Photo: Brendanriley · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident is higher in Antigonish than in 84% of Canadian towns
Violence accounts for an index of 123.5 and other offences for 113.1, against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8. The index rose from 123.4 in 2023 to 130.1 in 2025. Add to that, its Safety Grade is C−, on crime the police covering Antigonish reported from 2023 to 2025: #82 of 88 in Nova Scotia. Police counts work out at 27.2 violent incidents and 67.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents annually; in the typical town its size they are 12.9 and 31.2.
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 Antigonish
Mischief: high for a town its size
Antigonish records 34.2 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 ↓
Above Nova Scotia’s typical town
Within Nova Scotia, the median town comes to 71.4 on the index, against 115.4 in Antigonish. Towns its size ↓
A higher index than most towns its size
Line up the 40 Canadian towns nearest in size by their index and Antigonish stands 36th, the lowest first. Towns its size ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Antigonish: C− 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: #82 of 88 in Nova Scotia and #2,217 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.
Which crimes make up Antigonish’s figures
Against the typical town its size, Antigonish runs highest on mischief (34.2 per 1,000 against 4.9), drug offences (2.4 per 1,000 against 0.7) and sexual assault (2.4 per 1,000 against 0.9). Motor vehicle theft sits below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 2.7 | 0.5 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.2 | — |
| Robbery | 0.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 0 | 0 | — |
| Other violent violations | 2 | 0.4 | — |
| Breaking and entering | 15.7 | 3.1 | 19% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3 | 0.6 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 7.3 | 1.4 | 18% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3 | 0.6 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 100.3 | 19.8 | 29% |
| Mischief | 174 | 34.2 | 22% |
| Weapons violations | 2.3 | 0.5 | — |
| Administration of justice violations | 31.7 | 6.2 | 66% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 10 | 2 | 57% |
| Drug violations | 12 | 2.4 | 14% |
| Impaired driving | 44.3 | 8.7 | 36% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 3.3 | 0.7 | — |
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.
Among 40 towns its size, Antigonish places 36th
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwood Ontario | 5,308 | 25.2 | 31.4 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 20 | Inverness Nova Scotia | 5,138 | 68.4 | 80 | B− |
| … | |||||
| 31 | Annapolis County, Subdivision B Nova Scotia | 5,086 | 96 | 107.6 | C− |
| … | |||||
| 33 | Electoral Area D, Peace River British Columbia | 5,100 | 107.6 | 157.4 | C− |
| 34 | Carbonear Newfoundland and Labrador | 5,041 | 108 | 83.3 | C− |
| 35 | Kneehill County Alberta | 5,129 | 110.8 | 105.9 | C− |
| 36 | Antigonish Nova Scotia | 5,175 | 115.4 | 123.5 | C− |
| 37 | Tyendinaga Ontario | 5,005 | 131.9 | 280.3 | D |
| 38 | Oliver British Columbia | 5,262 | 132.5 | 95.2 | D |
| 39 | Big Lakes County Alberta | 5,106 | 167.3 | 179 | D |
| 40 | Nipawin Saskatchewan | 5,033 | 182.3 | 163.9 | 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 Antigonish in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Antigonish’s police: about 140 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 340 a year and other violations 200 (2023–2025 average). Of 1,000 dots, one per resident, the coloured ones are a year’s incidents at these rates.
Antigonish, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its index peaked most recently, in 2025 (130.1); 2024 was the low point, at 92.6. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Antigonish | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 130.1 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 92.6 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 123.4 | 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 Antigonish, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Antigonish
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigonish | 5,175 | 115.4 | 123.5 | C− |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision A | 9,682 | 66.6 | 81.7 | B− |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision B | 6,486 | 66.6 | 81.7 | B− |
The places around Antigonish all score lower on the index. The nearest of them, Antigonish County, Subdivision A (3.7 km away), scores 66.6 against 115.4.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. Statistics Canada, which publishes the index, attaches a caution: “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.” The number weighs each reported crime by its seriousness before dividing by residents.
- 100 is Canada in 2006. Its scale starts from Canada in 2006, set at 100, so a figure above 100 means more serious crime per resident than the country had then.
- Cleared, not convicted. Weighted like the index, so solving one assault counts for more than solving a mischief; a charge laid, recommended or otherwise resolved all count.
Questions about safety in Antigonish
Is Antigonish safe?
The short answer is an index of 115.4 for Antigonish (2023–2025), built from 27.2 violent incidents and 67.3 property crimes a year for every 1,000 residents. For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the typical index is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Antigonish?
Most often it is mischief: 34.2 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come other Criminal Code offences at 24.8 and theft under $5,000 at 19.8.
Is crime going up in Antigonish?
It has: 123.4 in 2023 became 130.1 by 2025, a rise of 5%.
How much of Antigonish’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 32% of crime (46% of violent crime, 25% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
Its own police: the service or contract that covers Antigonish 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).