Three vehicles a day stolen in Ottawa as vehicle thefts continue to rise

Ottawa police say approximately three vehicles a day are stolen in Ottawa. (Tyler Fleming/CTV News Ottawa)

Vehicle theft continues to be an issue across Ottawa, and residents living in one south Barrhaven neighbourhood report several SUVs have gone missing, only days and doors apart.

All that is left of Matt Henderson‘s 2021 GMC Yukon are a few pieces of shattered glass on his driveway. His vehicle was stolen from his driveway last Wednesday, while the family slept.

"It must be pretty quick obviously, we didn’t hear anything and the dog didn’t hear anything," Henderson says. "We found out from friends that just two days before, friends were targeted. They were not able to steal the car but they broke the window, but they weren’t able to start it I guess and then ours was stolen mid week and then two days after another friend around the corner was stolen."

Vehicle theft is surging across the country, and in Ottawa alone, approximately three vehicles a day are reported missing.

"Over the last two or three years, really since the pandemic when there was a supply chain issue with the new and used vehicles, organized crime has been targeting vehicles from Canada particularity Ontario and Quebec and they found it extremely lucrative," Bryan Gast, vice president investigative services with Équité Association, said. "Criminals have the technology to be able to steal these vehicles, get them out of the country and then they have a destination point where they are able to sell these vehicles."

According to Équité, a national organization which aims to reduce and prevent insurance fraud and crime, Canada is now considered a source nation for illegal vehicle trade. For the first time ever, insurance companies have claimed more than $1 billion in losses, which further impacts consumers at a time of high inflation and strained affordability.

"It is a layered approach and not one thing is necessarily going to protect you [and your vehicle] but the more that you can do does slow them down. Criminals don’t want to spend a lot of time in your vehicle," Gast said. "The two main methods of theft in Ontario would be the onboard diagnostic port, so the OBD2 port, its intended use is for a mechanic to plug into that same port and do a diagnostic to find out what’s wrong with it.

"Organized crime and the car thrives have the technology to plug into that same port and do a reprogramming theft. So we recommend putting an OBD port lock on it, it’s a device that goes onto it and prevents access."

Gast says the other popular method of theft is to boost the signal emitted from the vehicles key fob, in order to gain entry and recommends to keep your key as far away as possible from your car or place it in a box which blocks transmission.

Other effective theft mitigation includes after market alarm systems, which Derand Motorsport installs with prices starting around $500.

"The immobilizer will stop the vehicle from being moved and the alarm system will stop thieves from getting inside," says Aidan Derouchie with Derand Motorsports. "In Ottawa this year, theft has gone up over 30 per cent and we’re booking about two or three deterrent systems a day.”

Derouchie notes that some of the alarm system he sells can also communicate with your smartphone and smart home system, to send notifications if a crime is detected.

Steering wheel locks can also reduce the chance of theft. A garage works best, but if you do not have one ensure the area around your vehicle is well lit with security cameras.

Police have not recovered Henderson’s SUV, and buying a new replacement Yukon may be out of the picture for now.

"It’s disappointing. The costs have gone up, my interest rate was 1.99 and it is no longer 1.99," he says. "We’re probably just looking at a stopgap for a couple of years and then we can reassess and understand where to go from here. This just shouldn’t become this common that this is the way it’s going to be, I think it would be nice to curb it somehow."