Copper theft is a problem in Canada. Will Trump's proposed tariffs make it worse?
This week, Ontario Provincial Police arrested four men and charged them with stealing copper wire from 33 decommissioned hydro police that were cut down in a rural region in northern Ontario.
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Police said the copper, with an estimated value of $100,000, was taken in May from Coleman Township, some 200 kilometres northeast of Sudbury.
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The news comes at the same time that U.S. President Donald Trump is announcing a possible 50 per cent tariff on Canadian copper.
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'Today we are doing copper,' he told reporters during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. 'I believe the tariff on copper, we are going to make it 50 per cent.' U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was in the meeting, later confirmed the amount.
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It's a major hit. According to Natural Resources Canada, Canada's exports of copper and copper-based products were valued at $9.3 billion in 2023, with the United States accounting for more than half the total export value that year.
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Already the Guardian newspaper is reporting that the tariffs have driven copper prices in the U.S. to an all-time high, with copper futures jumping more than 10 per cent to $5.682 a pound overnight. Conversely, it noted that prices elsewhere in the world fell amid fears that high U.S. prices could reduce demand globally.
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Yes and no. Anything that increases the price of copper will mean more theft of the material, but it's long been a problem in Canada and elsewhere.
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Back in 2014 the industry group Electricity Canada released a paper, 'Copper Theft from Canada's Electricity Infrastructure: Dangerous, Expensive and a Threat to Reliability,' highlighting what was even then a $40-million-a-year problem.
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How big a problem is it today?
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Last year, Caliber Communications highlighted the cost of copper as a factor driving thefts, and also noted the peril faced by criminals: 'In addition to the illegal aspect of copper theft, it can also be an extremely dangerous crime, as thieves may put themselves at great risk when stealing copper wires. Stealing live wires from hydro sites, telephone poles or underground wiring systems can result in serious injury, or even death.'
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And just this month a release from Bell Canada noted that copper theft is up 23 per cent year-over-year, with over 500 cases this year alone, and more than 2,270 since 2022. It noted that Ontario leads the country with 63 per cent of copper thefts, but that New Brunswick and Quebec are also hot spots.
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