Montreal's unsafe neighbourhoods, according to locals: north end leads concerns
A social survey identified Montreal North, Downtown, and the north-end corridor as areas where residents feel least safe walking alone at night.
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Montreal North topped a survey of where residents feel least safe walking alone at night, followed by downtown Ville-Marie and the north-end corridor of Saint-Michel, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, and Rivière-des-Prairies.
The survey came from MTL Blog, which asked Facebook followers to name the one Montreal neighbourhood they'd think twice about walking through after dark. More than 500 responses surfaced a pattern: the same handful of areas came up repeatedly.
Montreal North led by a wide margin. Commenters frequently paired it with Saint-Michel or Rivière-des-Prairies, as if the three neighbourhoods formed one zone of concern. Saint-Michel and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve followed closely behind on their own. Downtown appeared often too, usually tied to nightlife, tourists, and transit-hub crowds rather than any specific street or block.
Parc-Extension and Rivière-des-Prairies got fair mention. NDG, Côte-des-Neiges, and Centre-Sud each picked up scattered responses. St-Henri and Pointe-Saint-Charles made the list, though mostly as historical callbacks — commenters specified those neighbourhoods "used to be" unsafe, not now.
Plenty of respondents pushed back on the question itself, arguing Montreal compares well against other Canadian cities. Winnipeg and downtown Vancouver at night drew more than one comparison as genuinely risky places.
The SPVM's public-safety dashboard tracks five categories: offences resulting in death, break-ins, mischief, theft from motor vehicles, and armed robbery. Combined, those add up to roughly 12,000 incidents across the island so far in 2026. Downtown and central Ville-Marie show the heaviest concentration by far. Beyond downtown, the next-largest clusters sit in the city's north end — particularly Montreal North, Rivière-des-Prairies, and the Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension corridor.
In 2024, travel-insurance firm Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection ranked Montreal among the world's safest cities for travel and the safest in the Americas. Local crime figures indicate 2026 is tracking at or below levels from 2022 through 2025 for most of the year. July shows a steep drop-off, but that's simply because the month isn't finished yet.
Perception and data don't always line up perfectly. But when hundreds of Montrealers and the city's own crime map point to the same places, it's worth paying attention.
At a glance
Which Montreal neighbourhood do residents feel least safe in at night?
Montreal North topped a survey by MTL Blog asking Facebook followers which neighbourhood they'd think twice about walking through after dark, with more than 500 responses identifying it by a wide margin as the area of greatest concern.
What does Montreal's crime data show about safety by neighbourhood?
The SPVM's public-safety dashboard tracked roughly 12,000 incidents across five categories in 2026 through July, with downtown and central Ville-Marie showing the heaviest concentration, and the next-largest clusters in Montreal North, Rivière-des-Prairies, and the Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension corridor in the city's north end.
