Ottawa police want 50 more officers and body cameras for every officer in 2027. Here is what the $44 million request covers.

Ottawa Police Service presented its 2027 budget approach to the police service board's finance and audit committee on November 5, asking for an extra $44 million from property taxes next year, CTV Ottawa reported Thursday. The request is an 11 percent increase in the tax-funded share of the police budget. The service's current tax-funded portion is $415 million; with the increase it would reach $459 million. The service's total 2026 budget was $484 million, CTV said.

The $44 million is not a single item. CTV Ottawa reported it breaks down across six areas: 50 new officers in 2027 at a cost of $10 million; a collective agreement wage increase of $14 million; a $4 million increase in the overtime budget; $4 million to equip 650 frontline officers with body-worn cameras; a new professional development centre at $5 million; and $4 million for digital tools including artificial intelligence for investigations. The service says it will find $2 million in savings through reduced overtime, vacancies and service delivery changes to offset part of the total, CTV said.

50 of 200 officers

The 50-officer ask is the first year of a four-year plan to hire 200 new officers, CTV Ottawa reported. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe made hiring 200 more police officers one of his central re-election promises. His campaign put the commitment at 50 officers per year. The 2027 request matches that pace exactly.

Sutcliffe also committed to holding the City's overall property tax increase to a maximum of 2.5 percent. Those two promises now sit in tension: the police are asking for an 11 percent levy increase, well above what a 2.5 percent city-wide cap would leave room for. Both the promise to hire officers and the tax cap are tracked on the Ottawa promise tracker.

Councillor Cathy Curry, who sits on the board's finance and audit committee, said before the election that she would support a significant police budget increase to build out community policing, improve response for victims and cybercrime units, and update police technology. The budget now before the committee delivers on each of those items.

Body cameras: the second phase

Ottawa Police Service launched body-worn cameras in 2026. The first phase deployed 200 cameras to frontline officers, CTV Ottawa reported in October 2026. The 2027 budget would fund 650 more cameras, completing full deployment to frontline officers by the end of next year, CTV reported Thursday. The service has said it wants 850 cameras in total.

The camera program includes software licences as well as hardware. CTV reported a preliminary quote for the full program at over $30 million. The 2027 budget covers year two of that rollout.

A deficit hanging over 2026

The 2027 request arrives while the service is managing a projected $21.8 million shortfall in 2026, CBC News reported October 30. The deficit is driven by overtime costs of $10 million, a $4.6 million bill from a homicide investigation, recruiting costs of $3 million, and increased fuel costs of $1 million. A spending restraint plan launched in February 2026 saved $9 million, keeping the deficit from going higher, CBC reported.

The service is pursuing a further $2.2 million in savings before year-end. Even so, the deficit means the 2027 budget is built on a base that is already short. The finance and audit committee met November 5 at the City's meetings site to receive the budget process and timeline as an agenda item, along with a third-quarter financial status report.

Professional development and AI

The budget also includes items that rarely appear in year-to-year requests. The $5 million professional development centre would give officers a dedicated training facility. The $4 million for digital tools includes both artificial intelligence for investigations and other technology updates. CTV Ottawa reported the service describes the overall 2027 plan as a "plan for service, capacity and financial sustainability."

What comes next

The full police service board will consider the 2027 budget in January, vote on it on February 22, and Ottawa City Council is scheduled to approve the City's full budget on February 24, 2027, CTV Ottawa reported.

The board has trimmed requests before. In 2026, the service asked for a 10.6 percent levy increase and the board approved 5 percent. CTV reported the service projects levy increases could run as high as 13 percent in some years under the four-year officer-hiring plan before settling to 4 percent annually by 2032.

The police budget is one of the City's largest single items. How the board and Council reconcile the 11 percent request with the City's other spending pressures will shape the 2027 property tax bill. The finance and audit committee's role is to receive and review the approach before it goes to the full board for a vote in January.

Ottawa residents can follow the police budget and other City decisions at the City's public meetings site, pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com, where agendas and minutes are posted. Mayor Sutcliffe's police hiring commitment and his tax cap promise are both tracked at the Ottawa promise tracker.