Police-Reported Crime Falls Across Toronto Region as National Severity Index Declines
The severity of police-reported crime declined across the Toronto region last year, outpacing decreases recorded provincially and nationally, according to new Statistics Canada data.
The Toronto census metropolitan area recorded a Crime Severity Index of 55.0 in 2025, down seven per cent from the previous year. Its conventional crime rate fell five per cent to 3,950 incidents per 100,000 people.
Both measures were below the Ontario and national figures. Ontario’s CSI declined six per cent to 57.2, while its crime rate fell four per cent to 4,296 incidents per 100,000 people. Nationally, the CSI dropped five per cent to 75.0 and the crime rate decreased two per cent to 5,585 incidents per 100,000. Statistics Canada’s metropolitan-area table and provincial data were released Wednesday.
For Peel residents, the Toronto CMA provides the closest regional comparison in the new report. Statistics Canada’s definition of the metropolitan area includes Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, along with Toronto and municipalities in York, Halton and Durham regions. The figure therefore should not be interpreted as a Peel-only or City of Toronto crime rate. Statistics Canada’s geographic classification lists all three Peel municipalities within the Toronto CMA.
The Crime Severity Index measures both the volume and seriousness of police-reported offences, assigning greater weight to crimes that typically result in longer sentences. The conventional crime rate measures the number of Criminal Code incidents, excluding traffic offences, relative to population.
Across Canada, the overall CSI declined for a second consecutive year after an upward trend that began in 2015. The violent CSI fell four per cent in 2025, while the non-violent CSI dropped five per cent.
Breaking and entering made the largest contribution to the national decline. Its police-reported rate fell 11 per cent to 264 incidents per 100,000 people. Motor-vehicle theft—a persistent concern in Peel and elsewhere in the GTA—declined 16 per cent nationally, with police recording 83,652 stolen-vehicle incidents.
The total fraud rate fell four per cent, although it remained 61 per cent higher than it was a decade earlier. Extortion declined 10 per cent for a second consecutive annual decrease but remained more than three times as prevalent as in 2015.
Canada’s homicide rate also fell sharply. Police reported 672 homicide victims in 2025, 125 fewer than in 2024. The rate dropped 16 per cent to 1.61 homicides per 100,000 people—the lowest level since 2014 and the largest year-over-year decline since 1986.
Police-reported hate crimes decreased three per cent to 4,708 incidents. Despite that decline, the number remained more than double the 2018 level. Hate crimes targeting religion fell 18 per cent and those targeting sexual orientation declined 19 per cent, while incidents motivated by race or ethnicity were virtually unchanged.
The national findings broadly align with the most recent local figures published by Peel Regional Police. Its 2025 annual report, which cites 2024 crime data, listed Peel’s violent CSI at 80, below Ontario’s 81 and Canada’s 100. Peel’s non-violent CSI was 47, compared with 53 provincially and 70 nationally. The police service cautioned that its Peel measure may include data from other police agencies. Peel Regional Police’s annual report does not yet provide a comparable local CSI for 2025.
Statistics Canada cautions that neither the CSI nor the conventional crime rate is a complete measure of community safety. The figures include only incidents that come to police attention and may be affected by reporting behaviour, police resources, enforcement priorities and local practices.
The agency is scheduled to add more detailed 2025 information to its online police-reported crime dashboards on July 29. The full Statistics Canada report says those data will provide further geographic and offence-specific detail.
