Photo: Veillg1 · CC BY-SA 4.0Per resident, La Malbaie records about as much crime as the typical place among Canadian towns
Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 83.8 and 47. Its letter overall is B (#260 of 503 in Quebec): close to the middle of Canadian towns, from crime its police reported through 2023 to 2025. On top of that, between 2023 and 2025 the severity figure fell, 62 to 54.3. Violence and property crime split as 16.9 violent incidents and 14.2 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents a year, beside 12.9 and 31.2 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. Area behind the crime severity, crime rate and incident counts figures: the Charlevoix-Est MRC.
What stands out about safety in La Malbaie
Above-typical clearance
Police cleared 56% of La Malbaie’s crime, weighted by seriousness (67% of violent crime, 49% of the rest), against 34% across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
In the middle of towns its size
Set among the 40 Canadian towns closest to it in population, La Malbaie comes 22nd, counting from the lowest Crime Severity Index. Towns its size ↓
About the Quebec norm
The typical Quebec town scores 56.1; La Malbaie, 57.2. 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.
What’s behind La Malbaie’s grade
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: #260 of 503 in Quebec and #863 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.
La Malbaie’s crime by kind
Against the typical town its size, La Malbaie runs highest on drug offences (1.1 per 1,000 against 0.7) and assault (8 per 1,000 against 6.7). Motor vehicle theft and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 5.7 | 0.4 | 65% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 4 | 0.3 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1 | 0.06 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 1.7 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 12.3 | 0.8 | 81% |
| Breaking and entering | 35 | 2.2 | 46% |
| Possession of stolen property | 3.7 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 15.3 | 1 | 35% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Theft under $5,000 | 44.3 | 2.8 | 45% |
| Mischief | 48.3 | 3.1 | 33% |
| Weapons violations | 8.7 | 0.6 | 77% |
| Administration of justice violations | 46.7 | 3 | 89% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 5.7 | 0.4 | 58% |
| Drug violations | 17.3 | 1.1 | 79% |
| Impaired driving | 38.7 | 2.5 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 30 | 1.9 | 29% |
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.
La Malbaie, year by year
Crime Severity Index
Its highest year was 2023, at 62, and its lowest 2025, at 54.3. Over 2023–2025, the typical Canadian town its size moved from 74.3 to 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | La Malbaie | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 54.3 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 55.3 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 62 | 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 La Malbaie, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Among 40 towns its size, La Malbaie places 22nd
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douro-Dummer Ontario | 8,379 | 14.9 | 13.8 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Lac-Beauport Quebec | 8,524 | 28.2 | 46.7 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 13 | Rigaud Quebec | 8,187 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 19 | Argyle Nova Scotia | 8,216 | 52.1 | 68.3 | B+ |
| 20 | McNab/Braeside Ontario | 8,340 | 52.1 | 81.8 | B+ |
| 21 | St. Marys Ontario | 8,203 | 52.5 | 75.2 | B+ |
| 22 | La Malbaie Quebec | 8,293 | 57.2 | 83.8 | B |
| 23 | Lincoln New Brunswick | 8,093 | 63.2 | 81.9 | B− |
| 24 | Goderich Ontario | 8,412 | 68.4 | 100.1 | B− |
| 25 | Clinton Ontario | 8,318 | 72.5 | 106.8 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 27 | Brownsburg-Chatham Quebec | 8,466 | 76.4 | 122.2 | C+ |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Iqaluit Nunavut | 8,612 | 661.3 | 844 | 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 La Malbaie in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Around 260 violent incidents a year in the 15,500-resident police area around La Malbaie, 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 220 a year and other violations 160 (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 La Malbaie
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Malbaie | 8,293 | 57.2 | 83.8 | B |
| Clermont | 3,117 | 57.2 | 83.8 | B |
| Saint-Aimé-des-Lacs | 1,169 | 57.2 | 83.8 | B |
Neighbours policed by the same service carry the same figure, so the 2 of them aren’t set against it.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Severity, weighed. Each incident counts by its seriousness, judged from court sentences, and the total is set per resident. As Statistics Canada puts it, “The CSI is not an indicator of overall safety and should be interpreted in the broader community context.”
- One figure for the MRC. The Sûreté du Québec reports by MRC, so the figures cover every municipality it polices there, La Malbaie among them.
- What 100 means. The index is scaled so that Canada as a whole scored 100 in its base year, 2006: a town at 50 has half that severity per resident.
- The clearance rate. 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 La Malbaie
Is La Malbaie safe?
On Statistics Canada’s figures, La Malbaie scores 57.2 on the Crime Severity Index for 2023–2025, with 16.9 violent and 14.2 property incidents 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 La Malbaie?
Most often it is assault: 8 per 1,000 residents a year. Next come Criminal Code traffic offences at 5 and other Criminal Code offences at 4.3.
Is crime going up in La Malbaie?
Over 2023–2025 the index dropped 12%, to 54.3 from 62.
How much of La Malbaie’s crime do police solve?
Weighted by seriousness, police cleared 56% of crime (67% of violent crime, 49% of the rest). The typical Canadian town its size clears 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers La Malbaie 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).