Winnipeg sees zero auto thefts during a 24-hour period on March 3

Winnipeg recently achieved a seldom-achieved milestone: zero auto thefts reported over a 24-hour period.
Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) says the no-theft achievement on Mar. 3 speaks volumes about the reversal of auto theft trends in the province over the past two years. As recently as 2007, MPI reported that a car was stolen every hour, on average, throughout the province.
MPI credits its anti-theft initiatives, including its immobilizers program, for resulting in a 62% decline in the theft rate over the past two years. Last year, auto theft claims were at a 17-year low.
“Winnipeg’s theft-free day is a signpost of this achievement, and one that is likely to be envied by all other major North American cities,” said McLaren, “For too many years, Winnipeg was known as the auto theft capital of Canada. That’s a title soon to be relinquished.”
Manitoba’s vehicle theft numbers peaked in 2006, when 16,986 vehicles were either stolen or identified as targets of a theft attempt. In 2008, 4,465 vehicles were reported stolen in Manitoba, including 3,173 from Winnipeg.
These are the lowest provincial theft numbers since 1992, when 2,411 vehicles were reported stolen, MPI reports.
Manitoba expanded its immobilizer regulation on Sept. 1, 2007, when Manitoba became the first province in Canada to require the use of electronic immobilizers in vehicles determined to be at high risk of theft as a condition of a new registration or renewal.
The expansion of the provincial regulation coincided with the new federal requirement to install immobilizers in all new cars, vans, light trucks and sport utility vehicles built after Sept. 1, 2007 for sale in Canada.