66% would ban speed cameras, T4SH survey shows

Truckers for Safer Highways polls drivers, residents online

Doug Ford is on the right track with voters in announcing he’d ban speed cameras and the automated tickets that go with them, an ongoing poll shows.

Truckers for Safer Highways posted an online poll on its Facebook page on September 27, asking readers and drivers which of three choices they prefer.

As of September 29, “Ban all the cameras” has received 66 per cent of the vote, 815 votes. Keeping the cameras was selected by a scant 7 per cent with 96 votes.

“Don’t ban them, but improve the network” received 27 per cent of the vote, or 321 votes.

On September 25th, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the province intends to introduce legislation next month that will ban the use of municipal automated speed enforcement cameras across the province, ensuring they are no longer used as a form of revenue. The province will instead establish a new provincial fund to help affected municipalities implement alternative safety measures, including proactive traffic-calming initiatives like speed bumps, roundabouts, raised crosswalks and curb extensions, as well as public education and improved signage, to slow down drivers.

“Too many municipalities are using speed cameras as a cash grab,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Enough is enough. 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.”

Under the existing municipal automated speed enforcement camera program, municipalities are permitted to use municipal speed cameras to ticket drivers who exceed the posted speed limit by as little as one kilometre per hour.

After a three-week period in which the City of Vaughan issued more than 30,000 tickets, city council suspended and ultimately scrapped its municipal automated speed enforcement camera program. Prior to 2025, a single municipal speed camera in the City of Toronto issued more than 65,000 tickets and took in nearly $7 million in revenue.

In the Region of Waterloo, close to 55,000 tickets were issued during the first six months of their municipal automated speed enforcement camera program.

“Municipal speed cameras have become nothing more than a tool for raising revenue,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. 

If passed, this legislation will prevent the use of municipal speed cameras in Ontario immediately upon Royal Assent. The province will also introduce requirements for municipalities with existing speed cameras in school zones to install large new signs to slow down drivers by mid-November 2025, with permanent, large signs with flashing lights to be in place by September 2026. Municipalities will also be encouraged to implement alternative traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps, speed cushions, raised crosswalks, curb extensions and roundabouts, as well as enhanced signage and education and awareness campaigns.

Interested drivers, taxpayers and others can still vote in the survey on the Truckers for Safer Highways page;