Just The Facts: Cost of Car Crime
Ottawa, ON – Under the Liberals, soft-on-crime policies allowed crime to rage out of control, with auto theft in Ontario rising over 127 per cent since 2015. Mark Carney promised to get tough on crime, but a new report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada shows that promise was just another illusion.
Since 2017, auto-theft-related insurance claims have soared 97 per cent while the cost of claims have skyrocketed 330 per cent in Ontario. Bowmanville/Clarington and Whitchurch-Stouffville both saw over 1,000 per cent increases in the cost of auto theft claims, rising from the hundreds of thousands to $2.7 million and $1.79 million, respectively.
Peterborough saw its claims costs rise 987 per cent from just $225,340 in 2017 to $2,450,540 last year. They weren’t alone: Richmond Hill, Barrie and Whitby all saw claims costs rise by over 650 per cent, while Oakville saw costs increase from just $1.7 million to over $12.8 million.
Larger cities haven’t been spared the costs of auto crime. Toronto had a total of $114.5 million in auto theft claims, a 253 per cent increase since 2017, while Brampton saw claims cost $43.2 million, a 565 per cent rise, and the cost of Mississauga’s claims rose 216 per cent to $31.6 million
It’s having a direct impact on Canadians’ wallets, with passenger vehicle insurance premiums in Ontario increasing 43.3 per cent over the last 11 years. Since 2015, premiums have increased 44.2 per cent across Canada and rose another 7.2 per cent since Carney became Prime Minister.
Crime has a real cost as Canadians struggle to keep up with the rising cost of insurance to pay for Carney’s soft-on-crime agenda. He promised to get tough on criminals, but he’s shown that he’s just another Liberal.
Only Conservatives will introduce a real plan to crack down on crime by repealing catch-and-release Bill C-5 and Bill C-75, and bringing in jail, not bail for violent, repeat offenders to restore safe streets again.