As number of auto thefts drops nationally, Alberta logs highest per-capita theft rate

OTTAWA – The rate of private passenger vehicle thefts in Canada fell by nearly 19 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, but the non-profit organization that compiled the data says the number of stolen vehicles remains unreasonably high.

Alberta is now emerging as a region of concern as thieves appear to be shifting their focus from older trucks, which were often used to commit crimes and then abandoned, to newer, more valuable vehicles stolen for export.

More than 57,000 passenger vehicles were stolen in Canada last year, compared to more than 70,000 in 2023, according to the Équité Association, an insurance crime watchdog.

The report only includes thefts of family vehicles such as cars, trucks, vans and SUVs, and does not include thefts of commercial vehicles.

Brian Gast, vice president of research services for the Équité Association, said Alberta now has the highest rate of auto theft per capita in Canada, and cases of stolen vehicles being registered with fake vehicle identification numbers (VINs), known as re-VINing, are on the rise in the province.

He explained that thieves are making it much harder to identify stolen vehicles by registering fake vehicle identification numbers in government systems.

“Vehicles with altered VINs are increasingly being exported and are also being used by organized crime groups,” Gast said.

“It’s essentially a way to get free cars because they steal the car, register it and then use it like a legitimate vehicle.”

The report identified fake vehicle identification numbers as a major factor in Alberta’s declining stolen vehicle recovery rate. The province’s stolen vehicle recovery rate has dropped to 77 per cent in 2024, down from 87 per cent in 2022 and 85 per cent in 2023.

The national stolen vehicle recovery rate was just under 60 per cent in 2024, up from 56 per cent in 2023. Gast said one reason for the low national recovery rate is the export of stolen vehicles.

He added that police are seeing a significant increase in the number of stolen Alberta vehicles being shipped out of the country through eastern ports, including the Port of Montreal.

“This is an organized network of criminal groups. It’s not just one person doing this, they have a network,” Gast explained. “If there’s more enforcement in one part of the country, they move to another part.”

When the federal government launched its national anti-auto theft program in May last year, it focused primarily on the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Gast said that insurance crimes, including auto theft, are a major source of revenue for organized crime groups that they use to fund other illegal activities, such as drug and gun trafficking.

“These activities are very interconnected, and auto theft is a way for organized crime groups to fund themselves.”

He also confirmed that countermeasures are being taken to prevent the spread of fake vehicle identification numbers, but declined to provide further details so that thieves can’t exploit the information.

Gast stressed that tactics to combat fake VINs have been more successful in Ontario.

According to the report, the decline in auto theft in Canada is largely due to strengthened law enforcement strategies over the past year, which were part of the federal anti-auto theft program.

The program has included increased cooperation between police agencies, increased screening of shipping containers with X-ray machines at ports, and tougher penalties for car thieves.

The largest decline in car thefts was recorded in the province of Quebec, where the number of stolen vehicles fell from 15,000 in 2023 to about 10,000 in 2024.

In Ontario, car thefts fell from about 30,000 in 2023 to just under 25,000 in 2024, but still had the highest number of thefts among the provinces.

In the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, car thefts fell by a combined 13 per cent, with more than 20,000 vehicles stolen in 2024. Car thefts in Alberta fell by 10 per cent.

In the Atlantic provinces, the number of stolen vehicles remained unchanged at about 2,000 between 2023 and 2024.

Gust called on the federal government to follow through on its promise to reform anti-theft laws, part of a national plan to combat auto theft.

In October, Transport Minister Anita Anand announced that consultations on the new laws were completed last summer and pledged to introduce updated regulations by 2025.

However, Canada’s parliament is currently suspended until March 24, and there is a high chance that the opposition parties will quickly topple the Liberal government and force an early election.

“The fact that new, expensive cars can be stolen in 20 to 30 seconds is a big problem. So I hope this remains a priority,” said Gust.

This report was published by the Canadian Press on February 12, 2025.

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