Tory Proposes an Increase of $48.3M Budget for Toronto Polcie

Toronto’s Mayor John Tory has proposed a $48.3 million budget in order to increase the Toronto Police Service. He made this announcement in a press conference on Tuesday Morning and said, “One of our principal responsibilities is to keep our community safe and to keep Torontonians safe. This will show itself in a proposed 4.3 per cent increase in the police budget.”

The police budget in 2021 was roughly $1.076 Billion, which has now been increased to just over 1.1 billion in 2023.

If and once approved, the investment could have 200 officers to join the force. Out of the 200 officers, 162 will be deployed ‘priority response units’, out of which, 25 will be based in Downtown Toronto. 22 officers will be deployed to the major case management and 16 will be assigned to neighborhood community policing.

As per Tory, the proposal will be reviewed by the Toronto Police Services Board on January 9, 2023. He also further mentioned that he is no longer a part of the board for a ‘couple of months now.’

Prabhnoor Kaur