A 30-year-old heroin addict was feeding his habit by stealing up to $200 a day in loose change and electronics stolen from cars.
"It could be anywhere from 20 to 50 cars (daily) until he got what he needed," RCMP Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth said.
The suspect was located by fingerprints left on one of the victims' cars. He was arrested last month and remains in custody, but has not yet been formally charged.
Hollingsworth said most of the cars broken into were not locked, and in some cases GPS devices, MP3 players and cellphones were also stolen.
"If you leave your vehicle unlocked with valuable items inside, it increases the chance that your vehicle will be targeted," she said.