Canada hosts summit on auto thefts, but Calgary and Alberta bucking the trend

According to the Calgary Police Service, the city saw carjackings rise last year while car thefts dipped.

As Canadian officials gather to discuss a surge in vehicle thefts, Calgary police say the problem isn’t taking off locally like it is in other markets.

A summit is being held in Ottawa on Thursday to target the increase in auto theft. In Canada, there were nearly 105,000 vehicles stolen last year – one every five minutes.

It costs taxpayers and policyholders about a billion dollars.

But according to the Calgary Police Service, the city isn’t in crisis mode quite yet. In 2023, the number of car thefts dipped about 18 per cent.

There were 4,898 vehicles stolen from Calgarians, which is down 16 per cent from the five-year average.

“We’re not seeing a major issue with vehicles that are leaving the city, or even the province,” Staff Sgt. Mike Chute said. “A lot of it has to do with the jurisdiction: it takes a long time to get a vehicle to an out-port.”

In other cities — specifically Vancouver and Toronto — vehicles are stolen and placed in shipping containers to be sold overseas.