The government is taking decisive action to protect Ontario communities, support frontline personnel and strengthen the province’s public safety system. By expanding border enforcement, cracking down on illegal cannabis operators, adding correctional capacity and investing in safer streets, the government is helping law enforcement agencies combat organized crime and keep illegal firearms, drugs and other contraband out of Ontario communities.
These targeted investments reflect the government’s commitment to keeping violent and repeat offenders off the streets, protecting consumers and legitimate businesses and improving road safety without increasing costs for drivers and taxpayers.
Protecting Ontario’s Borders
The government continues to strengthen security along the Ontario–United States border to deter and prevent illegal land, air and water crossings, protect communities, and disrupt cross-border crime, including the smuggling of illegal firearms, drugs and other contraband into Ontario.
In January 2025, Ontario launched Operation Deterrence to combat criminal activity affecting communities on both sides of the border. Since its launch, Ontario’s enhanced border enforcement measures have resulted in the tracing of more than 5,600 illegal firearms, including over 2,600 connected to the United States, as well as the seizure of more than 5,970 kilograms of cocaine and 240 kilograms of fentanyl.
Building on these results, the government is investing $32.5 million in 2026–27 to expand Ontario’s border enforcement capacity and provide police services with the tools needed to detect, deter and disrupt cross-border crime. This investment includes:
- Establishing a $30 million Border Security Grant to help eligible municipal and First Nations police services purchase specialized equipment, including drones, marine vessels, radar systems, thermal imaging cameras, surveillance systems and secure intelligence technology; and
- Creating a $2.5 million Border Integrity Investigative Fund to support investigations into illegal firearms trafficking, drug smuggling, organized crime and other border-related criminal activity.
These investments will strengthen investigations, intelligence gathering and interdiction operations at vulnerable entry points and along key cross-border corridors. They will also help police services combat organized criminal networks and prevent illegal firearms, drugs and contraband from reaching Ontario communities to keep everyone safe.
Expanding Capacity in Ontario Jails
The government is taking action to strengthen Ontario’s correctional system so that it can continue to protect communities by keeping violent and repeat offenders behind bars. As part of its $3 billion investment to expand adult correctional capacity, the province is exploring opportunities to reopen the former Brantford Jail, which could add capacity for up to 125 inmates to Ontario’s correctional system.
The government is also revising the design and scope of projects already in the pipeline to add capacity for over 1,700 inmates. This includes expansions at the Thunder Bay Correctional Complex, Quinte Detention Centre and the new Brockville Correctional Complex, as well as new modular facilities in Sudbury, Milton and Niagara.
Further capacity will be created by repurposing the former intermittent centre at the Toronto South Detention Centre and expanding the St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre. Moreover, rapid-build projects, including at the Central East Correctional Centre and Central North Correctional Centre, will accommodate up to 610 inmates in the near term. By summer 2027, the government will add capacity for up to 290 inmates across 12 existing correctional institutions.
Combined with rapid-build facility expansions and other correctional initiatives, the province’s plan is expected to add capacity for more than 2,500 inmates over the next decade.
Building Safer Streets and Protecting Taxpayers
In November 2025, Ontario announced that it was providing $210 million, through the Road Safety Initiatives Fund (RSIF), to support increased road safety in school zones and community safety zones without using speed cameras that make life more expensive for drivers and taxpayers. In December 2025, eligible municipalities therefore received $42 million in immediate funding from the Ontario government’s RSIF to support traffic-calming measures in school zones and community safety zones that previously deployed municipal speed cameras.
Since February 2026, eligible municipalities have been able to apply for additional funding for alternative road safety measures that do not raise costs for drivers. These measures included traffic-calming infrastructure like speed bumps, raised crosswalks, and roundabouts, as well as high‑visibility signage and increased police enforcement in school zones and community safety zones where municipal speed cameras were previously deployed.
Strengthening Cannabis Enforcement
Illegal cannabis stores threaten public health and safety, fuel organized crime and money laundering, and result in lost revenue for legitimate businesses.
To help keep Ontario communities safe, the government is proposing legislative amendments to strengthen enforcement against illegal cannabis activity. Enhanced authorities for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) would support action against illegal cannabis operators and promote a fair and competitive marketplace. These changes would empower AGCO and police with stronger investigation and enforcement tools to identify, disrupt and shut down illegal cannabis stores and websites.
These measures build on the government’s ongoing investment in the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team (PJFCET), an initiative led by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The government remains committed to protecting consumers, supporting compliant businesses and maintaining the integrity of Ontario’s legal cannabis sector.
