Last year, Toronto had the fewest traffic-related deaths it’s recorded in a decade, just as a major road safety program has been removed from the city.  

The latest city data shows 39 people died on Toronto’s roads in 2025, even fewer than in 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions kept the streets far emptier than usual. 

There were 19 pedestrians deaths recorded, 12 motorists, five motorcyclists, two cyclists and one “micromobility” death, which includes people who ride electric bikes, e-mopeds and e-scooters.

That adds up to half the total traffic deaths recorded a decade ago, when numbers hit a 10-year high. In 2016, 78 people — over half of them pedestrians — died in traffic incidents on Toronto’s streets, according to city data. 

That prompted the City of Toronto to introduce its Vision Zero strategy with the goal of eliminating traffic-related deaths. The plan includes a variety of road safety measures, including redesigning streets to make it harder to drive over the speed limit, and introducing speed cameras and red light cameras.

In the 10 years since the plan launched, traffic fatalities have generally trended down. 

Vision Zero’s projects manager says the strategy had it’s biggest budget yet in 2025 and was able to expand.

“We had record-breaking years for several of our programs in terms of how big they were,” said Sheyda Saneinejad. “So I don’t think there’s a coincidence that … all that came together to get us [those] numbers.”

Record low comes as speed cams removed

But one of those expanded programs is now gone. The city’s speed cameras, which doubled in number from 75 to 150 in 2025, were taken down in the fall under new provincial legislation. 

That’s despite CAA studies that found evidence they reduced speeding and most Ontarians wanted them in place. There are many safety measures needed to prevent traffic deaths, but speed cameras were a key component where they were installed, said Lauren Fisher, CAA’s manager of government relations.

“If nothing is put in place to combat speeding in these areas, yes, we’re going to see these numbers potentially go up,” said Fisher.

WATCH | The fight over speed cameras in Toronto:

How Toronto went from doubling its speed cameras to removing them all in less than a year

As of the end of November, all of Toronto’s speed cameras have been taken down. CBC’s Lane Harrison breaks down how, in less than a year, the city went from doubling its number of speed cameras, to removing them all.

Premier Doug Ford and his government have repeatedly called speed cameras an ineffective “cash grab” and had them replaced late last year with large, flashing signs to warn drivers to slow down.

Asked by reporters Thursday whether doubling the city’s number of speed cameras last year contributed to lower fatality numbers, Ford called the argument “a bunch of hogwash.”

“What stops accidents is actually physically slowing people down,” he said, suggesting people want speed bumps and police enforcement.

Jess Spieker, a road safety advocate with Friends and Family for Safe Streets, said she’s worried traffic safety around schools, where most cameras were installed, could suffer in 2026.

“You’re putting children at risk. I cannot wrap my mind around any rationale for something like that,” she said. 

WATCH | Speed cam ban drew criticism from GTA parents:

GTA parents protest Ontario’s plan to ban speed cameras

As MPPs return to Queen’s Park, a group of parents are aiming to send a message to the Ford government about their plans to ban speed cameras.

Saneinejad, Vision Zero’s manager, said the strategy has lost one of its tools, but “multiple layers of redundancy” keep roads safe. Almost 700 speed humps and cushions were added last year, with 1,000 more on the way this year, she said. The school crossing guard and red light camera programs are also growing in size in 2026.

“There’s no one single [magic] bullet,” she said. “It’s about having a wide variety and range of measures that work together. So we continue to expand on that.”

Spieker said even though the city is closer than ever to reaching its Vision Zero goal, there’s still a long way to go.

Though overall numbers are lower, she said it’s “disturbing” that “people walking are bearing the immense brunt of road violence” every year. “It’s a product of how we design our streets for motor vehicle speed instead of safety.”