Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the speed cameras are "nothing more than a tax grab."Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is outlawing speed cameras across the province, a decision that places him at odds with some municipalities and police chiefs who say the devices are needed to protect vulnerable residents such as children.
The announcement was made Thursday in Vaughan, north of Toronto, where Mayor Steven Del Duca, a former provincial Liberal leader, had already dropped the cameras after Mr. Ford criticized them as punitive for drivers.
Mr. Ford said motorists are getting ticketed by cameras for going just a few kilometres over the speed limit, and that police officers would never issue such fines.
“This is nothing more than a tax grab,” Mr. Ford said. “People are fed up.”
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The province’s move, which will be solidified in legislation this fall, pits Mr. Ford against major cities such as Toronto and Brampton, as well as smaller communities such as Shelburne, which has long been represented by a Progressive Conservative MPP. Other regions, such as Kitchener and Barrie, support Mr. Ford’s decision to remove the cameras, also known as automated speed enforcement (ASE).
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which acts as the voice of all 444 municipalities, criticized Mr. Ford’s decision. President Robin Jones said the group is disappointed that the Premier is banning AMEs, and said there is strong evidence they work.
“We are also concerned about continued provincial overreach. This should be a local decision,” Ms. Jones said in a statement.
Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca.Fred Lum/the Globe and Mail
Mr. Ford, who stood at a podium in front of school-zone signs and flashing yellow traffic lights, said Thursday that only 37 of the province’s municipalities still support cameras and that his government will launch a new fund for cities to install road safety measures.
Once the legislation passes, municipalities will not be allowed to issue tickets from speed cameras, and the province will also require municipalities to install large signs in school zones by mid-November. The government will require permanent, large signs with flashing lights to be in place in school zones by September, 2026, and for cameras to be removed entirely by that time.
A July, 2025, study from The Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Metropolitan University, however, found that automated speed enforcement cameras reduced the number of speeding vehicles by 45 per cent in urban school zones.
Mr. Del Duca, the transportation minister under former premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government that passed the initial law to install the cameras, said people on fixed incomes and pensioners were getting fined multiple times for going a few kilometres over the speed limit.
Mr. Ford’s PCs passed regulations in 2019 that allowed cities to install speed enforcement cameras, and start fining drivers. But in recent weeks, the Premier has railed against them.
Alberta has also curbed the use of photo radar and red-light cameras. Some provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec employ the cameras, while others such as Nova Scotia currently do not.
In the Ontario town of Shelburne, which recently installed 10 cameras, Mayor Wade Mills has said residents have for years expressed concerns about speeding. He also refuted suggestions that the effort is meant solely to raise revenue.
But others aren’t so sure.
“I agree with Mr. Ford – they’re nothing but a tax grab,” said Barry Hebden, a resident of the area for 50 years.
“From what I can see just driving through town, a lot of people are going to get nailed big time.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government will introduce legislation next month to ban the use of speed cameras across the province.
The Canadian Press
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, whose city has 12 cameras in primary-school areas, said the revenue from tickets has been reinvested into street safety measures.
Before Mr. Ford’s announcement, he said speed cameras are the only way to change people’s behaviour and make streets safer, especially around children.
“At some point, I think we’re going to have some real terrible news one day because of the constant speeding in these areas,” he said.
After Mr. Ford unveiled the changes, Mr. Guthrie said he won’t fight the Premier on the issue, adding that his city only installed the cameras because Mr. Ford’s government promoted them as a way to protect people.
“If he wants to take them out now, so be it. I’ll be looking for new ways, hopefully with provincial funding, to still try and make school zones safe,” Mr. Guthrie said.
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Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also criticized Mr. Ford for the decision. Since 2024, nearly 250 pedestrians or cyclists have been killed or seriously hurt on the city’s roads, she said.
Ms. Chow plans on introducing a motion on Friday to strengthen the city’s camera system, including a grace period for those ticketed multiple times – even as Mr. Ford vowed to ban them.
“Today the province announced that they are banning one of the most effective tools we have to slow drivers down and keep people safe. I think this is a wrong decision,” Ms. Chow said Thursday.
Brampton, too, said it supports the program. Councillor Rowena Santos said the cameras have led to “significant reductions” in speeding. Prior to the announcement, she said municipalities should at least be allowed to keep the cameras in school zones, and the province must refund cities for the costs.
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The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police has also come out in support of the cameras.
The association’s president, Chief Mark Campbell of the Strathroy-Caradoc Police Service, told The Globe and Mail that ASEs are an important tool that enhances traffic safety.
He said he agrees with the Ontario government that the cameras can’t be a revenue-generating tool specifically and that motorists need to be well-informed about the locations.
“I think they do reduce speeding, they do change driver behaviour, and it hopefully makes the roads safer for everyone,” he said.
Mark Baxter, president of the Police Association of Ontario, however, appeared alongside Mr. Ford at Thursday’s announcement.
He said his group representing 32,000 sworn officers and civilian police personnel has pushed for a thorough review of automated speed enforcement cameras, “highlighting the need for solutions that truly serve the public interest.”
He said he supports increased funding for proven traffic-calming measures such as improved road design and safer infrastructure.