OTTAWA — Canada’s auto theft rate for private passenger vehicles dropped by almost 19 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year — but the non-profit that collected the data says the number of stolen vehicles is still “unreasonably” high.

And Alberta is emerging as an area of concern because thieves there seem to be shifting their attention away from older trucks — often used to commit crimes and then abandoned — toward newer, higher value vehicles stolen for export.