Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced what he called a national summit next month to coordinate a national response to a massive spike in auto thefts across Canada in recent years.
Police, political leaders, the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency and auto industry executives will be called together next month to try and come up with better ways to slow the growth in auto theft plaguing most major cities. LeBlanc said
“One of the things that concerns all of us is it’s becoming a violent crime where people are assaulted in the process of stealing vehicles”
The announcement comes as car theft has become a bigger problem across the country, with regular reports of cars disappearing from driveways and street corners in record numbers.
The Toronto region saw 9,600 vehicles stolen in 2022, a 300% increase in annual thefts compared to 2015. Carjackings doubled in 2022 compared to 2021, police statistics show.
The government said gangs steal cars and work with organized-crime groups to send them to the Middle East and Africa, or use them within Canada to commit crimes before destroying them.
