In Canada’s biggest cities, auto theft has become a fact of daily life, and even the inspiration for an episode in the popular crime drama Law & Order Toronto.
But statistics show the problem is declining nationally.
New data from insurance industry organization Équité Association show a drop in car thefts of nearly 20 per cent in 2025.
Officials are describing the trend as a welcome change, but caution it is too early to call it a decisive victory.
“The overall trend is that auto theft is sharply down,” said acting Inspector Greg Yanicki, officer in charge of IMPACT, an alliance of police forces in the Greater Vancouver Area focused on combatting auto vehicle theft. “That doesn’t mean we rest on our laurels.”
Contrary to popular perception, Yanicki says thefts of older vehicles remain the most common form of auto theft in his jurisdiction.
“The vast, vast majority of our thefts are opportunistic thefts by prolific offenders of older vehicles,” he said.
“Chop shops are still a thing, although I think that’s vastly declined,” he added, referring to the phenomenon of organized crime groups disassembling stolen vehicles and selling their component parts.
Key trends
In 2023, 70,000 Canadians had their cars stolen. Last year, about 57,000 did.
This year, the annual figure is on track to be markedly lower, with about 23,000 cars stolen in the first half of 2025, according to an Équité report.
The declines were most significant in Ontario and Quebec, but have been seen across the country.
Police have also been doing a better job of recovering vehicles after they are stolen. Nationally, recovery rates rose from 53 per cent to 57 per cent.
In B.C., recovery rates are significantly higher, at 87 per cent. Yanicki attributes this to a high proportion of opportunistic crimes — instances where “prolific” thieves abandon a vehicle after driving it for a short period of time.
Coordinated action
Governments can take credit, at least in part, for these positive trends.
In May 2024, in response to surging thefts, Ottawa launched a National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft, which brought together police, border officials, insurers and industry groups to address what Équité has described as a more than $1 billion-a-year problem.
The plan has improved intelligence sharing across jurisdictions, strengthened border security and supported police with new investigative tools.
The strategy received a further boost last December when Ottawa committed an additional $1.3 billion for border security in response to pressure from the Trump administration.
“Our border services officers are making a real difference in securing the supply chain and disrupting criminal activity at our borders,” Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) president Erin O’Gorman said in an Oct. 9 press release.
“We have enhanced our ability to analyze data on stolen vehicles, increased the targeting of shipping containers, and maintain our commitment to act on 100% of referrals from law enforcement partners.”
An RCMP spokesperson told Canadian Affairs that the CBSA can detain vehicles it believes to be stolen and then contact local police or the RCMP for further action.
Yanicki noted, however, that there is an ongoing problem with criminals replacing a stolen vehicle’s original Vehicle Identification Number to disguise its origin.
“Those vehicles are either being [sold], … registered in a new jurisdiction in Canada, that’s probably a minority, or loaded into container cars and shipped out of the ports to other countries.”
Fighting back
Despite this year’s successes, Yanicki says car owners should remain vigilant.
“There are steps that people — with newer vehicles and older vehicles — can take to reduce the risk of being victimized by theft.”
SUVs, particularly those with keyless entry, remain prime targets for sophisticated criminal networks, according to Équité, which each year publishes a list of the Top 10 most stolen vehicles.
“2024’s most stolen vehicle, the Toyota RAV4, was stolen more than 2,000 times across the country, reflecting its high demand, global serviceability, and high resale value,” the press release said.
Yanicki encourages owners of new cars to store their spare keys in Faraday bags, containers that block a key fob’s electromagnetic signals, or to use On-Board-Diagnostics locks to protect the vehicle’s computer system.
For older vehicles, Yanicki encourages a more traditional method. “The old-school way of just using a steering wheel lock still works very, very effectively for old vehicles,” he said.
Yanicki stressed that consumer behaviours can make a big difference.
“ Consumer behavior — not leaving your keys in your vehicle, not leaving your vehicle unlocked, and if you have newer model vehicles, still being aware that they’re not invincible — those are the areas that we focus on,” he said.
Équité notes that vehicle security depends on a wide range of factors.
“Today’s vehicles are computers on wheels and criminals are exploiting those security weaknesses to gain access to the vehicle in under 30 seconds,” the association said in a November press release.
“Strengthening cybersecurity across the entire ecosystem — from vehicle design to fraud detection — is critical to closing these gaps and protecting consumers from technology-driven theft.”
