NSLC sees another sharp increase in thefts from stores

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation had a 24 per cent increase in thefts across all retail stores in the province during the first quarter of 2025, according to numbers provided by the Crown corporation.

That spike comes after the NSLC reported a 55 per cent increase in thefts in 2024 compared to the previous year.

The numbers from the NSLC indicate there were 350 more thefts between April 1 and June 29, 2025, than there were during the same period in 2024. Experts say it’s part of a growing national trend across the retail sector.

According to the Retail Council of Canada, businesses and consumers are losing an estimated $9.1 billion every year to what it calls “coordinated, organized, and increasingly violent criminal activity.”

“We've been trying to raise the alarm over the last few years and it's really getting to that crisis point,” said Jim Cormier, the council's director for Atlantic Canada.

“We need politicians and those in the community to stop calling it just shoplifting because that doesn't capture the scale. It's organized retail crime that we're referring to.”

In a statement, the NSLC said it is “constantly exploring new opportunities to discourage theft in our stores and reverse this trend.”

A spokesperson pointed to new anti-theft devices that are placed on frequently stolen products such as Smirnoff vodka. The items have bottle toppers that sound an alarm if they leave the store before being removed at the counter.

The NSLC did not agree to an interview but said it has seen encouraging results from the new measures.

The liquor corporation also said it encourages shoppers and workers to not intervene in thefts they witness. The Retail Council of Canada said in a report that “76.2% of retailers report increased violence during theft incidents.” The information comes from a survey representing over 20,000 locations.

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, which represents workers at the province's liquor stores, said it appreciates the measures taken by the NSLC and has heard from members that conditions in stores are improving.

NSGEU president Sandra Mullen said like most problems, it will require more money to slow the frequency of thefts.

“Making sure that folks are not working alone and making sure that they have security. Those are all easy, perhaps costly fixes. But so is the theft," she said.

MORE TOP STORIES