Nova Scotia is province with most shoplifting, Quebec has the least

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Nova Scotia has the highest rate of shoplifting in Canada, according to a National Post analysis of Statistics Canada crime data. British Columbia has the second-highest rate.

In late July, StatCan released its Canadian crime data for 2023. In recent years, as the cost of living has soared, retailers and business organizations have complained about increasingly brazen and damaging bouts of shoplifting.

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It turns out that these rates vary wildly across Canada, from a low of 155.19 reported shoplifting incidents per 100,000 people in Quebec to a high of 676.97 incidents per 100,000 people in Nova Scotia. StatCan does not report what percentage of incidents lead to convictions.

Below, a breakdown of shoplifting data for thefts worth $5,000 and under.

British Columbia

Over the past couple years, B.C. has seen significant increases in the rate of shoplifting.

In 2022, there were 27,138 individual incidents of shoplifting, with a rate of roughly 507 incidents per 100,000 people. That was a spike of almost 18 per cent over 2021. In 2023, the rate jumped by roughly 12 per cent to about 568 incidents per 100,000 people, for a total of 31,391 individual crimes.

Earlier this year, a new grocery store opened in Prince George. A shoplifting spree began about 40 minutes after Buy-Low Foods opened its doors. And, in a four-day blitz in April and May, police in Richmond, B.C., arrested 35 people who were part of a major shoplifting ring that primarily targeted food and yoga pants.

StatCan data shows that 3,643 people were charged with shoplifting in B.C. in 2023. The data does not show how many people were convicted.

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Alberta

Between 2022 and 2023, the rate of police-reported shoplifting in Alberta declined by 5.5 per cent, from 511.81 incidents per 100,000 people to 483.57 incidents per 100,000 people.

In real terms, that represents 23,087 individual crimes in Alberta in 2022 and 22,705 individual crimes in 2023.

In recent years, some Alberta liquor stores have installed ID scanners in entryways, so that employees cannot only bar entrance to unwanted customers, but also view identifying information before patrons are allowed to come in and shop. The tactic was meant to cut down on the number of liquor store thefts. Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner investigated, and found the scanning companies were collecting too much data from potential customers.

In 2023, Alberta police charged 3,950 people with shoplifting, about 100 fewer people than were charged in 2022.

Saskatchewan

In recent years, Saskatchewan has seen major spikes in the number of shoplifting incidents reported to police. In 2022, a rate of roughly 348 incidents per 100,000 people represented a 42-per-cent increase from 2021.

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The jump between 2022 and 2023 was roughly 28 per cent, to a rate of 446.61 thefts per 100,000 people.

As those are per capita figures, Saskatchewan’s real-number total thefts is comparatively low. Despite that high rate in 2022, there were actually only 4,105 incidents reported to police, and 5,400 in 2023.

Earlier this year, Gabriel Aldous, a Saskatoon man, was sentenced to more than two years in prison after stabbing a grocery store employee who tried to stop him from stealing food in February.

Saskatchewan police charged 887 people with shoplifting in 2022 and 1,052 people in 2023.

Manitoba

Like Saskatchewan, Manitoba has also seen double-digit increases in its shoplifting rate in recent years. In 2022, there were 5,592 incidents, at a rate of roughly 396 instances of shoplifting per 100,000 people — a nearly 37-per-cent increase from 2021.

The rate jumped again in 2023, by 37 per cent, to a rate of 542 incidents per 100,000 people.

In 2022, there were 5,592 specific instances of shoplifting — and 760 people were charged. In 2023, there were 7,884 instances, and 1,124 people were charged.

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In May 2024, the Manitoba government announced it would pay for more police officers to patrol where rates of shoplifting were of particular concern. “The increased presence of the police officers is serving as a deterrent to those that would potentially be looking to do theft,” Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Loren Remillard told The Canadian Press.

Ontario

Canada’s largest province, unsurprisingly, has the highest number of overall shoplifting crimes in the country. In Ontario, police charged more people with shoplifting than there were total reported crimes in some Canadian provinces.

In 2022, there were 46,122 instances of shoplifting at a rate of 305 instances per 100,000 people, a 41-per-cent increase from 2021. In 2023, Ontario police received reports of a whopping 61,629 shoplifting crimes. The rate again jumped, by about 30 per cent, to 395 crimes per 100,000 people.

Given Ontario’s population, despite the much higher overall number of crimes, the rate is lower than several other, smaller provinces.

In April, though, the LCBO, Ontario’s provincial liquor retailer, had to warn customers not to confront shoplifters, after a fight broke out between shoplifters and a customer at an LCBO in Etobicoke.

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Quebec

Despite having the second-largest population, Quebec’s shoplifting rate is low compared to English Canada.

In 2022, Quebec police received reports of 11,076 instances of shoplifting. Despite a 27-per-cent increase in the rate of shoplifting per capita, the rate was still just 128 crimes per 100,000 people. The rate jumped again in 2023, by 21.5 per cent, to 155 crimes per 100,000 people. That works out to 12,773 individual crimes.

Still, Quebec has the lowest shoplifting rate among Canadian provinces — by far.

In 2022, 4,137 people were arrested and charged. In 2023, 5,748 were charged.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is also among the provinces with the lowest rates of shoplifting. 2022 saw 1,772 incidents reported to police, at a rate of 219 crimes per 100,000 people — a roughly 16-per-cent increase from 2021.

In 2023, there was a far more modest increase: the rate grew to 226 crimes per 100,000, a roughly three-per-cent jump. There were, last year, 1,883 shoplifting crimes reported to police.

In 2022, police actually charged more people — 533 — than in 2023, when 480 people faced shoplifting charges.

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However, despite the relatively low rates, retailers reported in 2023 that they were needing to spend more money on security services to prevent retail theft (a trend that is in place right across the country).

Nova Scotia

The Maritime province has the highest rate of shoplifting among Canada’s provinces.

In 2022, Nova Scotia police received reports of 5,923 shoplifting incidents, a rate of about 578 crimes per 100,000 people. That rate represents a 115-per-cent increase in the number of shoplifting crimes reported to police compared to 2021.

In 2022, police in Nova Scotia charged 417 people in connection with shoplifting.

The shoplifting rate spiked again in 2023, by about 17 per cent to 678 crimes per 100,000 people. There were, in 2023, 7,176 individual shoplifting instances in Nova Scotia, and that year, police more than doubled the number of charges laid: 853 people faced charges.

Prince Edward Island

Canada’s smallest province — both in terms of population and geography — saw very few shoplifting crimes in 2022 and 2023. Its overall per-capita rate puts it in second place to Quebec.

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In 2022, there were just 319 instances of shoplifting in P.E.I, a rate of 191 crimes per 100,000 people, and representing a 0.85 per cent drop from 2021. Just 95 people were charged that year.

In 2023, the rate jumped by 36 per cent to 260 crimes per 100,000, for a total of 451 crimes. In 2023, police charged 55 more people than they did in 2022.

Just last month, a P.E.I man was jailed for possessing a knife while shoplifting from a Dollarama.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Canada’s easternmost province actually saw an extremely modest increase in the rate of shoplifting between 2022 and 2023: 0.74 per cent.

In 2022, there were 2,222 instances of shoplifting, at a rate of 418 crimes per 100,000, which was a 55 per cent increase from the year before. But in 2023, the crime rate jumped to 421 crimes per 100,000 people — a modest increase. There were, last year, 2,258 crimes reported.

In 2022, Newfoundland police charged 519 people. In 2023, they charged 473 people.

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