‘It seems to have flared up’: Rise in thefts being reported on Kingston Peninsula

Rural areas in southern New Brunswick have seen a rise in thefts, including stolen trailers and off-road vehicles.

It’s not just big city’s in the region that are dealing with a rise in theft to begin 2026.

Residents and businesses of the rural Kingston Peninsula in southern New Brunswick have been dealing with a rise in recent thefts that aren’t just your typical petty crimes.

Yip Cider is just one business to have a recent theft. On March 23 just before four in the morning, the popular cidery had a green side-by-side stolen off the property that plays an integral role in the business’s summer operations.

“We use the mule, throughout the whole summer to bring people from our dock to our taproom,” says Yip co-owner Joe MacKay on one of the vehicles usages. “We hire a local employee and that’s their job all summer long is to have a smile on and cruise down to the dock, pick people up and bring them up to the taproom.”

Thankfully for the cidery, the side-by-side was recovered by RCMP late last week says MacKay, but that doesn’t mean theft isn’t a problem.

MacKay says there are multiple examples so far in 2026 that involved people waking up to stolen trailers and side-by-sides from their peninsula properties.

“In the past, it really hasn’t been a problem,” MacKay says. “But lately it seems to have flared up and definitely causing some issues around the community with people being concerned about their goods.”

MacKay says security measures have been increased on site in hopes to deter future incidents.

Big ticket items aren’t the only thing being targeted in the peninsula’s theft trend. In Late March the popular Reeds Point Pub and Grill was broken into resulting in around $800 of stolen alcohol.

Pub manager Lisa Wiggins says that’s on top of a destroyed power smart metre on the side of the building, and a broken window on the patio door where the vandals entered through.

“We’re typically not somebody that gets targeted with this,” says Wiggins, noting the last time they experienced a break-in was five years ago. “But the activities seem to have been increasing a lot since January to my understanding.”

Both Wiggins and MacKay say the community on the peninsula has been very supportive of one another amid the rise in theft.

While she understands the closest New Brunswick RCMP detachments are in Grand Bay-Westfield and Hampton, each about a half-hour away from the centre of the peninsula, she wonders why officers haven’t established more of a presence in the area.

“There’s been a whole bunch of thefts on the peninsula roughly around the same time, like in between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.,” Wiggins points out. “I just don’t understand why there hasn’t been more RCMP presence when there’s definitely been an uptick in thefts. Why isn’t there a cop on the Peninsula or RCMP officer on the peninsula between those hours?”

CTV Atlantic made numerous attempts to contact local RCMP officials on the rise in thefts, as well as the recently recovered side-by-side, and are awaiting a response.

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