In 2022, 105,000 cars were stolen in Canada. That’s one car every five minutes. Canada has been ranked 10th out of 137 countries by Interpol for highest number of car thefts, and declared a car theft capital by insurance companies. By far, the highest rates of car theft are taking place in Ontario and Quebec, with Montréal being the hub. Given its port, Montréal sees stolen cars bound for Africa and the Middle East, as transnational criminal organizations sell them for double their market value. Cars are often used as currency in international crime, sold on the black market to fund activities like drug and human trafficking, or resold to unsuspecting Canadians at inflated prices. Canada, in particular, is targeted due to its abundance of high-value models, such as SUVs and crossovers, which are particularly sought after by criminals. As a response, the federal government has partnered up with private companies and Interpol to try to prevent auto theft, but problems persist.
Official Responses
Declared a “national crisis” by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the situation has only worsened in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw an international car shortage and a spike in auto thefts in Canada, as well as the US and the UK. Canada’s port regulation system, which focuses overwhelmingly on what is coming into the country and neglects what is being exported, makes the state especially vulnerable, as it becomes relatively easy to smuggle out large numbers of stolen vehicles. Canadian official agencies have responded with car recovery programs, and for example the Toronto Police Service recovered 1,080 cars worth around $60 million in October.
However, these operations face many challenges. For one, around 1.7 million containers moved through the port of Montréal in 2023 alone, the sheer volume making it extremely difficult to search for contraband. Port staff involved in cargo handling and customs clearance do not have the authority to inspect cargo, and the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) is faced with chronic understaffing. The CBSA must also strike the delicate balance of intercepting cars without disrupting the economic flow of the port. There have been public awareness campaigns launched by police, costing an estimated $1.2 billion and encouraging people to take measures to secure their cars.
Impact on Canadians
Auto theft is not a victimless crime, and severely impacts the victim’s sense of safety, as well as resulting in financial burdens. Canadians driving the top 10 most stolen types of cars pay 37% more insurance, which continues to increase every year. Rates can also increase in areas with high theft rates, leading car owners to spend more time and effort searching for the lowest insurance rates. Anyone can be a target—Canada’s federal Minister of Justice Arif Virani has had his government-issued car stolen twice. Such thefts have created a climate of fear in certain areas, leading people to take matters into their own hands. People have started putting air tags and other tracking devices in their cars, but these only go so far given that they cannot pinpoint precise locations. They will often be just good enough to tell what port the car finds itself in, but not which container out of hundreds. Frustrations have also arisen from the lack of safety features already installed in the cars. A recent report revealed that compared to the UK, Canadian cars lack many of the features which prevent theft, such as tilt and intrusion sensors. As a result, Canada has a significantly higher car-theft-to-population ratio. The discrepancy in prevention features comes from the lack of federal regulations, which have not been updated since 2007.
Teaming up with Private Entities
This problem reveals the challenges faced by governments trying to regulate fast-moving criminal organizations. As a result, the CBSA has partnered up with private companies such as Équité Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating insurance crime. Équité provides support in searching ports, expert testimony in court, research, and information on auto-theft. They also work with Tag Tracking, a company which provides trackers to help locate stolen cars, hopefully disincentivizing theft. The focus has been on combating the hotspots of Montréal and Quebec. These measures have proven quite effective, with car theft rings migrating to Ontario, where tracking systems are not as common. The CBSA is also implementing a new program called the “Request to Locate Protocol,” which aims to prevent car thefts before they reach the port of Montréal.
Canada’s unusually high car theft numbers point to slow legislation, unstaffed agencies, rapidly emerging technologies and the difficulties in countering highly organized crime organizations. As a result, Canadians are left with a lingering sense of wariness and high insurance premiums. It remains to be seen whether the measures put in place can reduce these crimes and return stolen vehicles to their proper owners.
Edited by Catriona Hayes Morris
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and they do not reflect the position of the McGill Journal of Political Science or the Political Science Students’ Association.
Featured image by Erik McLean through Unsplash