Auto thefts down from 2023, but remain high, new data shows

CTV National News: Auto theft action plan The government says nearly 2,000 stolen cars have been seized by Canada's border guards this year. Rahim Ladhani reports.

New data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) shows that even though claims for auto theft dropped in the first half of 2024 compared to their 2023 peak, the rates of reported theft remain well above those of years prior.

Published last Wednesday, the data from IBC tallied 17,647 auto theft claims in the first half of 2024, compared with 21,907 in the same period last year.

The 19-per-cent drop represents a reversal of trends in recent years, at least in the short term. In the decade leading up to the 2023 peak, claims rose by nearly 200 per cent, from 7,406 in 2014.

Together, auto theft claims have cost a total of roughly $545 million in the first half of this, down from close to $765 million in the same window last year. According to the IBC, 2023's grand total reached $1.5 billion for the first time ever.

Liam McGuinty, the IBC's vice-president of strategy, says that while progress has been made to combat theft, "more remains to be done."

"Canada's auto theft rates have soared in the last 10 years, placing pressure on drivers' insurance premiums, compromising public safety and causing Canadians concern and trauma," McGuinty said in a statement.

"The problem remains significantly above historical trends."

Trends vary by province

Both in the short and long term, trends in reported auto theft vary across the country.

Among the available data, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have shown the most pronounced growth in claims since 2014, rising by 291 per cent, 203 per cent and 87 per cent, respectively, as of this year.

Quebec and Alberta show slower, though still significant, growth in that time, with increases of 36 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively, since 2014.

Since last year, the growth in claims has continued in Nova Scotia (27 per cent) and New Brunswick (14 per cent), held steady in Alberta (0.7 per cent growth) and reversed in Ontario and Quebec (decreases of 16 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively).

According to the IBC statement, those trends may reflect a shift in focus for perpetrators, perhaps in response to increased allocation of resources among law enforcement in Ontario and Quebec against this kind of crime; what the bureau calls "the opportunistic nature of car thieves."

"Fighting auto theft requires a whole-of-society approach," McGuinty said. "Now is not the time to take our collective foot off the accelerator in this fight."