Over 20 mayors across the province are urging Ontario Premier Doug Ford to scrap his plan to ban automatic speed cameras, and are hoping to reach a compromise instead.
On Thursday, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward published an open letter to Ford on her social media accounts, asking the premier to cancel a proposed legislation that would ban the use of municipal automated speed enforcement cameras (ASE) across the province.
The letter is signed by 21 other Ontario mayors, including Patrick Brown from Brampton, Carolyn Parrish from Mississauga, Andrea Horwath from Hamilton, and Cam Guthrie from Guelph.
Instead of scrapping ASE entirely, the mayors are proposing a compromise in the use of these cameras, maintaining them around school zones and adding a relaxed measures, including:
- Setting up cameras so they only issue tickets after the driver goes reasonably beyond the speed limit;
- Cameras’ operation times linked to school hours and community use;
- A first-offense warning ticket instead of a fine;
- Not doubling fines for community safety zones;
- Putting up signs alerting drivers of the presence of ASEs;
- No longer adding additional fines for offenses under seven days of receiving the first ticket.
“A total ban on ASE would reverse years of progress on safety in school zones. It would place more pressure on police, increase enforcement costs, and most critically, endanger lives,” the mayors said in the letter.
In addition, they propose that money collected from ASE fines should be redirected to other traffic control measures, including speed signs, bump outs, pedestrian crossings, and roundabouts.
“Funding traffic calming from ASE fines lifts these costs from taxpayers, and assigns them to speeders who are causing the issues in the first place,” the letter says.
Citing a study published by SickKids and the Toronto Metropolitan University over the summer, the mayors also argue that speed cameras have been successful in reducing speeding and improving road safety.
“These are not just statistics—they represent fewer injuries, fewer fatalities, and greater peace of mind for parents and communities,” the letter says.
The mayors also reference a CAA South Central Ontario survey that found that 73 per cent of drivers in the province also support the use of ASE in sensitive areas, such as school zones and community centres.
Meanwhile, the letter also says that if the Ford government moves ahead with banning the cameras, it should at least reimburse municipalities for the money lost to the cancellation, including staff severance costs, policing costs, and decrease of municipal safety programs that are currently being funded by the ASE.
“We know your government has been open in the past to revisiting decisions when presented with sound evidence and public support. We hope that will be the case again.”
PROVINCE PLANNING ON LEGISLATING BAN
The mayors’ open letter comes after Ford made comments against speed cameras and later announced a new legislation proposal that would ban the enforcement tool.
Earlier last month, speaking with reporters at an unrelated conference, the premier said that municipalities should take down cameras, which he said were “nothing but a cash grab” and suggested cities use other traffic calming methods to reduce speeding instead, including more flashing lights and crossing areas.
Last week, Ford published a press release announcing that the province would be introducing legislation in October to completely ban ASE use by municipalities, instead helping them to implement other calming measures.
Today, I announced that we’re banning municipal speed cameras in Ontario to stop the cash grab from drivers and taxpayers.
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) September 25, 2025
Instead, we’re investing in new traffic-calming measures like signs and roundabouts that will stop people from speeding in the first place.
Find out more:… pic.twitter.com/LOyAqiw2G0
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Meanwhile, the City of Vaughan voted to immediately ban the ASE program last month, a measure that was applauded by Ford, who urged other municipalities to follow suit.
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On Monday, responding to a question about ASE at an unrelated press conference in Hamilton, the premier also suggested that the cameras could instead be used to combat crime.
“I was asking [Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath] about crime as well, because I want to start introducing cameras on crime, if approved by residents…Certain areas around Ontario are just getting hammered,” he told reporters at the scene.
“We are going to be working on that, and I’m wondering if we can use those cameras to identify stolen cars as well.”
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