Inside Toronto’s Violent Tow-Truck Wars
- A string of violent incidents — shootings, trucks torched — has been linked to Toronto's towing industry. - Police and industry sources tie multiple recent shootings and arsons to rival towing companies operating across the city. - The violence exposes regulation gaps, prompting calls for tougher enforcement and industry oversight (theguardian.com).
In Toronto, a fight over who gets crash calls and impound jobs has spilled into shootings, arsons and police corruption cases. (theguardian.com) The latest flare-up came this week, when Toronto police investigated multiple tow-truck fires and Peel police probed three Brampton tow-truck fires set within about 30 minutes overnight on April 21. Earlier this month, Peel police were also investigating another suspicious tow-truck fire in a Brampton driveway. (cp24.com 1) (cp24.com 2) (cp24.com 3) The violence has been building for more than a year. On March 4, 2025, two men were shot outside a west-end tow yard and a tow-truck driver was shot at a Scarborough gas station about an hour later, and Toronto police said they were investigating whether the attacks were connected. (cbc.ca) Police have tied the industry to broader organized-crime investigations. In June 2025, a Toronto Police-led joint-forces probe announced 20 arrests and 111 charges linked to violent and criminal acts in the tow-truck business across the Greater Toronto Area. (tps.ca) The crackdown did not end the scandal. In February 2026, York Regional Police said seven Toronto police officers and one retired officer were facing charges connected to violent incidents involving tow trucks and operators across the Greater Toronto Area. (cbc.ca) At street level, the business is simple: the first truck to a wreck can lock in a tow, storage fees, repair work and insurance-related referrals. Ontario’s 2024 rules were meant to curb that scramble by requiring certificates for tow-truck drivers and vehicle-storage operators and by giving drivers the right to choose who tows their car unless police direct otherwise. (ontario.ca) (toronto.citynews.ca) The regulatory handoff also changed who was in charge. Toronto says municipal oversight of towing and vehicle storage ended on January 1, 2024, when provincial rules under the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act took effect. (toronto.ca) (ontario.ca) City bylaws still govern some towing from private and municipal property, but the province now licenses operators and drivers. That split has fed complaints that enforcement is fragmented across city bylaws, provincial certification and several police services working the same Greater Toronto Area turf. (toronto.ca 1) (toronto.ca 2) (theguardian.com) Toronto police have said tow-truck turf wars were one factor behind a spike in shootings in 2024, alongside youth violence. By early 2025, the same rivalry was showing up in attacks on tow yards, drivers and trucks themselves. (cbc.ca) (cbc.ca) The result is an industry that handles routine fender-benders but keeps appearing in gun and arson investigations. The next test is whether the province’s certification system and the police cases now moving through court can slow a battle that has kept reigniting across Toronto and Brampton. (theguardian.com) (ontario.ca)
