The Toyota Highlander has shot up the rankings, going from the fifth most frequently stolen vehicle in Canada in 2022, to the most stolen vehicle in 2023 (the latest year for which we have data) according to data from Équité Association, an independent organization that tracks insurance crime in Canada.
In all, the organization found 3,414 instances of Toyota Highlanders being stolen in 2023 and, of those, the majority were from the 2021 model year. That’s a sharp increase from a year earlier, when just 1,759 Highlanders were lost by theft, pointing to the SUVs popularity, serviceability, and high resale value in Canada and abroad.
The spike allowed the Highlander to overtake the Honda CR-V, which was Canada’s most stolen vehicle in 2021 and 2022. Intriguingly, it wasn’t just an increase in Highlander thefts that launched the Toyota into the top spot, thieves also lost interest in the Honda. In 2022, 5,620 CR-Vs were stolen but, in 2023, it fell to the fourth spot on the list because 2,988 were taken by thieves.
According to Équité, the shift in interest is not surprising. The organization reports that thieves constantly shift their focus as they work to maximize their profits by looking for the most in-demand vehicles.
Despite leading the nation by raw numbers, the Toyota Highlander wasn’t the vehicle stolen at the highest rate. Among the 10 most stolen vehicles in Canada (the full list can be found below), the Land Rover Range Rover was the vehicle that was the most aggressively targeted. Despite fewer than 35,000 being insured in Canada, over 1,500 were stolen in 2023, meaning that it was targeted at a rate of 4.4 per cent. By comparison, although more than 3,400 Highlanders were taken last year, more than 123,000 were insured in the nation, meaning that it was targeted at a rate of 2.7 per cent.
Of the 10 most frequently stolen vehicles in 2023, the Chevrolet Silverado-GMC Sierra were the vehicles that were stolen at the lowest rate last year. Although 1,383 were taken last year, more than 595,000 were on the road, meaning that they were stolen at a rate of 0.23 per cent, just edging out the Honda Civic, of which 697,000 were insured and over 1,600 were stolen, putting the rate at 0.24 per cent.
Overall, thefts were stagnant across Canada, increasing by less than one per cent, as compared to 2022 and, in total, Canadians lost 70,475 vehicles to theft. That was good news for people living in Western Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia), where thefts fell by 9.7 per cent. The picture is less rosy for the eastern part of the country. Thefts increased by over 5 per cent in Quebec, 6.7 per cent in Atlantic Canada, and by 7.1 per cent in Ontario. It’s not all good news for vehicle owners in the prairies, though. Although the gross numbers were larger in Ontario, thefts per capita were higher in Alberta.
Unfortunately, recovery rates for stolen vehicles were down to just 54 per cent nationwide, as compared to over 60 per cent in 2021. Rates of recovery were down in Ontario, Atlantic Canada, and Western Canada, though they did increase in Quebec. Unfortunately, that province’s rate of recovery (37 per cent) was still the lowest in the country.
“The most crucial step in fighting auto theft is stopping it before it starts,” said Bryan Gast, VP of investigative services for Équité Association, in a release. He added that focusing funds on law enforcement to increase recovery rates can only do so much. Gast suggests that implementing rules to make vehicles harder to steal (by improving keyless ignition systems, for instance) is crucially important.
“A modernized vehicle security standard aligned to the ULC 338 Standards is needed to address current methods of theft across all manufacturers,” said Gast. “In addition, fortifying the unauthorized access to vehicle electronic systems is imperative to stop the auto theft crisis from continuing in Canada.”
| Make/Model | No. of Thefts | Theft Rate |
| Toyota Highlander | 3,414 | 2.8% |
| Ram 1500 | 3,078 | 0.6% |
| Lexus RX | 3,037 | 3.1% |
| Honda CR-V | 2,988 | 0.6% |
| Toyota RAV4 | 2,690 | 0.5% |
| Honda Civic | 1,654 | 0.2% |
| Jeep Wrangler | 1,641 | 1.2% |
| Land Rover Range Rover | 1,533 | 4.4% |
| Chevrolet Suburban/Yukon; GMC Tahoe/Tahoe XL | 1,488 | 2.4% |
| Chevrolet Silverado; GMC Sierra 1500 | 1,383 | 0.2% |
