Canada is dealing with a car theft problem, and it left these Mass. families stranded in Montreal

Three Massachusetts families are sounding the alarm after their vacations were cut short by car thieves in Canada. Authorities say vehicle thefts are on the rise across the country.

Cynthia Hajal and her family visited Montreal, Quebec, in July, but she says their trip was cut short.

"It was pretty traumatizing," said Hajal. "I thought that he said that the car seat was stolen or that they stole something from the vehicle. And then my husband was like, 'No, no, like our car is gone!"

She said their Toyota Highlander was stolen after they valet parked it at the Renaissance Montreal Downtown.

"I didn't think that it could be gone like that from ...a hotel, especially like a Marriott Hotel," she said. "I was pretty panicked."

John Pelletier said the same thing happened to him during a Montreal vacation in August.

"I was shocked,: he said. "We didn't have any  prior knowledge of a huge, you know, car theft situation in Canada."

He says he had parked his Toyota Highlander with the valet at the St. Paul Hotel.

“The hotel staff was pretty matter-of-fact about the situation,” he said.   “They said it's probably on a ship already headed overseas.”

And Prakriti Majumdar said her Montreal road trip ended abruptly when her Toyota Highlander was stolen from a public parking lot near her Airbnb in September.

“We're still in shock,” she said.  “It's really sad that, you know, we went for a good family vacation and it kind of became a nightmare.”

All three wish they had known about a spike in car thefts across the border. 

NBC10 Boston reached out to Montreal police about these incidents and they told us “ stolen vehicles are on the rise all across Canada” due to the “lack of availability of new vehicles on the market”.  

In a recent report, Equite Association, a nonprofit supporting Canadian insurers characterized the growing thefts as "a national crisis in the country."

"We did ask a question that as the car is normally, you know, do you find them?" said Majumdar.  "And their response was, 'Sometimes we do.' You know, so they took all the reports. But, you know, they obviously said it's very common."

Pelletier and Majumdar said their vehicles have not been recovered. Hajal said she and her husband tracked their vehicle down on their app and had it towed back to Boston, but it had been stripped.

"The navigation system was missing, and then like a few cables were like, ripped out. And then the back sensors for like parking were also gone," said Hajal. "At this point, our insurance said that it's going to be a total loss."

Montreal police tell us:

Since 2021, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) have deployed additional resources to investigate motor vehicle theft. In addition, in 2021, we set up an integrated team of various police departments, of which we are a member, to unify police efforts and counter the phenomenon as effectively as possible.

Police say 8,237 vehicles were reported stolen in Montreal from January through August, and that SUVs, luxury SUVs and pickup trucks are often targeted.

They would not provide data on how many vehicles have been stolen from hotel parking.

“I think that the hotel has an obligation with a known issue like this to at least advise their guests of the problem,” said Pelletier.  “I know that doesn't do anything for the tourism industry in Canada, but I do think there's a responsibility there on their part.”

The Hotel St. Paul and Renaissance Montreal Downtown are Marriott properties.  Marriott International referred us to the third-party franchise management companies that operate the hotels.

Management at both told us they take safety and security seriously, but don’t comment on matters under police investigation.

Hajal posted her experience on social media.

“I've heard from several people that commented like this happened to me or this happened to my coworker, this happened to a friend of mine,” she said.  “And so I think there's maybe upwards of like ten or 15 people in like Massachusetts or at least nearby areas to like Boston that have had the same issue.”

“I would avoid it right now to Canada if you're going by car,” said Pelletier.  “Maybe fly in and get around another way. But I certainly would not take a vehicle up there right now.”

We reached out to Tourisme Montreal, which told us:

"We are aware of the recent car thefts in the region and are working with the appropriate local authorities to address this issue. Rest assured that the safety of our visitors is a priority. In fact, Montreal is a safe city and again this year ranks among the top three safest destinations in the world for travelers."

They declined our request for an interview on the situation.

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