Photo: Simon Villeneuve · CC BY-SA 3.0Recorded crime per resident is lower in Lac-Mégantic than in 71% of Canadian towns
Graded on crime the police covering Lac-Mégantic reported from 2023 to 2025, it scores B+ for safety: #151 of 503 in Quebec. Of the two halves, violence comes to 81.3 and other offences to 35.6, beside norms of 85.7 and 62.8. Out of every 1,000 residents, 12.9 violent incidents and 10.3 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 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 Granit MRC.
What stands out about safety in Lac-Mégantic
More crime solved
For Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people the typical clearance rate is 34%; Lac-Mégantic’s police clear 52%, 67% of violent crime and 39% of the rest. Questions ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Lac-Mégantic places 8th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
Violent crime leads the index
Lac-Mégantic’s index splits into violent crime, 81.3 here and 85.7 for the typical Canadian town its size, and everything else, 35.6 against 62.8. By type ↓
Much like Quebec’s towns
Lac-Mégantic’s index of 48.4 compares with 56.1 for the typical town in Quebec. 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 Lac-Mégantic’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: #151 of 503 in Quebec and #497 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.
What police record in Lac-Mégantic, by type
Against the typical town its size, Lac-Mégantic runs highest on drug offences (1.2 per 1,000 against 0.7). 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 | 16.7 | 0.7 | 48% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 3.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 1.3 | 0.06 | — |
| Robbery | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 2.3 | 0.1 | — |
| Other violent violations | 15 | 0.7 | 65% |
| Breaking and entering | 30 | 1.3 | 34% |
| Possession of stolen property | 5.7 | 0.3 | 40% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 19.3 | 0.9 | 9% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 5 | 0.2 | 14% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 39 | 1.7 | 44% |
| Mischief | 46 | 2 | 28% |
| Weapons violations | 7.3 | 0.3 | 86% |
| Administration of justice violations | 40 | 1.8 | 89% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 6.7 | 0.3 | 94% |
| Drug violations | 27.7 | 1.2 | 51% |
| Impaired driving | 33.7 | 1.5 | 100% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 22 | 1 | 9% |
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.
Lac-Mégantic comes 8th of the 40 towns nearest in size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Ferris Ontario | 5,835 | 17.7 | 27.2 | A+ |
| 2 | McMasterville Quebec | 6,114 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| 3 | Verchères Quebec | 5,819 | 37.1 | 58.5 | A |
| … | |||||
| 5 | Saint-Henri Quebec | 6,048 | 39.7 | 73 | A |
| 6 | Orford Quebec | 5,698 | 39.9 | 58.3 | A− |
| 7 | Waterloo Quebec | 5,714 | 45.3 | 73.7 | A− |
| 8 | Lac-Mégantic Quebec | 5,947 | 48.4 | 81.3 | B+ |
| 9 | Val-David Quebec | 5,920 | 48.8 | 71.8 | B+ |
| 10 | Saint-Pie Quebec | 6,085 | 49.7 | 70.8 | B+ |
| 11 | Spallumcheen British Columbia | 5,843 | 51.3 | 59.9 | B+ |
| 12 | Amqui Quebec | 6,059 | 53.7 | 103.9 | B |
| 13 | Saint-Césaire Quebec | 6,150 | 55 | 88.5 | B |
| … | |||||
| 40 | Duncan British Columbia | 5,745 | 384.5 | 331.1 | 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 Lac-Mégantic in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
22,700 residents, about 290 violent incidents a year: the police area Lac-Mégantic 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.
Add about 230 property crimes and 160 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
From 2023 to 2025, Lac-Mégantic’s index held steady
Crime Severity Index
It rose to 52 in 2024 before easing, with the low of 46.2 in 2025. The typical Canadian town its size went from 74.3 in 2023 to 64.2 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Lac-Mégantic | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46.2 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 52 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 47 | 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 Lac-Mégantic, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Crime in the places around Lac-Mégantic
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac-Mégantic | 5,947 | 48.4 | 81.3 | B+ |
| Nantes | 1,412 | 48.4 | 81.3 | B+ |
| Frontenac | 1,855 | 48.4 | 81.3 | B+ |
| Lac-Drolet | 1,066 | 48.4 | 81.3 | B+ |
Its police also cover 3 neighbouring places, which carry the same index and are left out above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- What the index measures. 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.”
- Shared across the MRC. The Sûreté du Québec reports by MRC, so the figures cover every municipality it polices there, Lac-Mégantic among them.
- 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. Police clear an incident by charging someone, recommending a charge, or closing it another way. The rate weighs serious crimes more, as the index does.
Questions about safety in Lac-Mégantic
Is Lac-Mégantic safe?
Averaged over 2023–2025, the Crime Severity Index for Lac-Mégantic comes to 48.4. Per 1,000 residents a year, police logged 12.9 violent incidents and 10.3 property crimes. Across Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, the median is 68.5.
What is the most common crime in Lac-Mégantic?
Top of the list is assault (5.4 per 1,000 residents a year); fraud, at 3.8, and Criminal Code traffic offences, at 2.8, follow.
Is crime going up in Lac-Mégantic?
Not much: the index went from 47 in 2023 to 46.2 in 2025.
How much of Lac-Mégantic’s crime do police solve?
Counting serious crimes for more, 52% end in a charge or are otherwise solved (34% for the typical Canadian town its size); split up, that is 67% of violent and 39% of non-violent crime.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Lac-Mégantic 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).