QUEBEC -

Hellosafe.ca chief director Antoine Fruchard released findings on Tuesday stemming from a study about vehicles stolen in 2019 developed using data published by Statistics Canada and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).

Along with determining which provinces had the most and least thefts, Fruchard’s report generated by the online platform that can allow consumers to compare insurance plans also highlighted the top 10 vehicles targeted by criminals in Canada. The vehicle topping the chart was the 2018 Honda CR-V.

The complete top 10 list of vehicles stolen in Canada included:

1. 2018 Honda CR-V
2. 2017 Lexus RX 350
3. 2017 Honda CR-V
4. 2018 Lexus RX 350
5. 2018 Ford F-150
6. 2019 Honda CR-V
7. 2018 Toyota Highlander
8. 2017 Toyota Highlander
9. 2019 Lexus RX 350
10. 2017 RAM 1500

Meanwhile, Fruchard discovered that Ontario, with almost 24,000 vehicle thefts in 2019, topped the data among Canadian provinces. Not far off of Ontario’s total of 23,992 vehicle thefts was Alberta (23,535), followed by British Columbia (13,352) and Quebec (11,961).

Conversely, Fruchard noted that the three Northern Provinces (429 vehicle thefts in 2019) and the Atlantic Provinces (2,967 thefts) recorded the fewest incidents in 2019 in Canada.

All told, Fruchard determined there were 87,006 vehicle thefts in 2019, representing a 1.01% increase year-over-year.

Fruchard pointed out what he believes are the top reasons criminals steal vehicles, including:

— To resell them abroad

— To resell them to unsuspecting consumers

— To resell spare parts by dismantling stolen vehicles

— To get somewhere

— To commit other crimes

“The number of stolen cars in Canada is on the rise, which is not good news for policyholders. Indeed, the more thefts reported, the more insurance premiums are likely to go up, to cover those rising theft risks,” Fruchard said in the report that can be viewed on this website.