New data, released on Wednesday, says that a majority of people feel that the City of Calgary is a safe place to live.
The study, from Mainstreet Research, says that 54 percent of respondents feel that Calgary is a safe city. 38 percent see it as unsafe while 14 percent are undecided.
That figure puts the city at 10th in the rankings, with Ottawa, Charlottetown and Victoria in the top three and Toronto and Winnipeg at the very bottom.
Calgary’s data comes after a one percent drop in the overall crime rate and a six percent drop in the crime severity index.
The city is also in the middle of the pack when it comes to crime rates; sitting at seventh overall.
The report also said Calgary has the third highest violent crime rate, behind Toronto and Ottawa.
While the city may be in the middle of the pack in terms of homicides, many of Calgary’s murders have been high profile killings that have garnered international attention.
The report says that the media coverage from those cases have skewed people’s perception about the safety of Calgary.
It also says that the current economic situation has made a negative impact on Calgary’s standing as well.
Residents who spoke with CTV Calgary on Wednesday morning agreed with the perceptions in the research.
"I think for the most part it is a safe city. My husband and I park downtown and I work down by the Calgary Tower and I walk Stephens Avenue everyday, so I feel fine," said one woman.
One man said he's never had any problem walking around in the core. "I've never worried for my safety at all."
The report came out on the same day that the city released its finding into an investigation of threats aimed at city council members.
According to the city's corporate security team, there have been more threats made towards the mayor and his councillors this year than ever before.
2016 saw more than double the amount of threats than in 2014 and Mayor Nenshi and Ward 7 councillor Druh Farrell have been the main targets.
Ward 8 Ewan Wooley says he's gotten legitimate threats before and it's not something he likes to deal with.
"We changed our locks, we have a pretty good little security system at our home now. It can be very uncomfortable when it happens and particularly because my wife and family and their safety are critical for me."
Mainstreet’s ranking of Canadian cities on terms of safety:
- Ottawa
- Charlottetown
- Victoria
- Moncton
- St. John’s
- Edmonton
- Halifax
- Vancouver
- Regina
- Calgary
- Quebec City
- Saskatoon
- Montreal
- Toronto
- Winnipeg
Read the full report here.
