Ottawa Police say writing tickets is now the main tool to slow drivers after speed cameras were removed

One year after Ontario ordered Ottawa to shut off its automated speed cameras, the Ottawa Police chief told the city's Police Services Board that officers must now write tickets to fill the gap, and that covering more than 400 schools across the city will take time. CTV News reported on the November 2, 2026 board meeting.

City data shows the removal of the cameras has changed how fast people drive. At former photo radar sites, average speeds rose by 5 to 9 km/h in September 2026 compared to September 2025, CTV News reported. On Innes Road, between Provence Avenue and Trim Road, the average speed in September 2026 was 63 km/h, up from 54 km/h a year earlier. Only 35 per cent of drivers followed the speed limit at that location.

What happened to the speed cameras

The Ontario government ordered all automated speed enforcement cameras to be turned off on November 14, 2025, CTV News reported. Ottawa had to deactivate 85 photo radar cameras that had been placed in school zones and high-speed areas across the city. The order came from Queen's Park, and the City of Ottawa had no authority to keep them running.

Chief Eric Stubbs told the Police Services Board that the cameras had created a clear and automatic penalty for drivers speeding in specific places. Every vehicle passing a camera zone at the wrong speed received a ticket in the mail without an officer being present. That consistent, city-wide coverage is what the deactivation removed.

"You saw it. Everyone slows down going through a camera zone. So, now that we are a bit of the default," Stubbs told the board, CTV News reported. "If they see a police car, they're going to naturally slow down."

He said he and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police had supported keeping the cameras and would have preferred the program continue.

What the police numbers show

Officers have written more tickets since the cameras came down. CTV News reported that Ottawa Police issued 35,590 tickets and warnings for traffic infractions on Ottawa roads in 2026, up from 26,680 in the same period of 2025. Officers also charged 623 drivers with stunt driving, street racing or careless driving in 2026, compared to 534 charges in the same period of 2025.

Stubbs said the increase in enforcement is real but the city is large. "Our team is small but mighty. They've written a lot of paper and it's not that hard," he said, CTV News reported. "Meaning, there's lots to choose from, and that's concerning."

He said building patrol coverage across Ottawa's many school zones will take time. There are more than 400 schools in Ottawa. A camera in each school zone ran around the clock; an officer in a patrol car covers one location at a time. "We know that it'll be a very long time before we can cover this city appropriately," Stubbs told the board, CTV News reported.

Thirty-two people have been killed in traffic collisions on Ottawa roads in 2026, including 7 in October, CTV News reported. The October 29 article on this site noted that Ottawa Paramedic Service Chief Pierre Poirier said collisions with life-threatening injuries are up 40 per cent this year compared to 2025.

What councillors are hearing from residents

Councillor Steve Desroches, who represents Riverside South and Findlay Creek, raised the issue at the Police Services Board meeting. He told the chief that residents in his ward describe running red lights, speeding on residential streets and aggressive driving as everyday occurrences on local roads.

"People running red lights or skirting through the yellow light, often, you know, going through the red light. Speeding on residential streets, aggressive driving, driving in bus lanes, just poor conduct," Desroches said, CTV News reported.

Desroches asked the chief whether there is a broader cultural shift in driving behaviour across Ottawa. Stubbs said longer commute times may explain some of what residents are seeing. "It seems like that patience level is turning into some aggression of trying to get there quicker," he told the board, according to CTV News.

Desroches was re-elected in Ward 22 on October 26, 2026, and will return to the Police Services Board when the new council takes office on November 15.

What the mayor has promised

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe made road safety one of the commitments of his re-election campaign. His platform of October 15, 2026 committed to pushing the province to restore automated speed cameras in school zones and to directing city staff to gather speed data so that police can focus manual enforcement where speeding is worst. His promise tracker records this commitment.

Sutcliffe joined the police chief at a public appearance on October 29 to call for safer driving, and CTV News reported that he called on Premier Doug Ford to bring back the cameras. The board meeting of November 2 was the first formal discussion of traffic enforcement since Sutcliffe's re-election, and it put the gap in coverage on record in front of the incoming council.

The mayor's platform also said city staff should map speed data across Ottawa so that patrol officers can be sent to the places where speeding is worst. That step requires staff time and a council direction, both of which will come through the new council after November 15.

What comes next

Ottawa City Council takes office on November 15, 2026. The first budget discussions for 2027 are scheduled to begin in November, and the mayor has said he wants a 95-dollar annual transit pass in the 2027 budget. Decisions about road safety staffing will be part of the same budget process.

The Police Service Board Finance and Audit Committee meets on November 5, 2026, according to Ottawa's public meetings calendar at pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com. Residents who want to report speeding or dangerous driving in their area can call the Ottawa Police Service non-emergency line at 613-236-1222.