Car theft fell 40 per cent in Peel. Do you feel it?

Two years ago this region was the car theft capital of the country: driveways emptied overnight, carjackings in Vaughan and Brampton, containers of Range Rovers and Lexuses leaving the Port of Montreal. It became the thing every neighbourhood Facebook group was about.

The numbers turned. Toronto ended 2025 with thefts down 32 per cent; Peel and York fell by nearly 40 and 37 per cent. Équité’s count for the first half of 2026 has Ontario down another 8.4 per cent and the country down 10. The provincial task force reports carjackings down 79 per cent and more than $10 million in vehicles recovered this year. The one exception is Toronto itself, where thefts are up 8.8 per cent so far in 2026 against a much lower base.

And yet a survey at the end of last year found most GTA residents believe crime is surging. That gap, between what the data says and what the driveway feels like, is the question.

Sources: CBC, auto theft down 8.4 per cent in the first half · CP24, residents believe crime is surging when it is falling · NOW Toronto, Toronto rises as Ontario declines