New policing standards are forcing small Ontario forces to absorb training costs
Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act raised training and equipment standards but introduced no dedicated funding. Small municipal forces say compliance is stretching local budgets.
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By Torontoer Staff
Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act, which came into force in April 2025, tightened training, equipment and operational standards for police across the province. The legislation increased compliance requirements but did not include new, guaranteed funding for municipalities to meet those standards.
Smaller police services say the added training deadlines, course costs and upgraded equipment are creating immediate pressure on municipal budgets at a time many towns are already facing difficult finance choices.
What the new law requires
The Community Safety and Policing Act replaces the 34-year-old Police Services Act and spans 263 sections. It raises minimum training standards, sets new timelines for advanced courses and tightens rules for evidence handling and equipment that will be admissible in court. Provincial officials say the changes modernise policing and improve accountability.
How costs are accumulating for small forces
Municipal police forces report several direct cost drivers. Many required courses are offered off-site, which adds course fees plus travel, hotel and meal expenses. Upgrading equipment to meet court requirements, such as breathalysers, and expanding digital evidence storage for cellphone and dashcam footage also adds ongoing operational expenses.
- Off-site advanced training: course fees, travel, accommodation and meals
- Equipment upgrades to meet evidentiary standards
- Expanded storage and management for digital evidence
- Administrative and scheduling costs to meet compliance timelines
I will note there was no funding from the province to help us get compliant with that stuff, so it has been a challenge.
Owen Sound Deputy Police Chief Dave Bishop
Owen Sound, a lakeside community with roughly 22,000 residents, illustrates the squeeze. The town’s police service is about 40 officers. Local taxpayers cover just over $9 million of policing costs each year, and the service raises roughly $5 million from other revenue streams. Since 2018, the town has received average grants of about $1.5 million annually, equal to roughly 10 per cent of the force’s total budget, but those grants are not guaranteed and do not arrive as long-term commitments.
Municipal leaders call for stable funding
Local officials say sporadic grant programs leave small municipalities competing for limited funds. Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy said the new regulations make sense for large forces, but the province should consider the budgetary reality of smaller communities.
A lot of those decisions are made in Toronto, and they make sense for a big police force like Toronto. It’s difficult for a small town to carry a full-time police force and have the changes of regulation from the province that end up on our budget.
Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy
Peterborough city council has asked the province for targeted, stable funding to cover costs directly linked to compliance with the new act. Their motion asked that any provincial assistance be tied specifically to demonstrable, compliance-related expenses rather than broad increases to police budgets.
Some communities have considered alternate models. Sault Ste. Marie requested a costing study to explore replacing its municipal force with Ontario Provincial Police services. That request was denied, leaving local leaders to seek other budget solutions.
Province response
A spokesperson for Solicitor General Michael Kerzner told reporters that grants are available for municipal police services, but that operating costs remain the responsibility of municipalities. The statement described the provincial approach as record investments in police services across Ontario, while reiterating that municipalities must cover local operating shortfalls.
Our government is making record investments in Police Services across the province. Operating costs for police services are the responsibility of the respective municipalities they serve.
Spokesperson for Solicitor General Michael Kerzner
What small-town residents and councils face next
Municipal councils must weigh options that include trimming non-essential services, reallocating existing budgets, increasing local taxes, or seeking more reliable provincial funding. For towns with small forces the challenge is finding a sustainable path that preserves public safety while meeting the new training and operational requirements.
Owen Sound officials are asking for funding that mirrors the certainty some OPP-serviced municipalities receive, rather than one-off grant opportunities that require repeated applications and political competition between local governments.
The provincial law raised standards intended to modernise policing, but municipalities say implementation will depend on stable funding. Until the province and municipalities agree on longer-term cost-sharing, small forces will continue to stretch local budgets to meet the new compliance deadlines.
policingmunicipal-budgetOwen SoundCommunity Safety and Policing ActOntario
