There are 19 other Canadian cities safer than Calgary, according to a new survey conducted by rental listing company Rentola.
Calgary is ranked 20th on the list of 34 Canadian cities, ahead of 21st-ranked Edmonton, but behind Lethbridge, which cracked the top 10.
According to Rentola, the metropolitan areas were ranked based on data from Statistics Canada, which included the crime severity index, the non-violent and violent crime severity indexes, the crime-solving rate, as well as the number of citizens per police officer.
The survey crunched the numbers to create a score out of 10, while cities lacking data were excluded from the analysis.
Barrie, Ont., took first place as Canada’s safest city, according to the survey, with a score of 7.13 out of 10; while Calgary scored 5.78 out of 10.
The study ranked Winnipeg, Man., as the least safe Canadian city on the list, with a score of 4.59.
Kelly Sundberg, a criminologist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said the difference in crime between each city on the list is minimal.
“We can see that the crime from city to city is relatively consistent,” Sundberg told Global News. “I’m sure Calgary would like to be higher in the rankings. But, Prairie cities tend to be a little bit off from the safer sides.”
Sundberg said the survey results were quite broad, but insists Calgary is a safe city despite its ranking in the study.
“I think that this is a fair assessment,” Sundberg said. “I believe the methodology is fairly sound and I think it’s another indicator, but it does show Calgary is safe.”
Public safety has been an ongoing discussion in Calgary since the COVID-19 pandemic, with several initiatives aimed at improving safety on public transit, and task forces struck at both the municipal and provincial level to find solutions.
Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp sits on the province’s Calgary Public Safety and Community Response Task Force, which is set to convene again next week.
Sharp told Global News she was less concerned with the survey’s ranking than she is about feedback she’s heard from Calgarians on how safe they feel in public.
“We really take in what we hear from Calgarians, and is it safer than it was in 2019? I’d say no,” Sharp said. “The feeling of being safe is really important. The perception of being safe is also important.”
However, Sharp noted the data used for the survey doesn’t weigh the ongoing initiatives in Calgary, including efforts to increase social supports, as well as investments in policing, mental health and addictions.
“It doesn’t really look at our efforts around mental health and addiction and we know that there’s a lot of work going on, and these are underlying issues that are a big part of addressing crime,” Sharp said. “Police are reactive and we also need to be very proactive.”
Rentola didn’t respond to Global News’ request for an interview, but its website said the survey was conducted to help people considering relocation to make “an informed decision.”