The Security Package has a start inhibit feature, which lets owners remotely shut down the vehicle so it won’t start even with an authorized key.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
The Ford F-Series is Canada’s top-selling pickup truck – a title it has held for 60 consecutive years. But it also holds another accolade: being one of the most stolen vehicles in the country, according to insurance organization Équité Association.
“We really don’t like the data showing that the F-150 is on the top-10 stolen list both in the U.S. and Canada,” admitted Ian Grotenhuis, secure product manager at Ford Motor Company.
To help change that, Ford is rolling out a new security package on six models for 2026, including its best-selling F-150 and Super Duty pickups. Owners receive theft alerts through an app, where they can prevent the vehicle from starting.
The Ford Security Package first appeared on the revamped 2024 Ford F-150 and it’s now on six 2026 models including the Bronco Sport, Mustang Mach-E, Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
Despite an 18 per cent year-over-year decrease in auto thefts nationwide, insurance claims still amount to approximately $900 million, according to Équité Association’s 2025 Auto Theft Trend Report.
“It’s a lucrative crime for these organized crime groups,” said Bryan Gast, national vice-president of intelligence and investigations at Équité Association and former detective inspector in the criminal investigation branch with the Ontario Provincial Police.
“These groups still see [auto theft] as a high-reward, low-risk [crime] with significant financial benefit. If they get caught, historically it’s been seen as property crime. They probably won’t go to prison for having a $100,000 stolen vehicle, but they’re probably going to prison for $100,000 worth of cocaine or illegal illicit drugs,” said Gast.
Re-vinning – Vehicle Identification Numbers being changed on stolen cars – and key cloning are the “bread and butter” for auto thefts, said Peel Regional Police Staff Sergeant Greg O’Connor, former detective sergeant of the commercial auto crime bureau and organized vehicle crime at the force.
In the past five years, the average cost associated with auto thefts in the Peel region alone is $1.42 billion and the recovery rate of stolen vehicles is about 50 per cent. A majority of the vehicles are going overseas to fund organized crime groups and terrorist activities, O’Connor said.
“Young kids are paid to do the car thefts and jackings and shootings but it’s ending up in the hands [of those] at the top end. Globally, it’s feeding organized gangs and groups,” said O’Connor, who is also second vice-president of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators – Northeast Chapter.
Canada isn’t alone in the battle against auto theft – it’s a global issue. “For criminal organizations, everything is transportation based. And it is a status. We know that some vehicles command a high value overseas,” he said.
When O’Connor started working in auto thefts in 2011, the Mercedes-Benz G-wagon would fetch about $380,000 in China. Nowadays, full-size SUVs and pickup trucks are still in demand. A Ford Raptor R, for example, could fetch between $150,000 and $240,000 overseas, he said. Many stolen vehicles are going to the Middle East and Russia. Japanese automakers such as Lexus, Toyota and Honda often end up in Ghana, O’Connor said.
“The decline is great, but the problem still exists … We still have to make that vehicle from the manufacturer harder to steal in the first place,” Gast said.
And Canadians agree. According to another survey from Equite, 72 per cent of Canadians feel mandatory anti-theft technology in vehicles is needed.
“I am genuinely struck by just how low that satisfaction is. When only 18 per cent of Canadians believe today’s vehicles are adequately protected, it is a clear distress signal that current security standards are falling short against organized crime,” said Gast.
Hence, the Ford Security Package. It first appeared on the revamped 2024 Ford F-150 and it’s now on six 2026 models, including the Bronco Sport, Mustang Mach-E, Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator. More vehicles are coming for 2027.
“We definitely believe that if you just bought a brand-new F-150 we should help you protect it to give customers peace of mind and make sure that they can keep their assets safe,” Grotenhuis said during an interactive demo of the new security technology at Ford of Canada’s head office in Oakville, Ont., in early July.
The new security package works with the Ford app on an owner’s smartphone. It provides theft alerts and notifications if someone attempts to open a door, start, move, or factory-reset the vehicle.
There is also a stolen vehicle services emergency call centre monitored around the clock by personnel in Canada who work directly with law enforcement to track and recover a vehicle once a police report is filed.
If owners prevent the vehicle from starting after they walk away from it, they can slide this switch to be able to start the car.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
The most notable component is the start inhibit feature, which lets owners remotely disable the vehicle so it won’t start, even with an authorized key. Customers can choose whether to toggle the start inhibit on. The security package is free for one year on Ford vehicles and four years on the Lincoln Navigator. Afterward, it will be available for a one-time fee of $595 plus a monthly subscription rate of $9.95.
Since Ford first introduced the package, the trend is headed in the right direction.
“We are seeing specific vehicles that aren’t being stolen [or are being stolen] less frequently. And recovery rates have improved immensely in the handful of years and with more law enforcement being involved. But there’s still more work to be done,” O’Connor said.
“What Ford is doing is a great step forward,” Gast said.
Everyone has to work together, O’Connor said, referring to police, manufacturers and government, to reduce auto theft and enforce stricter criminal charges and sentencing.
Some changes have occurred, such as Bill C-14 – legislation that focuses on stricter bail laws to address violent and repeat offenders, and tougher sentencing laws for organized and violent crime.
But more is needed. Ontario’s three-year auto theft initiative ended on March 31 with no word on whether it will be extended. O’Connor is hoping insurance companies will eventually come on board, offering discounts for Ford owners who add the security package to protect their vehicles from theft.
“We’re never going to stop auto theft,” O’Connor said. “Canada can step up and get more involved with the technology – city cameras, CCT cameras, tracking – but I also know it comes down to privacy concerns and data.”
“This is not just a property crime. It’s not a victimless crime. Everybody pays,” said Gast. “There’s more work to be done but ... we’re heading in the right direction.”