BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

A total of 266 vehicles were stolen in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region in the last 13 months, with just about 40 per cent snatched by thieves in Vaudreuil-Dorion, according to an analysis conducted by the Journal de Montréal’s Bureau d’enquête and published earlier this month.

A total of 105 vehicles were reported stolen in Vaudreuil-Dorion between Sept. 1, 2023, and Oct. 21 of this year, the report claims.

The information was compiled based on information obtained from the Sûreté du Québec through access-to-information requests.

A total of 23 vehicles were reported stolen in Pincourt in the same period, earning the town the distinction of having the second highest number of vehicle thefts in the region. At least one vehicle theft was reported in 19 of the 23 municipalities of Vaudrueil-Soulanges in the last 13 months.

The Fairview Pointe Claire shopping centre in the West Island, according to the report, was the one area in the province with the highest frequency of car thefts, with 185 vehicles reported stolen from the mall’s parking lot in the last year. That represents a rate of theft of about one vehicle stolen every two days, surpassing Pierre Trudeau Airport in Dorval, where 126 vehicles were stolen in the last year.

But despite what appears to be high numbers of vehicle thefts, a report issued earlier this year by Équité Association, a national non-profit organization that focuses on insurance crime and fraud prevention, points to a 17-per-cent drop in the number of vehicle thefts in Canada in the first six months of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. Last year was a peak year for car thefts, the association says.

In Quebec, which saw the most significant drop in auto thefts from January to June 2024 compared with all other provinces, Équité Association claims, the number of vehicle thefts were down 36 per cent.

Here are the total number of cars stolen in the region by municipality from Sept. 1, 2023, and Oct. 21, 2024, according to the Journal de Montréal’s analysis:

Coteau du Lac: 10

Hudson: 6

Île Perrot: 21

Les Cèdres: 12

Les Coteaux: 10

Notre Dame Île Perrot: 17

Pincourt: 23

Pointe des Cascades: 2

Rigaud: 10

Rivière Beaudette: 4

St. Clet: 2

St. Lazare: 18

Ste. Marthe: 1

St. Polycarpe: 1

St. Zotique: 20

Terrasse Vaudreuil: 2

Très St. Redempteur: 1

Vaudreuil-Dorion: 105

Vaudreuil sur le Lac: 1

Total: 266