Big spike in catalytic converter thefts Man confronted brazen thieves after his brand new vehicle was targeted By: Chris Kitching Posted: 5:46 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 20, 2026

Harvey Tschetter didn’t know someone was under his SUV when he was roused by the sounds of a power saw cutting metal and took a look around the vehicle outside his North Kildonan condo.

After finding nothing untoward and going back inside, he heard repeated hammer strikes and saw a vehicle idling next to his Mitsubishi RVR, which he’d purchased two days earlier. Someone was trying to steal the SUV’s catalytic converter.

“I ran out there and I screamed at them, ‘What the F do you think you’re doing?’ They crawled out from under my car, held the hammer up like, don’t come near me, and drove off,” Tschetter said of the June 8 incident. “It was 5 a.m. and completely light out. I can’t believe how brazen they were. They showed no fear.”

The incident happened amid a sharp year-over-year increase in reports of catalytic converter thefts or attempted thefts to Manitoba Public Insurance, after record highs in 2021 and 2022 led to increased enforcement, provincial anti-theft legislation and a period of significant decline.

The Crown corporation said it received 192 claims in Winnipeg between Jan. 1 and July 16, compared with 89 for all of 2025 and 85 in 2024.

About 70 per cent this year’s claims were filed between April and June. The Winnipeg Police Service is investigating an alleged group of serial thieves that operated during those months.

Four people were arrested and a fifth is being sought for at least 13 incidents, police said Friday. Investigators believe the stolen converters were sold in the province.

“The group of individuals that were arrested were directly correlated to the spike that we saw over the last couple of months of catalytic thefts increasing,” Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said. “This is something we’re monitoring very closely.”

Wiebe said the number of thefts is expected to remain low outside of the recent spike. MPI received seven claims between July 1 and 16.

“I ran out there and I screamed at them, ‘What the F do you think you’re doing?’… I can’t believe how brazen they were. They showed no fear.”

“Law enforcement — in this case, WPS — did a great job of going after these organized folks and shutting it down, and because of that we’ve seen the numbers return to the levels that they were previous to this, which was quite low,” Wiebe said.

Tschetter said the attempted theft of his catalytic converter on Henderson Highway was one of the 13 incidents that led to the four arrests last month.

“I’m glad they caught them. The police did a good job of responding to my call,” Tschetter said. “They were there the same day and they took it seriously.”

His SUV was towed to an MPI compound in Transcona, where he said the vehicle was damaged in a hail storm — requiring a separate claim — the following day. His deductible was $1,000 in each claim.

Tschetter said the damage and replacement costs for the converter were close to $7,000, while the hail damage was estimated at about $6,000. He got his vehicle back about three weeks later.

Outside Winnipeg, MPI received 27 catalytic converter claims between Jan. 1 and July 16, exceeding annual totals for 2025 (14) and 2024 (19).

Reports of thefts to Winnipeg police soared to more than 1,500 in 2021 and 1,800 in 2022 while thieves targeted catalytic converters for their resale value.

Converters, which are part of a vehicle’s exhaust system, contain trace amounts of highly valuable precious metals.

The former Tory government’s Scrap Metal Act came into effect in July 2022 to combat the trafficking of stolen auto parts.

The law requires sellers to show photo identification and explain how they acquired the scrap metal they’re selling.

Metal recyclers must document and photograph all converters purchased, and provide records to law enforcement. Police must be notified of any suspected stolen parts.

The number of reported catalytic converter thefts slowed to 344 in Winnipeg in 2023.

“The legislation that we have here in Manitoba is strong, but it really requires to ensure that the enforcement is there,” Wiebe said.

He said the government is working with law enforcement and the scrap metal industry to combat thefts and trafficking.

“If there are some scrap metal dealers who are not following the rules, then that gives an opportunity for organized groups like this for this kind of theft … to occur again,” Wiebe said.

The law allows peace officers to carry out inspections to ensure scrap metal buyers and sellers are obeying.

Progressive Conservative justice critic Wayne Balcaen said the responsibility of inspections should not be put on police services.

“I know having worked in (policing) that’s putting a large burden on the police,” the former Brandon police chief said. “They’re already struggling with keeping up with workloads and demands.”

He said the government should be the lead on inspections.

“We need a provincial initiative where they are going and doing these inspections, and making sure all of the rules are being followed, whether it’s the vendors or the people selling,” Balcaen said.

Wiebe said law enforcement has a role to “step in” if a crime is being committed, while officers within his department can conduct enforcement or be “part of the solution” if there are impacts to community safety.

— With files from Tyler Searle

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca