Photo: Dan Huntington from Anacortes, WA · CC BY-SA 2.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Port Hardy than in 95% of Canadian towns
Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 435.4 and 191.5. Each year brought 74.6 violent incidents and 70.0 incidents of property crime for every 1,000 residents (12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size). Measured on crime the police covering Port Hardy reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of D: #246 of 251 in British Columbia.
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. Area behind the crime severity, crime rate and incident counts figures: the Port Hardy detachment area.
What stands out about safety in Port Hardy
Mischief: high for a town its size
Port Hardy records 39.1 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Over the British Columbia norm
Port Hardy’s index of 259.5 compares with 83.2 for the typical town in British Columbia. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Port Hardy places 39th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Less severe than in 2023
Port Hardy’s index went from 281.6 in 2023 to 219.8 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2. Year by year ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
What sits behind Port Hardy’s D
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: #246 of 251 in British Columbia and #2,522 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
Crime in Port Hardy, type by type
Against the typical town its size, Port Hardy runs highest on mischief (39.1 per 1,000 against 4.9), sexual assault (6.9 per 1,000 against 0.9) and assault (41.7 per 1,000 against 6.7). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 18.7 | 3.4 | 28% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 6.7 | 1.2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 0.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Robbery | 2 | 0.4 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 3 | 0.5 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 23.7 | 4.3 | 32% |
| Possession of stolen property | 4.3 | 0.8 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 8 | 1.5 | 25% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 2 | 0.4 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 94.3 | 17.2 | 13% |
| Mischief | 215 | 39.1 | 29% |
| Weapons violations | 6.7 | 1.2 | 75% |
| Administration of justice violations | 155.7 | 28.3 | 63% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 16.3 | 3 | 53% |
| Drug violations | 19.3 | 3.5 | 31% |
| Impaired driving | 47.3 | 8.6 | 54% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
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 2,500 to 10,000 people.
By its index, Port Hardy stands 39th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lac-Etchemin Quebec | 4,089 | 30.8 | 48.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 3 | Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 4,309 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| 4 | Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay British Columbia | 4,209 | 35.8 | 32 | A |
| … | |||||
| 18 | Electoral Area E, Cariboo British Columbia | 4,242 | 51.7 | 55.1 | B+ |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine British Columbia | 4,153 | 53.7 | 75.4 | B |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Northern Lights County Alberta | 4,115 | 119.8 | 132.1 | C− |
| 37 | Ormstown Quebec | 4,259 | 120.3 | 141 | D |
| 38 | Vermilion Alberta | 4,192 | 142.6 | 129.6 | D |
| 39 | Port Hardy British Columbia | 4,201 | 259.5 | 435.4 | D |
| 40 | Fort Nelson British Columbia | 4,144 | 263.7 | 376.9 | 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 Port Hardy in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Port Hardy’s index fell 22% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
2023 opened the run as its heaviest year (281.6); 2025 was the lightest, at 219.8. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Port Hardy | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 219.8 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 277.2 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 281.6 | 74.3 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Port Hardy, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
5,510 residents, about 410 violent incidents a year: the police area Port Hardy belongs to, 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 380 a year and other violations 650 (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 Port Hardy
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Hardy | 4,201 | 259.5 | 435.4 | D |
| Port McNeill (33 km) | 2,402 | 111.3 | 123.4 | C− |
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. Port Hardy has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 33 km away.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- An index, not a verdict. One robbery outweighs a run of minor thefts here, since every crime counts by the sentences courts give it. Statistics Canada adds: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- Shared with the countryside. Detachment figures cover the detachment’s whole area: Port Hardy together with the countryside and smaller places it polices.
- The index’s scale. Statistics Canada set the national index at 100 for 2006; every figure here is read against that.
- What clearance means. 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 Port Hardy
Is Port Hardy safe?
Police-reported crime in Port Hardy scores 259.5 on Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index (2023–2025 mean), with 74.6 violent incidents and 70 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year. In the middle of Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the figure is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Port Hardy?
Other Criminal Code offences is the most common, at 102.6 per 1,000 residents a year, then assault (41.7) and mischief (39.1).
Is crime going up in Port Hardy?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 22%, to 219.8 from 281.6.
How much of Port Hardy’s crime do police solve?
Police cleared 34% of crime once each incident is weighted by seriousness: 40% of violent crime and 30% of the rest, against 34% for the typical Canadian town its size.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Port Hardy and other places, so the figures are shared.
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).