Vehicle thefts in Canada are finally decreasing after an uptick in recent years.
A new report published by the non-profit Équité Association on Tuesday showed a 17 percent national decline in auto theft in the first six months of 2024, compared with the same period last year. Équité attributed this positive trend to the collaborative efforts of federal and provincial governments, law enforcement agencies, the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA), and the insurance industry.
Increased investments, public awareness, and information-sharing have helped reverse the trend of auto theft, according to the report. Bryan Gast, vice president of Investigative Services at Équité Association, expressed “cautious optimism” about the new data, acknowledging that more work needs to be done.
“I’m not suggesting that we’ve resolved the auto theft crisis in Canada, but it is promising to see that a lot of the efforts that have been put into place over the last year or so are yielding positive results,” he told Global News in an interview. “Not only are the thefts down, but the recoveries are up, which is a good combination,” he added.
Over the past year, the federal government, along with law enforcement agencies, border officials, and other industry stakeholders, have intensified efforts to curb vehicle theft in the country. A national summit on combatting auto theft was held in Ottawa in February to address the problem. In May, the federal government unveiled an action plan that included measures and funding announced in the weeks following the summit. Changes to the Criminal Code, such as stiffer penalties and new offenses targeting car thieves and the devices they use, were included in the latest federal budget.
Gast noted that many current efforts focus on targeting organized crime groups. The goal is to continue applying pressure and resources to see a long-term decline in auto theft. “I think one of the areas that still needs to be worked on is making vehicles harder to steal in the first place,” Gast said.
Where is auto theft declining? So far this year, 8,398 pickup trucks, 7,539 cars, and 1,448 vans have been stolen across Canada, according to Équité. Among the provinces, Quebec has seen the sharpest drop this year at 36 percent, followed by Ontario, where vehicle theft has decreased by 14 percent year-over-year. In both provinces, SUVs continued to be the most stolen category of vehicles, with 5,532 stolen in Ontario and 2,816 stolen in Quebec, the report said.
In Western Canada, auto theft declined by 10 percent in the January to June period. Alberta, where trucks are the top stolen vehicles, experienced a five percent drop. Meanwhile, the Atlantic provinces reported an 11 percent increase in vehicle theft. Équité suggested that tough measures in Ontario and Quebec may have forced thieves to operate in other provinces. “A lot of focus has been on Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and some of the other provinces, and criminals will look for points of least resistance,” Gast said.
Experts have previously labeled vehicle theft an “epidemic” in Canada. Nationally, more than 105,000 vehicles were stolen in 2022, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. In 2023, auto theft claims amounted to $1.5 billion, with more than $1 billion in Ontario alone. Canadians could see even higher auto insurance premiums this year, according to a Ratesdotca report from January.
Transport Canada is currently conducting an open consultation to review and modernize the standards for vehicles manufactured or sold in Canada. Gast said this could be a “significant step forward.” “We’re not at the finish line. We need to continue doing what we’re doing,” he concluded.
