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Toronto Report Finds Sharp Spike in Speeding After Province Removed Speed Cameras

City officials say the surge in speeding coincided with higher short-term fatalities and risks eroding road-safety gains from Vision Zero.

Vehicles pass a speed camera in Toronto, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025.
Toronto had 150 automated speed cameras before the provincial legislation came into force, and had plans to add more, placed near school zones and other areas of concern for pedestrian safety.
Vehicles pass a sign advising drivers of an upcoming speed camera in Toronto, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

Overview

  • A city report presented to council on Wednesday found vehicle speeds rose at 101 of 104 monitored locations and the share of drivers 11 km/h or more over the limit jumped from 2% to 8.1%.
  • The report says drivers exceeding the limit by 16 km/h or more surged nearly 400% at some sites, with the biggest increases on streets posted at 30 km/h.
  • Toronto recorded 25 fatalities in the six months from December 2025 to May 2026, higher than several recent comparable periods, and two deaths occurred within 100 metres of former camera locations though the report cautions multiple factors influence crash deaths.
  • Mayor Olivia Chow urged the provincial government to reinstate automated speed-enforcement cameras in school and community safety zones while the Ford government maintains its provincewide ban and calls the program a municipal revenue tool.
  • The city notes ASE began in 2020 and a 2025 study linked cameras to lower speeding and the city’s fewest fatalities under Vision Zero, and it warns that physical traffic-calming measures would take years and tens of millions of dollars to install citywide.