Construction equipment and materials theft was big business in 2025 and early 2026.
Copper holds the largest attraction — reaching record highs at $8 a pound — that is the prize thieves are literally ripping off.
And, it is not just construction sites, but service companies are being hit as well right across Canada.
In February, $250,000 in copper wire theft was reported to Fort St. John, B.C. RCMP after thieves stripped and stole it from a rural gas site, while on the other side of Canada, in September 2025, Nova Scotia RCMP investigated the theft of copper from a construction site in Lower Sackville where thieves removed copper tubing from heating, ventilation and air conditioning units. Estimated damage: $500,000.
J.P. Morgan Global Research sees copper prices reaching US$12,500 per metric tonne in the second quarter of 2026, ultimately averaging ~$12,075/mt for the full year, with a global deficit of approximately 330,000 metric tonnes, squeezing supply.
With copper wire heists occurring across Canada, companies are tagging their metal. In November 2025, Calgary police were able to nab two men after following a tracking device on copper wire taken from a construction site.
RCMP and urban police forces don’t collect or merge figures and most don’t break down theft beyond over or under $5,000. And not all thefts are reported.
The industry, which is expected to contribute roughly 7.5 per cent of Canada’s GDP, employs over 1.6 million people, and generates $222.11 billion in revenue, has become a virtual free-for-all for theft.
RCMP and urban police forces don’t collect or merge figures and most don’t break down theft beyond over or under $5,000. And not all thefts are reported.
In B.C., Jordan Bateman of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association said the cost of security now carries an extra PST budget charge starting in October.
The Calgary Police Service (CPS) is one urban police force collecting statistics and sounding the alarm as thefts rose from 280 incidents in 2017 to 308 in 2024 to 371 in 2025.
Sgt. Nick Wilsher said Calgary’s record number of new homes built in 2025 attracts more than buyers.
“The opportunity is increasing for theft to happen,” he said, drawing in “regulars” or new thieves.
Wilsher said CPS is working with local construction associations to target hard hit construction sites.
In early 2026, Central Alberta RCMP recovered semi-trailers, tractors and heavy machinery at a Central Alberta property with a value of $1.4 million and charged four men. In southern Alberta, in 2025, police recovered $500,000 worth of skidsteers, a loader, excavator and deck trailers.
In 2025, on Vancouver Island, a 2019 John Deere 35G mini excavator (with two buckets) was taken from SB Dunn Contracting Ltd in Campbell River, while West Shore RCMP seized from a Malahat property a John Deere excavator taken from a Langford construction site.
A Caterpillar 966 Wheel Loader was also taken from a Sidney site.
The picture of equipment thefts doesn’t change in other provinces. It’s merely joined by materials such as lumber & copper, with pick-up truck boosted lumber loads from smaller sites or even truckloads.
-with files from Daily Commercial News
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