It’s a staple in the southwest Calgary community of Lakeview. If you’ve been in the area for any amount of time, you’ve driven by Lakeview Husky.
The service station on Crowchild Trail southwest has been there for 60 years, sporting a vintage charm on the exterior and friendly staff inside that keep the phones ringing — especially in the summertime.
“(The phone rings) sometimes 15, 20 times a day,” manager Michael Swab said. “It all depends on the time of year.”
Swab got to work on Monday morning and found the phone wasn’t ringing like usual — he was out of service.
On Wednesday, he finally got calls routed through his cellphone.
“In those three, three-and-a-half days we’ve probably lost thousands of dollars in business,” he lamented.
Swab reached out to Global News about the issue, unaware there was a nefarious reason for the prolonged outage that’s left him without a landline for the entire work week.
Lakeview Husky is one of roughly 3,500 homes and businesses in Calgary impacted by a spree of copper thefts that have impacted Telus lines.
“It’s a huge issue, one that puts public safety at risk,” explained Anne Martin, Telus’ VP of Network & Engineering Operations.
“(Telus) has experienced an 80-per cent increase in cable thefts this year compared to the same period of last year.”
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The thefts are rampant across Canada, Martin says, but Alberta — and particularly Calgary — seem to be the most troublesome spots.
Telus alone has dealt with eight separate incidents since July 10.
An example of one of the Telus communication lines thieves cut in Calgary during a recent stretch of eight incidents in two weeks.
Telus
“When thieves cut the copper line, they’re not just stealing the metal. They’re compromising people’s ability to reach emergency services,” Martin said.
The company says it’s brought in crews from B.C. and other parts of Alberta, working through the night in some instances, to restore service.
But it’s a complicated fix.
“(The wires) contain thousands of twisted pair cables, and when they get cut, each strand has to be individually spliced back together,” Martin explained.
In light of the growing problem, Calgary police are urging people in the city to safeguard their homes and back alleys with cameras and motion lights.
“Thieves can quickly strip this valuable metal, leading to thousands of dollars in damages,” a CPS spokesperson said.
“These costs aren’t just from the stolen copper itself, but also from the extensive repairs needed and the operational downtime for businesses or residents.”
Business owners are also encouraged to paint exposed copper black to make the metal less attractive to potential thieves.
Alberta’s Scrap Metal Dealers and Recyclers Regulation requires metal recycling companies to ask sellers for personal identification and mark down any vehicle details.
Purchases of “restricted metals” such as copper are also recorded in a provincial database.
Martin says Telus and other Canadian telecommunications companies are advocating for change.
“In Canada, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Most of the time, thieves get charged with Theft Under $5,000, which is essentially the same as stealing a bicycle,” Martin said.
“We’re still looking for that greater collaboration with law enforcement — stiffer deterrents, tougher penalties.”
While he’s frustrated by the prolonged outage, Swab’s hopeful it’ll be fixed soon, while empathetic for people forced into a difficult situation.
“People are desperate right now. I don’t think there’s the same opportunities there used to be.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
