Alberta accounts for one-fifth of stolen vehicles in Canada

By LegalMatters Staff • One of the most common crimes in Alberta is theft. There were 3,526 charges for theft over $5,000 laid in Alberta in 2022, along with 83,324 charges for theft under $5,000 in that same period, according to Statistics Canada.

“If someone is convicted of theft over $5,000, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison,” says Calgary criminal lawyer Matt Deshaye. “If the charge is treated as an indictable offence, with lesser penalties given if the charge is prosecuted as a summary conviction.”

He says Alberta has the second-highest rate of auto theft in Canada. The province saw an almost 17 per cent increase in stolen vehicles in 2022  compared to the previous year.

“Alberta accounts for one-fifth of stolen vehicles in Canada,” says Deshaye. “As I stated in a previous blog post, the most targeted vehicles in Alberta are large pickup trucks, such as the Ford F-350 and Ram 1500.”

He explains these vehicles are often stripped for their parts, used for other crimes or they are ‘revinned,’ which means their vehicle identification number (VIN) is changed and they are resold to unsuspecting buyers.

“To cut down on the number of vehicles that are stolen in driveways after their owners start them and leave them to warm up, Albertan police forces have initiated Operation Cold Start,” says Deshaye, adding that between Oct. 26, 2023, and Jan. 4, 2024, the Calgary Police Service received 114 reports of vehicles stolen while they were left running.

“Anyone convicted of stealing an automobile faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if the charge is treated as an indictable offence,” he says. “If the charge is prosecuted as a summary conviction, the maximum penalty is two years in jail. In either case, the value of the vehicle is not a factor in the sentencing.”