Is Quebec safe for tourists, students, families and expats? Québec is a large Canadian province with major urban centres such as Montréal, Québec City, Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Saguenay and Trois-Rivières, as well as rural and remote communities. Safety can therefore vary by location and situation.
Overall, recent official police-reported statistics show that Québec has a lower Crime Severity Index than Canada as a whole. In 2025, Québec's Crime Severity Index was 61.6, compared with 75.0 for Canada. Québec's index decreased by approximately 5% from 2024 to 2025.
Statistics Canada reported a 2025 Crime Severity Index of 61.6 for Québec. The conventional police-reported crime rate was 3,673 incidents per 100,000 population, down approximately 4% from 2024. The violent Crime Severity Index was 98.0, while the non-violent Crime Severity Index was 47.5.
The Crime Severity Index is not simply a count of crimes. It incorporates both the volume of police-reported crime and the relative seriousness of offences, giving greater weight to more serious offences.
These statistics describe police-reported incidents at the provincial level. They should not be interpreted as meaning that every neighbourhood or community has the same level of safety.
| Measure | Québec 2025 | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Crime Severity Index | 61.6 | Down approximately 5% |
| Police-reported crime rate | 3,673 per 100,000 | Down approximately 4% |
| Violent Crime Severity Index | 98.0 | Down approximately 1% |
| Non-violent Crime Severity Index | 47.5 | Down approximately 8% |
| Canada Crime Severity Index | 75.0 | Down 5% |
The figures above come from Statistics Canada's 2025 Uniform Crime Reporting data, released in July 2026.
Montréal is Québec's largest city and has the characteristics of a major metropolitan area: busy downtown streets, nightlife districts, public transportation, large events and high concentrations of visitors and residents.
Statistics Canada's 2025 data recorded a Crime Severity Index of 61.3 for the Montréal census metropolitan area, with a police-reported crime rate of 3,641 per 100,000 population. The metropolitan-area Crime Severity Index decreased by 5% from 2024 to 2025.
For visitors and residents, the most useful approach is to think about specific circumstances rather than treating the entire city as equally safe or unsafe.
Québec City is another major destination for tourists, students and residents. Its historic centre attracts large numbers of visitors, while the wider metropolitan area contains residential, commercial and suburban communities.
Statistics Canada's 2025 figures recorded a Crime Severity Index of 55.0 for the Québec census metropolitan area, with a police-reported crime rate of 3,493 per 100,000 population. The Crime Severity Index decreased by 1% compared with 2024.
Tourists should nevertheless use ordinary precautions in crowded areas, around nightlife and when carrying valuables.
Safety conditions differ across Québec's cities. Statistics Canada's 2025 metropolitan-area figures included the following Crime Severity Index values: Saguenay 49.3, Sherbrooke 50.3, Trois-Rivières 56.0, Drummondville 72.3, Montréal 61.3 and Québec City 55.0.
These numbers are useful for understanding broad metropolitan-area differences, but they should not be used to label an entire city as safe or unsafe. Crime can vary between neighbourhoods and between different types of incidents.
Petty theft can occur anywhere people gather in large numbers. Tourists may be particularly vulnerable because they often carry phones, cameras, passports, wallets and luggage.
If you rent or own a vehicle, avoid leaving luggage, electronics or other valuables visible inside the car.
Bars, clubs and entertainment districts can involve different risks from ordinary daytime activities. Alcohol can reduce awareness and make it easier to lose personal belongings.
Visitors and newcomers should be cautious about unsolicited requests for money, suspicious online accommodation listings, fake payment requests and identity-related scams.
Never provide banking credentials, passwords or copies of important identity documents to an unverified person or website.
Québec is home to families across large cities, suburbs, smaller towns and rural communities. Family safety depends heavily on the particular neighbourhood and lifestyle.
When choosing a home, parents may want to investigate:
Québec attracts international students to universities, colleges and other educational institutions. Students generally face many of the same safety considerations as other residents, with additional attention needed around shared housing, nightlife, public transportation and online accommodation scams.
Students should choose accommodation carefully and avoid sending deposits or personal documents to landlords before verifying that the listing and rental arrangement are legitimate.
For more information, see our guide to studying and living in Québec as a student.
Québec is a major tourism destination, with attractions including Old Québec, Montréal, national parks, winter destinations and numerous festivals and cultural events.
Tourists can reduce common risks by following straightforward precautions:
There is no single answer for the entire province. Night-time conditions vary considerably between a busy downtown street, a nightlife district, a residential neighbourhood and an isolated rural road.
If you are unfamiliar with an area:
Safety in Québec is not only about crime. Winter weather can create important everyday hazards, particularly for people arriving from warmer climates.
Snow, freezing rain, ice, extreme cold and reduced daylight can affect walking, driving and public transportation.
Québec has extensive forests, lakes, rivers, mountains and wilderness areas. Visitors heading outside major cities should consider risks that are different from urban crime.
911 is the main emergency number in Québec. The Government of Québec states that 911 should be used when an emergency threatens the safety of people, property or the environment and requires immediate intervention from police, firefighters or ambulance services.
The Government of Québec specifically advises using 911 for emergencies such as a fire, major accident, cardiac arrest, a person in immediate danger or a robbery requiring emergency intervention.
For non-emergency police matters, use the appropriate local police service rather than automatically calling 911.
If you need immediate police, fire or ambulance assistance, call 911.
When calling, be prepared to provide:
If you are visiting Québec and do not know your exact location, look for a street sign, building number, business name, transit station or other identifying information.
New residents often spend most of their time thinking about housing, work, immigration and transportation. Safety should also be part of the relocation plan.
Safety should be one factor in choosing housing, alongside rent, commute time, access to shops, schools, public transportation and overall quality of life.
Instead of searching for a generic list of "safest neighbourhoods," investigate the specific property and surrounding streets.
Before renting or buying, consider:
You can combine this research with our guides to affordable areas in Québec and Québec rental prices.
Crime statistics are useful for understanding broad trends, but they should be interpreted carefully.
Statistics Canada's Crime Severity Index includes police-reported Criminal Code incidents and other federal-statute violations and assigns greater weight to more serious offences. It is therefore different from simply counting the number of police reports.
A province-wide number also cannot describe every neighbourhood. In 2025, for example, metropolitan Crime Severity Index values ranged from 49.3 in Saguenay to 72.3 in Drummondville among the Québec metropolitan areas listed by Statistics Canada. Montréal was 61.3 and Québec City was 55.0.
For that reason, use official statistics as one source of information rather than as a guarantee about a particular street, building or individual experience.
Statistics Canada's 2025 provincial data recorded a Crime Severity Index of 61.6 for Québec compared with 75.0 for Canada. Québec's index decreased by approximately 5% between 2024 and 2025.
The comparison is useful at the provincial level, but crime patterns differ considerably between communities. A person deciding where to live should therefore consider the particular city and neighbourhood rather than relying only on a provincial comparison.
Yes, Québec is generally a safe place to live and visit, while normal precautions are still necessary. Official 2025 statistics show a Québec Crime Severity Index of 61.6, below Canada's national index of 75.0, with Québec's index decreasing from 2024 to 2025.
Montréal and Québec City are large urban areas and have their own patterns of crime and public safety. Smaller cities and rural areas also have different circumstances. No city or province is completely free of crime.
For tourists, students and newcomers, the most useful approach is straightforward: protect your belongings, be aware of your surroundings, use reputable services, take winter and outdoor conditions seriously, and learn how to contact emergency services.