Doug Ford has announced plans to ban speed cameras in Ontario, describing the devices as an out-of-control “tax grab” in his latest populist appeal to suburban voters.
The move prompted criticism from road safety activists and is likely to cue another showdown with Toronto, after the mayor of Canada’s largest city urged councillors to keep the cameras in place, warning that “speed kills”.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Ontario premier claimed residents were “fed up” with the cameras, which he alleged were simply a tool used to generate revenue for municipalities.
“This is a cash grab off taxpayers. Nothing more, nothing less,” he said, adding he offered to personally demonstrate for mayors how to slow traffic. “I will stand in an area where you want to calm the traffic, and I’ll show you how to calm the traffic instantly. It’s not that they don’t know how to do it. They don’t want to do it because it’s a cash grab.”
Ford, whose government passed regulations in 2019 that allowed cities to install the cameras, said the proliferation of the speed-control tool was “out of control”, claiming that only 37 of the province’s 444 municipalities still support the cameras. He pledged to launch a new fund for cities to install road safety measures.
The premier pointed to one camera on Toronto’s west end that has generated more than C$7m in fines for drivers after generating more than 63,000 tickets. The camera, in a 40km/h zone, was installed in 2022 after a speeding motorist killed an elderly couple in a five-vehicle crash. It has been vandalized seven times in the past 10 months.
Ford’s announcement is the latest in a string of policies intended to appeal to suburban commuters in the province, and prompted immediate criticism from police and local groups.
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police said speed cameras have “been proven to reduce speeding, change driver behaviour and make our roads safer for everyone – drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and especially children and other vulnerable road users”.
Ford brushed off a recent study led by researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Metropolitan University, which that found automated speed enforcement cameras reduced the proportion of speeding vehicles in downtown school zones by 45%.
Olivia Chow, the mayor of Toronto, warned it would be “mistake” to remove the cameras.
In a letter sent on Thursday to the city’s infrastructure and environment committee, Chow pointed to a recent fatality of a 15-year-old struck by a speeding driver, telling councillors the city “must do everything we can to eliminate these tragedies”.
Chow and Ford have sparred previously, after the premier pledged to remove major bike lanes in the city. That attempt was blocked by a judge over the summer – a decision Ford said his government would appeal after the judge “overstepped” .
Chow suggested drivers should not be fined more than once by the same camera within a seven-day period and called for larger and more visible signage near cameras to ensure drivers were aware of enforcement zones.
“Speed kills,” she said earlier this week. “Torontonians, especially those most vulnerable like children, need to be safe. And we know speed cameras work. They reduce speed.”
