Photo: Edwin Lester Brittain · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer crimes per resident are recorded in Pontiac than in 95% of Canadian towns
Against usual levels of 85.7 and 62.8, violent and non-violent offences here reach 51.6 and 20.8. The grade is A+, built on crime the police covering Pontiac reported from 2023 to 2025: #10 of 503 in Quebec. Out of every 1,000 residents, 8.4 violent incidents and 7.2 incidents of property crime are reported annually, against 12.9 and 31.2 in the typical town its size. None of the 5 towns next door with figures records less crime per resident.
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. Crime severity, crime rate and incident counts: one figure for all of the Collines-de-l'Outaouais Region service area.
What stands out about safety in Pontiac
Lower than most of Quebec
Pontiac’s index of 29.4 compares with 56.1 for the typical town in Quebec. Towns its size ↓
A lower index than most towns its size
Of the 40 Canadian towns nearest it in size, Pontiac places 4th from the lowest index. Towns its size ↓
The violent half stands out
Pontiac scores 51.6 for violence and 20.8 for other crime; the typical Canadian town its size scores 85.7 and 62.8. By type ↓
Police clear more here
The weighted clearance rate, the share of crime police solve, is 49% for Pontiac (67% violent, 32% non-violent), beside 34% for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Questions ↓
Written from Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime by police service and detachment, 2023–2025. Figures are what police recorded, not convictions.
Pontiac: A+ 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: #10 of 503 in Quebec and #110 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 Pontiac, type by type
Mischief and theft under $5,000 sit below it.
Every Statistics Canada violation line
| Violation | Incidents a year | Per 1,000 | Cleared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homicide | 1 | 0.02 | — |
| Sexual violations against children | 14.7 | 0.3 | 82% |
| Assaults against a peace officer | 10 | 0.2 | 100% |
| Firearms: use, discharge, pointing | 3 | 0.05 | — |
| Robbery | 3 | 0.05 | — |
| Forcible confinement or kidnapping | 7 | 0.1 | 100% |
| Other violent violations | 8 | 0.1 | 46% |
| Breaking and entering | 62.3 | 1.1 | 22% |
| Possession of stolen property | 6 | 0.1 | 72% |
| Theft of a motor vehicle | 40.7 | 0.7 | 21% |
| Theft over $5,000 | 14 | 0.2 | 16% |
| Theft under $5,000 | 83.3 | 1.4 | 28% |
| Mischief | 74 | 1.3 | 26% |
| Weapons violations | 8.3 | 0.1 | 84% |
| Administration of justice violations | 68.7 | 1.2 | 85% |
| Other Criminal Code violations | 11 | 0.2 | 70% |
| Drug violations | 30 | 0.5 | 59% |
| Impaired driving | 96.3 | 1.7 | 96% |
| Failing to stop or remain | 21.7 | 0.4 | 35% |
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, Pontiac stands 4th of 40 towns its size
| # | Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beresford New Brunswick | 6,543 | 25 | 35.4 | A+ |
| 2 | Glencoe Ontario | 6,468 | 25.7 | 29 | A+ |
| 3 | Charlemagne Quebec | 6,695 | 28.1 | 48.2 | A+ |
| 4 | Pontiac Quebec | 6,490 | 29.4 | 51.6 | A+ |
| 5 | Pointe-Calumet Quebec | 6,427 | 30.8 | 56.8 | A+ |
| 6 | Lanark Highlands Ontario | 6,370 | 33.1 | 38.8 | A |
| 7 | Mildmay Ontario | 6,247 | 33.7 | 38.7 | A |
| … | |||||
| 10 | Les Coteaux Quebec | 6,294 | 39.2 | 61.7 | A |
| 11 | Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel Quebec | 6,613 | 39.2 | 52 | A |
| 12 | Beauceville Quebec | 6,228 | 44 | 75.8 | A− |
| … | |||||
| 17 | Plessisville Quebec | 6,774 | 55.6 | 81.9 | B |
| … | |||||
| 40 | St. Paul Alberta | 6,218 | 364.7 | 364.4 | 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 Pontiac in population, the lowest Crime Severity Index first (2023–2025 means).
Year by year in Pontiac: down 15%, 2023 to 2025
Crime Severity Index
From 31.3 in 2023, its first and heaviest year, it eased to a low of 26.5 in 2025. For the typical Canadian town its size, 2023 gave 74.3 and 2025 gave 64.2.
Every year as a table
| Year | Pontiac | Typical town its size |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 26.5 | 64.2 |
| 2024 | 30.4 | 68.8 |
| 2023 | 31.3 | 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 Pontiac, each year, against the typical Canadian town its size.
Around 490 violent incidents a year in the 58,700-resident police area around Pontiac, 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 410 property crimes and 260 other violations a year (2023–2025 average). The grid is 1,000 residents, a coloured dot for each incident a year at these rates.
Crime in the places around Pontiac
| Town | People | Severity index | Violent index | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontiac | 6,490 | 29.4 | 51.6 | A+ |
| Dunrobin | 5,724 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Fitzroy | 6,400 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Chelsea | 8,998 | 29.4 | 51.6 | A+ |
| Des Explorateurs | 31,128 | 67.5 | 100.1 | B− |
| Brookside - Briarbrook - Morgans Grant | 15,509 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
| Carp | 5,621 | 54.7 | 66 | A+ |
The places around Pontiac all score higher on the index. Where a neighbour shares its police, it shares the figure too, and isn’t counted above.
Each place’s police figures, 2023–2025 means.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- An index, not a verdict. 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.
- A wider service area. The service that polices Pontiac reports once for its whole area, so the figures aren’t the town’s alone.
- 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 Pontiac
Is Pontiac safe?
Against a typical 68.5 for Canadian towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Pontiac’s Crime Severity Index stands at 29.4 for 2023–2025. Its police record 8.4 violent incidents and 7.2 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year.
What is the most common crime in Pontiac?
Top of the list is assault (4.1 per 1,000 residents a year); Criminal Code traffic offences, at 2.3, and fraud, at 2.2, follow.
Is crime going up in Pontiac?
Down 15%: 31.3 in 2023, 26.5 in 2025.
How much of Pontiac’s crime do police solve?
The weighted clearance rate is 49%: 67% for violent crime and 32% for non-violent. For the typical Canadian town its size it is 34%.
Whose figures are these?
A police service or detachment that covers Pontiac 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).