Q: Only answer if you really know it's safe.
A: Quebec (the province) has its crime, just like any other North American city. The question is whether it is safe (or safer than other cities). So here is my opinion on the topic. I live on the north shore of Montreal, and I travel to work by car each day into the Westmount area. I have used the train, subway, and buses regularly in the past. I have never feared for my life, I have never been the victim of any crime other than perhaps the occasionaly road rage guy who gives you the finger or cuts you off because you did not get out of his way fast enough. The most common crimes in Montreal area and most of the suburbs are thefts or burglaries. Violent crime all over Quebec is generally low. There are the occasional incidents of assault and battery, or a sexual assault, but murders are not common. There were only a total of 93 murders in the entire province of Quebec in 2006. The city of Montreal itself had a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people. And naturally, we have also had our share of shocking situations. For example, several years ago, a man named Marc Lepine went into a career college here in Montreal and killed 14 women, and more recently Kimveer Gill went on a rampage at Dawson College killing one young girl and wounding several others. But thankfully, these events are few and far between. If crime rates are important to you because you are raising a young family, or you simply want to get away from a violent place you are living in now, I would suggest comparing the stats in the various cities you are considering versus the place you are living now to see if you would be better off. I would have no qualms telling anyone wanting to move to Quebec that it is safe here. Perhaps you want to avoid certain parts of Montreal (Personally, I am not fond of Montreal-Est, Montreal-Nord, Cote-Des-Neiges, Cote-St. Paul, and Lachine) but off-island communities are generally better, less expensive to buy or rent, and offer easy commutes into jobs in Montreal. Other cities in Quebec would be more than acceptable for a family, in terms of crime rates.