Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wants more jail time for car thieves amid what the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) considers a national crisis.

With over 200 vehicles stolen on average every day, Poilievre wants to remove house arrest from the options available to those convicted of auto theft by indictment. He also would like the mandatory minimum sentence for a third offence to be changed, from half a year to three.

“I’m announcing that a Pierre Poilievre government will go after the real criminals by restoring jail, not bail, for repeat violent offenders and career car thieves,” a report by The Canadian Press quoted the election hopeful as saying during a news conference.

The same report noted that 9,600 vehicles were stolen just in Toronto in 2022.

Last November, IBC said: “IBC and its members are pleased to see the Ontario government’s continued commitment to fight auto theft, reflected in today’s Fall Economic Statement.

“The government’s $51 million investment to help police combat organized crime across the province, including funding to support the creation of new auto theft prosecution teams, demonstrates the province’s continued leadership on addressing this growing public safety concern.”   

In Ontario, auto theft rose by 31% in the first half of 2023.

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