Auto Thieves Targeting Federal Fleet

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani speaks during a media availability after a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on July 26, 2023. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

Government-issued Ford pickups and Toyota Highlanders are popular choices for auto thieves who are targeting the federal motor pool, records show.

An Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons revealed that 38 government-issue vehicles have been reported stolen from British Columbia to Quebec. The figures, which were first obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, were tabled at the request of Conservative MP Dave Epp, who asked how many government vehicles had been stolen since 2016.

The document does not give an accurate depiction of how many federal vehicles have been pinched, however, because it does not include incidents at Canada Post or the Department of National Defence, which have the largest fleets.

“National Defence does not centrally track incidents of government vehicles stolen,” said the Inquiry document.

The Mounties, who do keep track of such incidents, said 13 vehicles were stolen including a Chevrolet Malibu which was driven off the parking lot at RCMP National Headquarters in Ottawa.

Toyota Highlanders and Ford pickups were the primary targets of thieves, the Inquiry indicated. Explorers and Econoline vans, Chevrolet pickups, Dodge Caravans and Chargers, and Jeep Wranglers also made the list.

The newly disclosed information comes the same week that Justice Minister and Attorney General Arif Virani suggested a  pending crackdown on auto theft.

Mr. Virani said auto theft has become a “pernicious” country-wide issue, one that “requires a national response.”

After meeting with regional police forces in the GTA, Mr. Virani told a Jan. 31 press conference in Aurora, Ont., that it has become obvious that the issue must be addressed by all stakeholders.

“It’s about the responsibility of the auto industry. It’s about insurance pieces,” he said. “It’s about looking at the ports. It’s about looking at the CBSA. It’s about, yes, looking at the Criminal Code for which I’m responsible, and I’m very open to looking at the Criminal Code.”

Ottawa has said auto theft largely stems from organized crime with “highly lucrative” and “highly sophisticated” rings operating coast-to-coast.

It’s one of the reasons Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc recently announced a joint government investment of $121 million for crime prevention and enforcement efforts in cities across Ontario. Along with the rise in illegal guns being smuggled across the U.S. border and increasing gang violence, the escalation of violent auto thefts has police and governments at every level expressing concern.

“One of the things that concerns all of us is it’s increasingly becoming a violent crime where people are assaulted in the process of stealing vehicles,” Mr. LeBlanc said at a Jan. 21 press conference in Montreal during which he announced a summit would be held this month to address the rising number of auto thefts in Canada’s largest cities.

An overall acceleration in vehicle thefts since 2021 has prompted the Feb. 8 meeting in the nation’s capital in a bid to stem the number of cars being stolen and shipped abroad.

Incidents of Theft

Vehicle thefts have risen 50 percent in Quebec, 48.3 percent in Ontario, 34.5 percent in Atlantic Canada, and 18.35 percent in Alberta in 2022, according to a Jan. 21 government release. There were 9,600 vehicles stolen in the Toronto area alone that year, representing a 300 percent increase since 2015, according to the Canadian Finance and Leasing Association (CFLA).

Stolen vehicles are being used in one of two ways, the government said. Gangs are either working with organized crime groups to send the vehicles to the Middle East and Africa, or the cars are being used to commit crimes within Canada before they are destroyed.

Thieves targeting federal fleets have hit 33 different cities and towns from B.C. through Quebec.

The Inquiry said thefts occurred in North Vancouver, Revelstoke, Surrey, and Yoho B.C.; Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Longview, Maskwacis, Red Deer, and Slave Lake, Alta.; Fort Qu’Appelle, La Ronge, Melfort, Montmartre, North Battleford and Swift Current, Sask.; Rankin Inlet in Nunavut, Manitoba’s Saint Laurent, Shamattawa, The Pas, Thompson and Winnipeg, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Orleans, Ottawa, Stratford, Toronto, and Washago, Ont., and Gatineau, La Prairie, Montréal, Québec City and Verdun, Que.

According to the Équité Association’s list of the top 10 vehicles stolen in 2022, SUVs and trucks are targeted more often than sedans. The report said a vehicle is stolen every five minutes in Canada.