Majority of Canadians believe Toronto is unsafe, despite lowest crime rate

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Majority of Canadians believe Toronto is unsafe, despite lowest crime rate

A new poll suggests that people believe Toronto is one of the most unsafe cities in Canada – despite having the lowest crime rate in the country.

According to the Mainstreet/Postmedia poll, more than half – 52 per cent – of respondents believe Toronto is unsafe. In fact, people believe it’s the No. 2 least-safe place in the country. The city perceived to be the least safe is Winnipeg, at 55 per cent. Montreal was No. 3., followed by Saskatoon and Quebec City.

The survey polled 2,050 people across the country, asking them about the perceived safety of 15 different cities.

While many view Toronto as unsafe, the city had the lowest crime rate in 2016, with just under 3,000 reported crimes, according to Statistics Canada.

“Toronto lies at the other end of the spectrum and continues [to be] near the bottom of the list of safe cities. In contrast, [it has] the lowest crime rate among the 15 cities that were surveyed,” Quito Maggi, the president of Mainstreet Research, said in a release.

Although the crime rate increased by two per cent to 2,954 reported crimes in 2016, Toronto has the lowest crime rate of the 15 major cities in Canada, the poll found.


Majority of Canadians believe Toronto is unsafe, despite lowest crime rate: poll - 680 NEWS
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Mar 18, 2013
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So why do they feel its unsafe?

Ignorance, I imagine. Same reason some folks are all a-skeered of terrists, despite the vanishingly small chance they'll ever encounter one.

Far, far more people are killed by ladders than by terrists. Maybe we should lock up all the ladder owners. Or drop bombs on them.
 

Bar Sinister

Executive Branch Member
Jan 17, 2010
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Now we have two unsafe city threads. Couldn't we have posted in just one? And why do they contradict one another? What the hell is it: Winnipeg or Toronto? And who cares what people think? A city is either safe or it isn't.
 

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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Now we have two unsafe city threads. Couldn't we have posted in just one? And why do they contradict one another? What the hell is it: Winnipeg or Toronto? And who cares what people think? A city is either safe or it isn't.




NO! There's degrees of safety, I doubt if any place is totally safe, but there's a few that are damn near totally dangerous, like Surrey, Montreal, Kelowna etc. ......................and it will continue as long as dope is rampant!
 

Curious Cdn

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 22, 2015
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Toronto is just full of Muppets.

Toronto is full of every type of human being imaginable. I suppose, that is what makes it scary to the country mice when they first arrive, there.

NO! There's degrees of safety, I doubt if any place is totally safe, but there's a few that are damn near totally dangerous, like Surrey, Montreal, Kelowna etc. ......................and it will continue as long as dope is rampant!

I have lived pretty much half of my life in Montreal and I will tell you that it is definitely NOT dangerous. It might seem a bit sinister to you because the predominant language/culture is not your own but it is a very safe city. One of the keys to that is that people live in large numbers (and have always lived) right downtown there and Montreal doesn't hollow itself out "after hours" like a lot of cities do, leaving an empty core to prowling criminals (as a lot of American cities do. You got that one utterly wrong. You are safer in Montreal than in Medicine Hat (by a long way).
 

Jinentonix

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Sep 6, 2015
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There's always been the perception that large cities are somehow inherently less safe. Not saying that perception is necessarily accurate. As an example, the Toronto news sounds more and more like the Detroit news in the '80s. Shootings, stabbings, armed robberies, homicides all seem to be the order of the day.

Of course one can have a different perception based on how the stats are presented. In sheer numbers Toronto has a lot of crime. On a per capita basis though, Toronto looks like a pretty safe city in which to live.
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
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There's always been the perception that large cities are somehow inherently less safe. Not saying that perception is necessarily accurate. As an example, the Toronto news sounds more and more like the Detroit news in the '80s. Shootings, stabbings, armed robberies, homicides all seem to be the order of the day.

Of course one can have a different perception based on how the stats are presented. In sheer numbers Toronto has a lot of crime. On a per capita basis though, Toronto looks like a pretty safe city in which to live.
Yeah, it's all about perception and "everybody knows."

Another example is the parents (and local governments) being hyper-protective of kids despite the fact that both accidental death and injury to children and crimes against children are at all-time lows.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Ignorance, I imagine. Same reason some folks are all a-skeered of terrists, despite the vanishingly small chance they'll ever encounter one.

Far, far more people are killed by ladders than by terrists. Maybe we should lock up all the ladder owners. Or drop bombs on them.

I blame Rookie Blue.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
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Majority of Canadians believe Toronto is unsafe, despite lowest crime rate

A new poll suggests that people believe Toronto is one of the most unsafe cities in Canada – despite having the lowest crime rate in the country.

According to the Mainstreet/Postmedia poll, more than half – 52 per cent – of respondents believe Toronto is unsafe. In fact, people believe it’s the No. 2 least-safe place in the country. The city perceived to be the least safe is Winnipeg, at 55 per cent. Montreal was No. 3., followed by Saskatoon and Quebec City.

The survey polled 2,050 people across the country, asking them about the perceived safety of 15 different cities.

While many view Toronto as unsafe, the city had the lowest crime rate in 2016, with just under 3,000 reported crimes, according to Statistics Canada.

“Toronto lies at the other end of the spectrum and continues [to be] near the bottom of the list of safe cities. In contrast, [it has] the lowest crime rate among the 15 cities that were surveyed,” Quito Maggi, the president of Mainstreet Research, said in a release.

Although the crime rate increased by two per cent to 2,954 reported crimes in 2016, Toronto has the lowest crime rate of the 15 major cities in Canada, the poll found.


Majority of Canadians believe Toronto is unsafe, despite lowest crime rate: poll - 680 NEWS


It's a stupid f**king subject, especially if you are not going to list all criteria! There's a million ways of being unsafe! :)
 

Curious Cdn

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 22, 2015
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Taranna has, by far and away, the most ladders in the nation.

Clearly, this contributes to that city being so uber-dagerous

The WSIB in Ontario doesn't let you use ladders, anymore. Need to change a light bulb? You have to rent a scissors lift with a licensed operator.