Bell Canada names Windsor as 'hotspot' city for copper thefts
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Copper wire crooks are cashing in, and Windsor’s paying the price — with Bell Canada saying it’s been targeted here with more thefts so far this year than in all of 2024.
Windsor has become one of Ontario’s “hotspots” for the crime, the telecommunications giant claims, alongside Hamilton and Cambridge, as thieves target Bell’s phone and cable lines to strip and sell the valuable metal.
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What makes any particular city such a hotspot, a company spokesman told the Star, is having a ready market for such a stolen commodity.
“Somebody, generally locally, is purchasing it, and there’s generally a local crew that’s willing to do the theft,” said Dana Lohnes, Bell’s director of field operations.
“Those are the two commonalities that we see across all the areas where this type of activity flares up.”
Year-to-date, he said, “the city has already exceeded the number of (Bell Canada) thefts that they would experience in 2024, and far more than they would have experienced in 2023.
“The volumes aren’t huge, but the trend is definitely concerning.”
But a spokesperson for the Windsor Police Service told the Star on Tuesday the department “can not confirm” Bell Canada’s claim that Windsor is a “hotspot” for this type of theft.
“To provide an accurate statement, we would require supporting data and confirmation from other police services and agencies across Ontario,” Const. Bianca Jackson said in an email.
Windsor police said the department has received 41 theft reports so far this year — just three shy of the total number reported over the same period in 2024. Last year saw city police investigate 81 reported copper thefts.
“We can confirm that we continue to actively investigate incidents of this nature in Windsor, and we remain committed to working with our partners to address these crimes,” Jackson said.
According to Lohnes, Bell Canada has logged 15 incidents targeting its copper wiring in Windsor so far in 2025.
“I don’t think there’s anything specific to Windsor,” said Lohnes. “What is here in common with the other communities that we would call ‘hotspots’ is there’s a market.”
Asked what areas are being hit, Lohnes said the copper theft incidents have been fairly “sporadic” across Windsor.
Bell Canada copper thefts are up 23 per cent from a year ago, with the company reporting more than 2,270 incidents nationwide since 2022. Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec are the hardest-hit, with 63 per cent of all copper thefts occurring in Ontario.
Copper theft … directly threatens the safety and well-being of Canadians
This is not a victimless crime, the company said.
Thieves who target the lines for copper are disrupting phone and internet access. Copper thefts now account for 88 per cent of all physical security incidents on its network, with over 500 cases reported in the first half of 2025.
“Copper theft is a serious crime that directly threatens the safety and well-being of Canadians,” Bell’s chief technology officer Mark McDonald said in a statement.
“These thefts are not just about stolen copper; the perpetrators often damage other infrastructure such as fibre cable, and the crime can potentially put lives at risk when people can’t call 911 as a result of the damage.”
To combat the rise in copper thefts, Bell Canada is boosting security by equipping sites with tamper-detection alarms, increased surveillance around targeted locations, and taking action against offenders.
Major Canadian telecoms like Bell and Telus Corp. have been replacing copper in recent years with fibre, but the transition is still underway. Damage to copper lines can also harm fibre cables because they are often bundled together. The issue has come before the Senate Transportation and Communications Committee and Bell wants the Canadian government to amend the Criminal Code to increase penalties. The telecom said it is also accelerating its transition to all-fibre, which now covers 60 per cent of its network.
The vandalism and copper theft was committed during the first week of May in the northern Ontario community of Coleman Township near the town of Cobalt.
The OPP pegged the value of the theft at about $100,000. Four people, ranging in age from 34 to 51, are each facing multiple charges, including theft over $5,000 and trafficking in stolen goods over $5,000.
The world’s third-most-consumed metal, copper is used in a wide range of industries, from building construction to electronic products. One of its biggest markets in recent years has been electric vehicles.
— With a file from The Canadian Press
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