Investigators work at a crime scene northeast of Regina on May 6, 2008. (Troy Fleece/Canadian Press)Investigators work at a crime scene northeast of Regina on May 6, 2008. (Troy Fleece/Canadian Press)

For the third consecutive year, Canada's overall crime rate dropped in 2007, according to Statistics Canada figures.

The biggest reasons for the decline were the nine per cent dips in both the number of home break-ins and motor vehicle thefts. The robbery rate also fell by five per cent, StatsCan said in its July 17, 2008 report.

The homicide rate fell for the second year in a row as did the actual number of murders in Canada to 594 from 606 in 2006. The number of robberies committed with a firearm also fell, to a 30-year low.

While most types of crime declined in 2007, a few did increase. Impaired driving rose by three per cent, largely because of a 19 per cent surge in Alberta, StatsCan said. Drug offences rose by four per cent, largely due to an increase in arrests for cannabis possession.

Western provinces continued to have the highest crime rates, while Ontario and Quebec were at the lower end. But most provinces saw declines with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

Map: Crime rate by province

The Saskatchewan cities of Saskatoon and Regina continued to have Canada's highest crime rates in 2007. But both saw their rates dip last year, along with most urban centres across Canada.

Toronto reported the second-lowest crime rate of all the centres measured. One-fifth of Canada's murders are committed in the country's largest city, StatsCan said. But Toronto's murder rate per capita is still lower than Saskatoon, Regina, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

Map: Crime rate by city

Table: Crime rate by city

City Total offences rate % Change from 2006 Violent offences rate Homicide rate Property offences rate
National average
Canada 6,984 -7.4 930 1.8 3,320
Cities 500,000 population and up
Winnipeg 9,644 -12.9 1,082 3.6 5,090
Edmonton 9,572 -5.4 1,031 3.3 5,166
Vancouver 9,136 -11.3 989 2.4 5,100
Calgary 6,202 -8.4 712 3.1 3,825
Montreal 5,958 -13.8 777 1.6 3,282
Hamilton 5,511 -2.2 776 1.6 2,985
Ottawa 5,457 -5.1 599 1.6 2,915
Quebec 4,524 -8.0 645 0.0 2,579
Toronto 4,461 -11.0 709 2.0 2,307
Cities 100,000 to 500,000 population
Regina 11,827 -5.5 1,478 2.5 5,703
Saskatoon 11,560 -5.2 1,612 3.6 4,520
Abbotsford 10,341 -8.2 944 1.2 5,868
Victoria 9,335 -8.5 911 1.2 4,941
Thunder Bay 8,819 -2.8 1,335 1.6 3,942
Saint John 8,292 +5.4 1,431 2.0 3,441
Halifax 7,954 -8.5 1,145 1.8 3,774
St. John's 7,325 +8.6 926 0.5 3,689
London 7,296 -10.2 730 1.3 3,867
Windsor 6,138 -9.3 644 1.2 3,321
Kingston 5,970 -11.7 689 0.7 3,001
Gatineau-Hull 5,718 +1.0 796 0.7 2,902
St. Catharines-Niagara 5,711 -4.6 571 0.7 3,206
Greater Sudbury 5,627 -9.3 888 2.5 2,691
Kitchener 4,906 -16.8 565 1.4 2,721
Sherbrooke 4,831 -10.0 503 1.3 2,512
Trois-Rivières 4,478 -8.2 599 2.7 2,391
Saguenay 4,398 +8.1 720 0.7 2,107

All rates above represent the number of incidents per 100,000 residents. Cities where the total Criminal Code offences per 100,000 residents went up in 2007 are indicated in bold.