Ottawa Senator Claude Giroux's car stolen overnight

NHL star forward Claude Giroux had his car stolen in Ottawa on Tuesday evening, his wife says.

"@28CGiroux’s car was stolen last night and is currently actively driving… unable to get ahold of @OttawaPolice until 10am… looking for other suggestions/to hear from other people in Ontario who have sadly had to deal with this recently," said Ryanne Giroux in a post on X.

The vehicle was identified as a Land Rover, she said in another post to Instagram. 

Claude Giroux then responded to the X post with a covered face emoji.

The Ottawa Police Service says in an email that police have been dispatched to look into the matter, but could not provide investigative updates at this time.

Statistics on the Ottawa Police Service's crime map shows 1,193 vehicles have been reported stolen in Ottawa since January 1. 

The Ottawa Police Service told CTV Ottawa in June that Land Rovers and Tundras have been targeted by thieves at a significant rate over the last year. 

Liam McGuinty, vice-president of strategy with the Insurance Bureau of Canada, says the theft highlights a growing problem across the country. 

"If you look at Canada, the total cost of stolen vehicles for insurance companies is $1.5 billion. And that's up more than 500 per cent from five or six years ago. It's a growing problem. Ontario is a bit of an epicenter in terms of the auto theft crisis in Canada and Ottawa has seen a significant uptick when it comes to theft claims costs," he said in an interview.

"We all pay for auto theft. There is a direct connection between the number of stolen vehicles and a portion of premium. There's also, beyond the financial impacts, there's the public safety impacts, the upstream impacts, the sense of violation that a victim of auto theft will feel."

The federal government unveiled a "national action plan" earlier this year to combat auto theft, which will include stronger penalties for thieves, and increased information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement.

Giroux, 36, from Hearst, Ont. has played for the Ottawa Senators since 2022 and previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Police are reminding residents to call 911 for a crime in progress. Non-urgent police reports can be made at ottawapolice.ca/report or 613-236-1222 ext. 7300.