The Toronto area has the second-lowest crime rate of all large urban regions in Canada, behind Quebec City, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

Greater Toronto had 5,020 criminal code offences in 2006 for every 100,000 people. Winnipeg, Vancouver and Edmonton recorded more than twice as many.

For violent crime, there were 738 offences, with only Ottawa and Quebec registering lower rates for their populations.

A large city or area, according to the study, was defined as having a population of 500,000 and over.

"Toronto is actually one of the safest communities in Canada," University of Ottawa criminologist Ron Melchers told CBC News.

Contrary to popular belief, smaller cities in Western Canada have more crimes per capita, with Regina claiming the dubious distinction as Canada's crime capital.

The capital of Saskatchewan had 12,415 criminal code offences per 100,000 of population, and 1,546 of those were considered violent.