Amid a surge in auto thefts across Ontario in recent years, the provincial government announced Tuesday that they will table new legislation to give police authority to search and seize electronic devices intended for vehicle theft.听
The proposed legislation would grant police expanded powers to confiscate keyless devices such as key fob programming tools, scanners and smartphones with certain apps, which they say have been increasingly linked to vehicle thefts.
鈥淣o matter where you live, every family deserves peace of mind knowing their homes听鈥斕齛nd their vehicles 鈥斕 are safe,鈥 Ontario’s Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said.
While police say they’re looking at measures to stop the purchase of the electronic devices, which are mostly sold in hard-to-track underground markets, Sarkaria said, the tabled legislation will give police authority to search those devices with more “clarity” and “certainty.”
While the downward trend in total auto thefts is a positive signal that a combination of enforcement and public awareness are yielding results,
While the downward trend in total auto thefts is a positive signal that a combination of enforcement and public awareness are yielding results,
Speaking at press conference in Brampton Tuesday morning, he and Peel Regional Police deputy chief Nick Milinovich didn’t comment on how police will use the expanded authority to locate such devices if the legislation is passed.听
Across Ontario, vehicle theft decreased by 16 per cent in 2024, and, according to Milinovich, dropped by 45 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 in Peel region. The decrease amounts to a difference of $60 million-worth of vehicles that weren’t stolen in 2025, Milinovich added, compared to previous years.听
The 听reveals the city is seeing a 37 per cent decrease in auto thefts, year-to-date, with roughly 1,297 less vehicle thefts across the city, when compared to last year. 海角社区官网police reported a total of 9,352 vehicles were stolen in the city in 2024.
Although auto thefts are down in Toronto, there have still been nearly 34,000 reported stolen vehicles since 2022, nearly triple the number auto thefts from the two years before that. There have been nearly 23,000 reported vehicle thefts in Peel in that time.听
Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said in a press release that Peel police welcomes the proposed legislation to “help keep keyless entry devices out of the hands of criminals” and further their fight against organized auto theft.
“Through targeted enforcement and strong partnerships, we’ve made significant progress in Peel 鈥 recovering roughly half of all stolen vehicles in 2025 alone, laying hundreds of charges, and seeing a 45 per cent reduction in auto theft compared to the same time last year,” he said.听
The provincial government has also established an auto theft prosecution response team, focusing on crime hot spots in Ontario, like Ottawa, Toronto, Brampton, Newmarket, Durham, London and Windsor. The team provides legal and prosecutorial aid to police, Sarkaria said, helping “dismantle organized crime networks” and “cracking down on carjackings and home invasions.”
The judges, sitting in Milton and Toronto, recently expressed concern that the joint proposals for sentencing in auto theft cases were too lenient.
The judges, sitting in Milton and Toronto, recently expressed concern that the joint proposals for sentencing in auto theft cases were too lenient.
Since April 2024, Sarkaria said, the team provided legal advice on over 20 major investigations and over 80 prosecutions in the province, relating to more than 1,700 stolen or targeted vehicles.听
鈥淭his new piece of legislation demonstrates our government efforts to protect Ontarians and crack down on car thefts,” he said.
Zee Hamid, associate solicitor general for auto theft and bail reform, said at Tuesday’s press conference that the government is continuing to invest in the GTA-Greater Golden Horseshoe fund by giving police resources to arrest criminals and access technology to stop illegal export of stolen vehicles and target violent crime linked to organized networks.听
They are spending $134 million to establish a joined air support unit, including funding for the Ontario Provincial Police to purchase and operate two helicopters in Toronto. Additionally, the funding will provide Durham Regional Police, Halton Regional Police and Peel police access to operate one new helicopter each.
These resources, Hamid said, are focused on keeping highways and roadways safe from violent carjackings, auto theft, street racing and impaired driving.
“Car thieves听will have nowhere to hide,” he said.听
Last year, the provincial government also introduced driver license suspensions for convicted car thieves, including lifetime suspensions for third offences. Sarkaria said the government also created a provincial offence for fraudulent vehicle registrations, with penalties up to $100,000, jail time and license suspension.
Project Tallahassee, a multi-jurisdictional police, airport and border services investigation
He believes those measures will build on the “significant progress” the government has made in tackling auto theft across the province.听
鈥淟et me be clear, anyone using the devices to steal a vehicle will face the full consequences of their actions,” he added.
Since organized crime networks benefit greatly from carjackings, Milinovich said, he believes they’ll look for alternatives to continue stealing vehicles. To him, the new tools will help police identify gaps to help them target, arrest and charge carjackers.
“We still have a tremendous amount of work to do and it is important that we continue to push forward with these efforts to continue the momentum that we鈥檝e built towards this fight.”
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