What if we funded Toronto, not the cops?

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What if we funded Toronto, not the cops?

We want you to imagine what our city could look like if we diverted even a small fraction of the ever-growing $1.2 billion police budget to all the things we actually need and want.

What would that be for you? Fun things like parks, festivals and free concerts? Or essentials like roadwork, transit and affordable housing that have been neglected for too long? It’s really up to you, and the possibilities are a lot bigger than we’ve been able to imagine after decades of handouts to the police.

But if we don't say anything, it will be business as usual: a more and more over-policed and over-burdened city.

At more than $1.2 billion, the Toronto police budget is one of our city’s biggest expenses.1 And yet the Toronto Police Service has not only failed to serve and protect our communities — they’ve actively bullied, brutalized and killed Torontonians using our own taxpayer dollars.

It’s not just that spending more money on police, guns, riot gear and horses is far less effective than investing in road maintenance, housing, addiction services, parks and the wide range of services that actually increase safety and wellbeing.

It’s that funding the police actively endangers our city — especially people who are already discriminated against because of their ethnicity, mental illness, housing status and other identities, who police have consistently responded to with bullets and brutality.

That’s why we are demanding that in 2025, Mayor Olivia Chow and City Council fund Toronto, not the cops.

Add your name today. It only takes a moment, but it could be life-saving for those in our community who are more likely to be killed by the Toronto police — and life-changing for all of us, who deserve to have a safe, vibrant and well-funded city.

If you still need convincing, here are just a few facts and figures that will make things pretty clear:

Systemic Racism & Brutality: Black people in Toronto are 20 times more likely than white people to be fatally shot by police, and more likely to have an officer point a gun at them — whether or not they were perceived as armed — than white people in the same situations.2
Corruption, Impunity and Waste: Officers who commit serious crimes ranging from sexual assault to drug trafficking get a pretty sweet deal: suspension with full pay, often for several years. In other words, punishment via paid vacation, which across Toronto and Ontario has cost taxpayers $134 million over the past decade.3
Attacks on Protest and Democracy: The Toronto Police have faced accusations of excessive force and surveillance during various protests, particularly those led by racialized people. Protesters in solidarity with Palestine have reported being kettled and injured by police, while organizers claimed police used surveillance tactics to monitor peaceful gatherings, raising concerns about the infringement of rights to assembly and expression.
Protecting the Rich, Policing the Poor: Instead of going towards much-needed housing and support, millions of dollars have been spent on militarized raids of homeless encampments across Toronto, including police violence against encampment residents and protestors. This is an extreme example of something more widespread: police protecting private property and wealthy neighbourhoods, while neglecting and criminalizing poor neighbourhoods.
Lack of Oversight & Accountability: In 2022, only 1% of public complaints against Toronto police officers led to a disciplinary hearing, demonstrating a systemic failure of accountability. This statistic highlights the challenges faced by individuals seeking justice through the complaint process, as the vast majority of complaints do not result in any meaningful action against officers.

Add your name to tell Mayor Chow: fund Toronto, not the cops

We urge you to sign and send our letter to call for the following:

Reject any further increases to the police budget in light of systemic failures and misuse of public funds.
Redirect funding towards community services that promote health, education, and safety.
Improve community safety by moving tasks away from the police, as was done with moving some mental health crisis calls to the Toronto Community Crisis Service. Other tasks that could be more efficiently and effectively done by unarmed, specialized workers include traffic management, court and custody duties, addiction services, hospital liaison and more.

Together, we can advocate for a safer and more equitable Toronto.

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