Bell on Wednesday reported that copper thefts on its network across the country have jumped by 78 per cent at the mid-year mark, compared to the first six months of 2025.
Between January and June 2026, Bell recorded 993 incidents of copper theft and vandalism across Canada, the telecom said in a press release. At the mid-year point last year, Bell had recorded just more than 500 cases.
Since 2023, Bell has seen 3,723 copper theft incidents nationwide, according to a dedicated webpage the company launched to publicize the ongoing problem that can cause major service disruptions for internet, TV and phone services, as well as compromise access to 911 and other emergency services.
Arrests for copper theft have increased by 32 per cent in the first half of 2026, compared to the same period of 2025, according to Bell’s press release, which called this “a positive step that reflects ongoing enforcement efforts, though continued action is needed to address the scale of the problem.”
“Copper theft is a criminal act that targets critical infrastructure and leads to service outages that can endanger public safety, particularly by disrupting access to emergency services,” Mark McDonald, Bell executive vice president and chief technology officer, said in the press release. “No single organization can stop copper theft alone. It will take coordinated action from telecommunications providers, governments, law enforcement, recyclers and communities to hold criminals accountable and protect the networks Canadians depend on.”
For several years, Canada’s major telecoms have been calling for more government action to address network infrastructure damage. In May 2024, the Canadian Telecommunications Association, on behalf of its members, asked for harsher penalties for network vandalism and equipment theft to be entrenched in Canada’s Criminal Code. In late 2024, representatives from the large telecoms appearing before the Senate Transport and Communications committee called for more severe penalties for copper theft. In April of this year, the Senate committee published a report recommending the federal government amend the Criminal Code to impose harsher penalties for theft of copper.
Bell’s own efforts to address copper theft and vandalism on its network have included installing aerial alarms and filing lawsuits against individuals who have allegedly stolen its copper equipment, with some success.
In its press release Wednesday, Bell said Ontario and New Brunswick are at the epicentre of the issue of copper theft on its network, together accounting for 85 per cent of the national increase in incidents. With 579 cases so far in 2026, Ontario accounts for the highest volume of incidents – 58 per cent of the national total. Theft activity in Ontario is particularly concentrated in Hamilton, Niagara and Milton, Bell said. New Brunswick is seeing the fastest growth, with 268 incidents so far in 2026, up 235 per cent compared to the first six months of 2025, Bell added.
Quebec has also seen a significant increase in copper theft and vandalism this year, Bell said, with 91 incidents recorded between January and June, an increase of 89 per cent compared to the same period of 2025. Theft hotspots include Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Lanaudière and the Laurentians, Bell said, adding arrests in Quebec have increased by 150 per cent, which is one of the highest increases in the country. Bell said it has recently obtained four favourable court decisions in Quebec related to copper theft, “reinforcing the use of civil remedies to hold offenders accountable.”
Photo via Bell
