The number of car thefts in Canada has reached a critical point
Every six minutes a car is stolen in the country.
The Canadian Finance and Leasing Association (CFLA) has released a report that shows the number of car thefts has reached a "critical point". The report shows that car thefts have progressively worsened over the past 7 years.
No one is immune to car theft. For example, in the last two and a half years, the vehicles of Minister of Justice David Lametti have been stolen twice. In February 2021, a car provided to him by the government was stolen from him. And in February of this year, car thieves left Lametti without his personal car.
Take the statistics for Toronto, for example. Last year, 9,606 cars were stolen in the city. Seven years ago — in 2015 — 3,284 cars were stolen. The number has more than tripled in seven years.
There were 27,495 car thefts in Ontario in 2021. However, only 5 people were charged with the crime of altering, removing or destroying a vehicle identification number. In previous years (from 2015 to 2020), no more than 4 people per year were charged with this type of crime.
The number of car thefts peaked in 2022. As mentioned above, Toronto's statistics are surprising. However, it is not only in this city that auto thefts are on the rise. For example, in 2019, 17 metropolitan areas in Canada had a higher number of car thefts than Toronto. On average, a car is stolen every 6 minutes across the country, according to the CFLA report.
A report by the Canadian Finance and Leasing Association indicates that organized crime is behind car thefts. And funds from the sale of stolen cars or their parts are used to finance other criminal activities.
"Vehicle theft in Canada is rising exponentially, with organized crime becoming more adept at maintaining their revenue flow from stolen vehicles," CFLA President Michael Roth says. He adds that measures need to be taken to remedy the situation: public education programs on theft prevention, the re-establishment of provincial auto theft teams, and protocols for reporting financed vehicles exported through identity theft and reducing insurance rates for installing theft deterrent devices.
