Where's my car? Auto theft a hot-button issue across Ontario in 2023
Yorkregion.com
Jan. 2, 2024
Mike Pearson
Auto theft was one of the most pressing issues in Ontario in 2023, resulting in millions of dollars in losses and many calls for action.
In Toronto, auto theft numbers rose 98 per cent, from 4,770 in 2018 to 9,439 in 2022. Peel auto theft figures increased 45 per cent in just one year, from 3,747 to 5,415 between 2021 and 2022. At one point in Toronto in 2023, 32 cars, on average, were stolen each day.
Durham Region, Halton Region, Simcoe County and York Region, along with the rest of the province, have also seen a huge spike in thefts.
Auto theft isn’t a victimless crime. As Metroland’s 2023 series, Stolen Shipped and Sold illustrated, auto theft fuels organized crime and results in higher insurance premiums, depending on the make and model of your vehicle and where you live.
Stolen Shipped and Sold examined the scope of the problem and the ways criminals target and steal vehicles destined for overseas export.
Part 2 of the series examined who is stealing these high-end vehicles and how they are being exported.
Part 3 examined how auto theft is prosecuted, with convictions often treated as low-level offenses garnering minimal jail time.
In addition, we examined how the province is responding to the issue and how customs and border services oversee container shipments leaving the Port of Montreal.
As mentioned above, auto theft statistics and where you live have a big impact on how much you’ll pay for auto insurance.
Is your vehicle among the most stolen in Ontario? Find out by checking the list here.
Maybe you drive one of Ontario’s least stolen vehicles. Find out if your vehicle made the list.
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