If your home internet or cell service has randomly dropped over the past few months, it’s possible you’ve been dealing with a copper thief.
According to a press release from Bell, copper theft is on the rise, with the company logging 993 incidents of copper theft and vandalism across Canada between January and June 2026. This is reportedly a 78 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2025.
“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,” said Mark McDonald, Bell’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer, in a statement. “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.”
Reportedly, Ontario is the epicenter of these outages, accounting for 579 of the nationwide incidents. Hamilton, Niagara and Milton are primary hotspots as of right now. However, New Brunswick has also seen a massive spike, with a recorded 268 incidents in the first month of the year, which is about a 235 per cent jump from 2025. Quebec has also seen a jump, with 91 cases in a six-month period. Although Quebec has made some headway on the law enforcement front, with arrests in the province up 150 per cent and Bell having won four civil court cases against copper thieves. Nationwide, arrests are up 32 per cent overall.
Bell is taking some steps to protect its lines. This includes installing live alarms that connect directly with police stations, increasing physical surveillance around vulnerable sites, and pressing harder on legal action against offenders.
Bell asks that if you see anyone acting suspiciously around telecommunications equipment, utility poles, or fiber/copper boxes in your neighbourhood, call the local police or Crime Stoppers. Because the next time you lose home internet or mobile services, you might have been able to prevent it.
Source: Bell
