Photo: jasonwoodhead23 · CC BY 2.0Fort McMurray records more crime per resident than 86% of Canadian towns
Recorded violent incidents ran at 20.6 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 86.9, against 10.8 and 25.1 in the typical town its size. Counting crime the police covering Fort McMurray reported from 2023 to 2025, it grades D for safety: #429 of 474 in Alberta. Split in two, the index gives 117.5 for violence and 128.3 for everything else (normally 75.2 and 54.2). Within Alberta, half the towns score under 110.
Statistics Canada, police-reported crime, 2023–2025 means. The index weighs each crime by its seriousness; rates are incidents per 1,000 residents a year.
What stands out about safety in Fort McMurray
Mischief: high for a town its size
Fort McMurray records 44.3 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.8 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. By type ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Fort McMurray comes 36th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Less severe than in 2023
In 2023 the index in Fort McMurray stood at 136.2, by 2025 at 108. Over the same years the typical Canadian town its size went from 64.3 to 59.2. Year by year ↓
Heavier on property and other crime
Fort McMurray scores 117.5 for violence and 128.3 for other crime; the typical Canadian town its size scores 75.2 and 54.2. By type ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Fort McMurray: D for safety, and why
The grade weighs the Crime Severity Index and its violent half, averaged over 2023–2025, against every Canadian town and city neighbourhood of 1,000 people or more.
Its place: #429 of 474 in Alberta and #2,281 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
Crime in Fort McMurray, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Fort McMurray runs highest on mischief (44.3 per 1,000 against 3.8), drug offences (2.7 per 1,000 against 0.9) and motor vehicle theft (4.4 per 1,000 against 1.7).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 2.3 | 0.03 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 28 | 0.4 | 51% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 33.7 | 0.4 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 3.7 | 0.05 | — |
| Robbery | 43.3 | 0.6 | 71% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 8 | 0.1 | 91% |
| Other violent violations | 21 | 0.3 | 40% |
| Breaking and entering | 271.3 | 3.6 | 24% |
| Possession of stolen property | 104.7 | 1.4 | 35% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 336 | 4.4 | 17% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 59 | 0.8 | 12% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 1,917.3 | 25.1 | 19% |
| Mischief | 3,388.7 | 44.3 | 30% |
| Weapons violations | 44 | 0.6 | 58% |
| Administration of justice violations | 851 | 11.1 | 86% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 87 | 1.1 | 47% |
| Drug violations | 207.7 | 2.7 | 23% |
| Impaired driving | 192.3 | 2.5 | 64% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 3.7 | 0.05 | — |
Statistics Canada’s violation groups for the whole police service or detachment, incidents a year its own. Cleared: incidents solved by a charge or otherwise, as a share of those reported.
Incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 means, against the typical figure for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
Year by year in Fort McMurray: down 21%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
The first year, 2023, was the heaviest at 136.2, and 2025 the lightest at 108. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 64.3 to 59.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Fort McMurray | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 108 | 59.2 |
| 2024 | 129.2 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 136.2 | 64.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Fort McMurray, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Fort McMurray is 36th of 40 towns its size, lowest index first
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repentigny Quebec | 91,290 | 28.1 | 48.2 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 7 | Airdrie Alberta | 92,544 | 44.3 | 48.7 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 18 | St. Albert Alberta | 74,621 | 58.8 | 51.1 | B |
| … | |||||
| 29 | Medicine Hat Alberta | 68,714 | 87.3 | 82.6 | C |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Brandon Manitoba | 59,444 | 107.2 | 121.5 | C− |
| 34 | Sault Ste. Marie Ontario | 81,182 | 109.6 | 137 | C− |
| 35 | Moncton New Brunswick | 102,378 | 113.1 | 113.3 | C− |
| 36 | Fort McMurray Alberta | 81,611 | 124.5 | 117.5 | D |
| 37 | Chilliwack British Columbia | 105,520 | 142.2 | 158.4 | D |
| 38 | Grande Prairie Alberta | 71,160 | 149.3 | 157.2 | D |
| 39 | Victoria British Columbia | 103,888 | 161.3 | 160.1 | D |
| 40 | Prince George British Columbia | 85,944 | 209.1 | 239.6 | D |
The 40 Canadian towns of 2,500+ people closest in population; city neighbourhoods, city totals and reserves are left out. Towns on one police service or detachment share its index.
The Canadian towns closest to Fort McMurray in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Fort McMurray’s police: about 1,570 violent incidents a year over 2023–2025
Violent incidents per 1,000 a year, 2023–2025
Property crimes per 1,000 a year, 2023–2025
Statistics Canada counts actual incidents; those police record as unfounded are listed apart and kept out of its crime rates and severity index. Each incident is filed under its most serious violation, which the survey sets partly by the maximum penalty.
Property crime adds about 6,640 a year and other violations 2,120 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Crime in the places around Fort McMurray
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort McMurray | 81,611 | 124.5 | 117.5 | D |
| La Loche (125 km) | 3,124 | 1,107 | 1,524.7 | D− |
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Fort McMurray has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 125 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. The index weighs crimes rather than counting them: a serious offence moves it far more than a minor one. Statistics Canada is plain about its limits: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
- Cleared, not convicted. A crime is cleared when police lay or recommend a charge, or solve it another way; the weighted rate counts serious crimes for more.
Questions about safety in Fort McMurray
Is Fort McMurray safe?
Fort McMurray measures 124.5 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, next to 60.3 for Canadian towns of 50,000 people or more. Per 1,000 residents a year, its police record 20.6 violent incidents and 86.9 property crimes.
What is the most common crime in Fort McMurray?
Mischief is the most common, at 44.3 per 1,000 residents a year, then theft under $5,000 (25.1) and other Criminal Code offences (20.8).
Is crime going up in Fort McMurray?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 21%, to 108 from 136.2.
How much of Fort McMurray’s crime do police solve?
About 34% of crime is cleared, weighted by seriousness, with 56% of violent and 27% of other crime; the figure for the typical Canadian town its size is 38%.
Whose figures are these?
They are Fort McMurray’s own: its police cover the town and no other.
Source: Statistics Canada, police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025 (Statistics Canada Open Licence); TownRatings calculation.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services (tables 35-10-0186 to 0190, 0061, 0063, 0064), 2023–2025 · Statistics Canada, Incident-based crime statistics by detailed violations, police services (35-10-0178 to 0185) · Safety Grade: TownRatings calculation. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).