That said, among the most widespread crimes – at least attempted – are fraud and identity theft, which appear to be increasing in frequency and targeting nearly everyone. More than four-in-five Canadians say they have been the target of an online or phone scam over the past two years. For 30 per cent of the population this has resulted in the loss of information or money. Notably, Canadians lost more than $638 million in reported fraud cases in 2024, although only five to 10 per cent of such cases are thought to be reported to authorities.

What this means is that while 13 per cent of Canadians have been involved in a police-reported crime during this two-year period, more than one-in-three (36%) have been victims of a crime if expanded to include this rampant fraud.

More in this release:

• The number of Canadians choosing “crime and public safety” as a top issue has increased four-fold compared to 2015 – now at one-in-five.
  For those working in retail, shoplifting, verbal abuse, and physical threats have become the norm.
• The proportion of Canadians feeling comfortable walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark has fallen compared to data collected in 2015 and 2022.
• Those 60 years of age and older are nearly twice as likely as 18- to 29-year-olds to report being victims of a scam or fraud over the past two years.
• Half of Canadians say shoplifting has increased in prevalence in their community, a sentiment supported by empirical data in recent years.
• Canadians are more likely than Americans to say that crime is rising in their communities (62% vs. 39%) with Republican and CPC voters more likely to say this than others.
• Canadians and Americans are equally likely to have been victim of a police-reported crime over the past two years. In each country 13 per cent say this.

Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/
Download .PDF with detailed tables, graphs and methodology.

Media Contacts:
Shachi Kurl, President: 604.908.1693 (mobile)
shachi.kurl@angusreid.org @shachikurl