Toronto’s police budget has reached $1.43 billion
Mayor Olivia Chow’s newest city budget includes $93.8 million more for police
Mayor Olivia Chow’s 2026 budget—the final budget before the next mayoral election—has officially launched. The previously reported 2.2 per cent property tax increase remains in place, and other key focuses include extended library hours, a five per cent tax cut for small businesses, a TTC fare freeze and student nutrition—“No child in this city should have to learn on an empty stomach,” Mayor Chow said at this morning’s budget launch announcement.
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One of the budget’s most notable items is the $93.8-million police funding increase, approved to cover the Toronto Police Service’s multi-year hiring plan, as well as pay raises for officers.
Inclusive of the increase, Toronto’s police budget is now $1.43 billion.
Some critics believe the additional funding would be better allocated elsewhere, especially given the emphasis on pay raises.
“For the past two years, community consultations that engaged diverse, racialized and low-income individuals identified the police services as the top category for decreased investment,” said a statement issued by Social Planning Toronto, a non-profit community organization. “...Residents expressed a desire to address the root causes of crime and safety. Prioritizing affordable housing, youth programs, mental health supports and community safety initiatives can ensure there are fewer crises to begin with.”
At this morning’s event, Chow justified the police budget increase. “We have a duty to keep you safe,” she said. “Crime continues to go down across our city. We’ve reduced 911 wait times by 75 per cent. But there’s more to do.”
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
