Photo: Shahnoor Habib Munmun · CC BY 3.0Portage la Prairie sees more crime per resident than 95% of Canadian towns
Its violent half comes to 285.8 and its non-violent half to 228.4, where the norm is 89.4 and 56. Police cleared 45% of incidents, weighted by seriousness, against 33% for the typical Canadian town its size. Measured on crime the police covering Portage la Prairie reported between 2023 and 2025, it earns a Safety Grade of D: #173 of 182 in Manitoba. Per 1,000 residents a year, 50.1 violent incidents and 110.0 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 12.0 and 30.5 in the typical town its size.
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 Portage la Prairie
Mischief: high for a town its size
Portage la Prairie records 42.8 incidents of mischief per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.7 in the typical town among Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. By type ↓
Over the Manitoba norm
The typical Manitoba town scores 129.3; Portage la Prairie, 243.3. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, Portage la Prairie comes 39th, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
Easing since 2023
Portage la Prairie’s index went from 251.4 in 2023 to 211 in 2025; the typical Canadian town its size moved from 69.5 to 60. 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.
Inside Portage la Prairie’s D for safety
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: #173 of 182 in Manitoba and #2,522 of 2,572 Canadian towns.
The Crime Severity Index and its two halves, beside the typical figure for Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Portage la Prairie’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, Portage la Prairie runs highest on mischief (42.8 per 1,000 against 3.7), drug offences (4.8 per 1,000 against 0.8) and assault (30.7 per 1,000 against 6.6).
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1 | 0.07 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 9.7 | 0.7 | 79% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 15.3 | 1.1 | 98% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 6.7 | 0.5 | 49% |
| Robbery | 24.7 | 1.7 | 61% |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 3.3 | 0.2 | — |
| Other violent violations | 6.3 | 0.4 | 68% |
| Breaking and entering | 135.3 | 9.4 | 20% |
| Possession of stolen property | 25 | 1.7 | 56% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 60.3 | 4.2 | 21% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 10 | 0.7 | 13% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 634.3 | 43.8 | 17% |
| Mischief | 619.7 | 42.8 | 25% |
| Weapons violations | 82 | 5.7 | 52% |
| Administration of justice violations | 487.3 | 33.7 | 85% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 29.3 | 2 | 62% |
| Drug violations | 68.7 | 4.8 | 40% |
| Impaired driving | 60.7 | 4.2 | 78% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 0.7 | 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 10,000 to 50,000 people.
Among 40 towns its size, Portage la Prairie places 39th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiny Ontario | 14,195 | 27.9 | 36.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 36 | Pembroke Ontario | 15,479 | 112.1 | 153.4 | C− |
| 37 | Powell River British Columbia | 14,947 | 113.5 | 99.4 | C− |
| 38 | La Crète Alberta | 14,488 | 113.5 | 218.8 | C− |
| 39 | Portage la Prairie Manitoba | 14,738 | 243.3 | 285.8 | D |
| 40 | North Battleford Saskatchewan | 14,882 | 528.4 | 591.9 | 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 Portage la Prairie in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Portage la Prairie’s index fell 16% from 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
At 267.5, 2024 topped the three years, and 2025 was lowest at 211. Set beside it, the typical Canadian town its size went from 69.5 in 2023 to 60 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Portage la Prairie | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 211 | 60 |
| 2024 | 267.5 | 67.9 |
| 2023 | 251.4 | 69.5 |
Statistics Canada, Crime Severity Index by police service, each year as published. Typical: the median of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
The Crime Severity Index of the police covering Portage la Prairie, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 730 violent incidents a year on Portage la Prairie’s police records (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 1,590 a year and other violations 1,220 (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 Portage la Prairie
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage la Prairie | 14,738 | 243.3 | 285.8 | D |
| Portage la Prairie (10 km) | 7,359 | 67.8 | 71.8 | B− |
| Grey (34 km) | 2,655 | 27.2 | 39.3 | A+ |
| North Norfolk (35 km) | 4,084 | 67.8 | 71.8 | B− |
| Cartier (38 km) | 3,739 | 67 | 72.1 | B− |
| Norfolk-Treherne (48 km) | 1,960 | 26.8 | 36.9 | A+ |
Every neighbour with a figure of its own has a lower index than Portage la Prairie. Closest is Portage la Prairie, 10.4 km away, at 67.8 to 243.3 here.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means. No closer places have figures: these lie 10–48 km from Portage la Prairie.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What clearance means. Cleared means solved by police, charged or not; it says nothing about what courts decide.
- An index, not a verdict. The Crime Severity Index adds up police-reported crime, each kind weighted by the sentences courts give it, so one robbery counts for more than many thefts. In Statistics Canada’s words, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- The index’s scale. Figures are relative to one fixed point, Canada in 2006 at 100, rather than to this year’s national number.
Questions about safety in Portage la Prairie
Is Portage la Prairie safe?
Its police recorded 50.1 violent incidents and 110 property crimes a year per 1,000 residents over 2023–2025, which gives Portage la Prairie a Crime Severity Index of 243.3. The middle of Canadian towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people is 66.
What is the most common crime in Portage la Prairie?
Most often it is other Criminal Code offences: 73.6 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come theft under $5,000 at 43.8 and mischief at 42.8.
Is crime going up in Portage la Prairie?
The reverse: 251.4 in 2023 came down to 211 by 2025, 16% lower.
How much of Portage la Prairie’s crime do police solve?
45%, by the weighted clearance rate, where the typical Canadian town its size manages 33%. Violent crime is cleared at 66% and non-violent crime at 33%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Portage la Prairie and nowhere else.
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).