City gets undeserved bad rap

Considered third most dangerous of 15 cities in poll

Canadians find Montreal to be significantly more dangerous than it actually is, a poll by Mainstreet Research has found.

Montreal is considered the third most dangerous of 15 major cities, according to a survey of 2,050 Canadian adults conducted last week.

That’s despite 2016 Statistics Canada data, released on July 24, showing Montreal has the thirdlowest police-reported crime rate of the cities included in the poll.

The Mainstreet results were based on the difference between the percentage of respondents who found the cities safe compared with those who deemed them unsafe.

David Valentin, executive vicepresident of Mainstreet, stressed that the majority of those surveyed deemed Montreal to be “safe” — 45 per cent compared with 43 per cent, giving it a rating of 2. It’s the two per cent difference in the “safe” and “unsafe” responses that lands it near the bottom.

Toronto, at -11, is considered to be the second-most dangerous city in Canada. The number represents a difference of 11 per cent between unsafe and safe responses. Winnipeg (-19) is seen as the most dangerous (a difference of 19 per cent).

Ottawa (60), Charlottetown (53) and Victoria (42) are perceived to be the safest cities by those surveyed.

Statistic Canada numbers tell a different story, Valentin said.

“Montreal does very well compared to other cities,” he said. “(It is) not any more dangerous than other major Canadian cities.”

Toronto, Quebec City and Montreal had the lowest police-reported crime rates of the 15 cities in 2016, according to StatsCan. Montreal also saw its crime rate decrease by five per cent that year, it says. Only Victoria, which came in at eighth, saw a greater decrease, at six per cent.

Crime in Montreal has decreased by 21 per cent over the last five years, said the Montreal police’s annual report, released in June. Their numbers, however, show a smaller 1.2 per cent decrease in crime from the year before.

“Despite all we see and all we hear, it’s a safe city,” said Anie Samson, president of the public security commission, when the police report was released.

Valentin said Tuesday he thinks the misconception surrounding the reality of crime in Montreal can be chalked up to bad news having a greater reach on social media. The stories of Luka Magnotta, who was convicted of murder in 2012, and Karla Homolka moving to the city are ones that made waves nationally, he said.

“These are the stories that get national attention, for better or worse,” he said.

The news on social media is not dictated by what is being broadcast or printed, he continued.

“Now it’s really about ... what is the story that people are hearing online?” he said. “And sometimes, depending on what story’s being shared and from what outlet and what resource, it may not even be true.”

His theory is reinforced as Montreal jumps up to eighth place in the Mainstreet poll when the home province of respondents is taken into account, meaning Quebecers consider the city to be much safer than Canadians do as a whole.

“Quebecers really have a much different idea of what Montreal is, compared to everybody else,” said Valentin, adding there is a significant difference in opinions: 59 per cent of Quebec-based respondents felt the city was safe while 38 per cent felt it was unsafe.

With stories of summer festivals and 375th anniversary celebrations dominating local news and social media, he continued, “you’re getting a much different view of the city if you live in Quebec.”