Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, will ban automated speed cameras on November 14, and hopes to replace them with speed bumps and other speed reduction measures.
The Ontario government passed legislation as part of an omnibus “red tape” bill that will ban the use of automated speed cameras by municipalities throughout the province. The current law, passed in 2018, allows for automated speed cameras to be setup in school and community zones.
In Canada law enforcement, including for traffic offences, is largely the responsibility of municipal governments. This contrasts with Australia where the police force and speed camera network is run at a state or territory level.
In the cameras’ stead, the province will create a new fund to help affected municipal governments install other speed reduction features, such as speed humps, roundabouts, raised pedestrian crossings, and curb extensions. The fund will also be used for improved signage and public education programs to slow drivers down.
It’s not clear when installation of these speed reduction measures will be completed, but transport minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said temporary signage will be up before the ban comes into effect on the 14th, and will begin talks with municipalities in the coming weeks about funding for new speed reduction installations.
Doug Ford, Ontario’s premier and leader of the province’s Progressive Conservative government, claimed “too many municipalities are using speed cameras as a cash grab”, and chastised them for not doing “everything they can to lower costs and make life more affordable”.
“Instead of making life more expensive by sending speeding tickets to drivers weeks after the fact, we’re supporting road-safety measures that will prevent speeding in the first place, keep costs down and keep our streets safe,” Mr Ford said in a statement announcing the legislation.
Fixed speed cameras in Ontario are often accompanied by small sign near the camera. Talking to CTV, Mr Ford claimed, “Speed cameras don’t slow anyone down unless you’re in the community and you get dinged a few times. But it doesn’t make the place safer. Our solution makes community safer, theirs doesn’t.”
Olivia Chow, Toronto’s mayor, refuted the premier’s “cash grab” claim, saying fines are used to pay for traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, police officers and victims’ services. The city collected around C$30 million (A$33 million) in fines from January to September this year.
In the lead up to the ban, a group of big city mayors wrote to the premier saying, “Evidence shows that speed cameras reduce unsafe driving and save lives. A total ban on [automated speed cameras] would reverse years of progress on safety in school zones.”
They also noted they are “committed to ensuring the program funds future road safety measure”, but ultimately their pleas fell on deaf ears.
The ban comes after a spate of attacks on speed cameras in the Toronto area. The City of Toronto says speed cameras were “severely vandalised” 25 times since the third quarter of 2024. According to the CBC, one camera on Parkside Drive was cut down six times during that period.
Interestingly, it was Ford in 2019, 18 months after becoming premier, who enacted the regulations that enabled Ontario’s municipalities to install automated speed cameras in school and community zones. It should be noted, it was the previous Liberal government that actually passed the speed camera legislation, but this didn’t come into effect until regulations were in place.
Since then 40 municipalities have installed 700 speed cameras across the province. According to the Toronto Star there 150 cameras in the province’s capital city.
A study by the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Metropolitan University, which was partially funded by the City of Toronto, said speed cameras reduced speeding in Toronto’s school zones by 45 per cent.
Data from the Toronto Police Service seems to show a dramatic decrease in major vehicle accidents since the introduction of speed cameras in 2019, although it’s unclear how much of this is due to the cameras. Other factors, including the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and other road safety programs, may also be at play.
A survey by the Canadian Automobile Association released in the middle of the year claimed 73 per cent of Ontarians supported the use of speed cameras in school and community areas.