Expanding Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs
Since passing the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, 2024 and the Community Care and Recovery Act, 2024, Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs have been implemented in communities across Ontario. This includes nine former Consumption and Treatment Services sites that transitioned to HART Hubs. HART Hubs are bringing services to those in Simcoe County, Belleville, Windsor, Lanark County (Lanark, Leeds and Grenville), Orangeville, Lambton County, Renfrew County, Sault Ste. Marie, Sagamok, Blind River, Sudbury, Guelph, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Windsor-Essex, Hastings and Prince Edward County, London, Kenora, Niagara, Oxford County, Dufferin, Brampton, Peterborough, Durham and Kingston.
HART Hubs reflect regional priorities by connecting people with complex needs to comprehensive treatment and preventive services. These include a range of services, such as primary care, mental health services, addictions care and support, social services and employment supports. To date, HART Hubs have supported over 46,000 individual clients and will add more than 900 supportive housing units to transition hundreds of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to more stable, long-term supportive housing.
In March 2025, the government announced plans to open 28 HART Hubs across the province. In April 2026, the government expanded the number of HART Hubs by announcing a new Kingston location, bringing the total to 29 HART Hubs. As of October 2026, all 29 HART Hubs are operational. The government is supporting HART Hubs through an investment of more than $560 million, continuing its commitment to protect the safety of families and communities while improving access to recovery and treatment services for people facing housing instability, as well as mental health and substance use challenges.
Strengthening Commercial Driver Training and Road Safety
In September 2026, Ontario announced it is developing a standardized entry-level training curriculum for truck drivers as part of the government’s plan to keep Ontario’s roads among the safest in North America. Building on Ontario’s existing Mandatory Entry-Level Training (MELT) program, the standardized curriculum will require organizations that provide truck driver training to consistently deliver more than 103 hours of high-quality instruction to ensure new Class A commercial driver’s licence applicants have the skills and knowledge needed to operate safely and responsibly on Ontario’s roads. The province will work with industry leaders, training providers and subject matter experts to develop the curriculum. Additional training subjects being considered for the new curriculum include fatigue management; Northern, rural and remote driving; human trafficking awareness; and mandatory air brake training.
Ontario is also improving trucking safety in the North along Highway 11/17 by increasing the number of Transportation Enforcement Officers in Northern Ontario, expanding enforcement blitzes along the Highway 11/17 corridor, deploying two mobile inspection support units to improve truck compliance along the corridor, and upgrading the provincial rest area network in Northern Ontario to provide more year-round truck parking. This builds on the government’s investment in targeted highway improvements, including new 2+1 passing lanes and truck climbing lanes along sections of the Highway 11/17 corridor to improve traffic flow and enhance safety for both commercial vehicles and passenger traffic.
Also in September 2026, Ontario implemented 24/7 operations at the Shuniah truck inspection station on Highway 11/17, delivering on the government’s commitment to improve highway and road safety in the North. This expanded operation will strengthen enforcement and help ensure commercial vehicles are operating safely for everyone travelling on the highway. The $30 million inspection site gives enforcement personnel a cutting-edge facility to identify potential issues with commercial vehicles and keep Northern roads safe.
This builds on Ontario’s broader actions to strengthen commercial vehicle safety, including requiring drivers to verify their eligibility to work in Canada, increasing oversight of commercial driver training and testing, introducing tougher penalties for unsafe commercial driving practices and implementing a mandatory six-month waiting period before eligible drivers can attempt a Class A road test.
Advancing the Implementation of Ontario's Beneficial Ownership Registry
Ontario is advancing a Beneficial Ownership Registry for implementation in 2027, as part of broader efforts to combat money laundering, enhance public safety and support a competitive business environment. Building on the legislative framework first introduced in 2025 and information gathered through recent consultations, Ontario is proposing legislative amendments to provide businesses with greater clarity on their obligations and to support readiness ahead of implementation.
The proposed amendments would clarify business corporations that are subject to beneficial ownership requirements, the information that must be provided, when updates are required, and which entities would be authorized to access information in the registry, with applicable restrictions. See the Annex: Details of Tax Measures and Other Legislative Initiatives for additional details.
Ontario will continue to work with the federal government to advance a strong, coordinated and aligned approach to beneficial ownership transparency. This approach would ensure that Ontario has the tools needed to implement robust validation and compliance frameworks that reflect international best practices. An effective Beneficial Ownership Registry is central to efforts to combat money laundering and other financial crimes, helping to strengthen the integrity of tax and financial systems in Ontario and across Canada.