OttawaThe Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has laid out a spending plan for 2026 with its biggest budget increase in years to help pay for salary increases, but the chief warns even that won’t keep up with growing costs and needs.Chief warns budget increase won’t be enough to cover growing costs, needsKate Porter · CBC News · Posted: Nov 12, 2025 11:03 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs in a 2023 file photo. The force’s base operating budget for 2026 is expected to grow by $26.1 million to $414.9 million, according to a draft released Wednesday. (Jean Delisle/CBC)The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has laid out a spending plan for 2026 with its biggest budget increase in years to help pay for salary increases, but the chief warns even that won’t keep up with growing costs and needs.The OPS base operating budget for 2026 is expected to grow by $26.1 million to $414.9 million. The extra funds would come from a five per cent increase to the police portion of the property tax bill, netting $18.3 million, or about $36 dollars more per household. Another $5.7 million would come from taxes on newly built homes, and $2.1 million from payments in lieu of taxes.But Chief Eric Stubbs said at a police service board meeting Wednesday morning that it’s not enough to ease the current financial strain.”The Ottawa police is one of the leanest police services in Canada, yet maintains a high level of public safety,” said Stubbs. “However, this positive picture of accountability and police performance is at risk without stable, predictable funding.”Officers received 6.85% pay increaseOver the past four years, Ottawa police have seen far smaller budget increases than the other 11 major police services in Ontario. Many saw double-digit boosts in 2025 when the City of Ottawa raised its police levy by just 2.9 per cent.Any budget increases for the OPS in recent years went straight to paying higher negotiated salaries, Stubbs said.Higher salaries resulting from collective agreements are again the single largest cost driver for 2026, Ottawa police say. Because the 2026 increase won’t cover those raises, the OPS plans to find $4.3 million in “efficiencies” elsewhere.Ottawa police get 19.35% raise over 5 years under new labour dealIn the last five-year collective agreement, Ottawa police officers received substantial salary and benefit increases. The new contract, which was settled after last year’s budget process, saw police officers receive a 6.85 per cent raise in 2025, plus another 19.35 per cent through to 2029.It wasn’t immediately clear why the OPS is proposing a five per cent increase to the police tax levy, rather than the upper limit of a 6.5 per cent set out by Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in August. Police chief says force needs budget boost, but critics disagreeThe budget does include $5.4 million in one-time funding from the City of Ottawa’s tax stabilization reserve, and from payments in lieu of taxes to “ensure that the tax rate remains stable and predictable,” Deputy Chief Steve Bell explained Wednesday morning.But that approach — along with relying on one-time funding from the provincial and federal governments — “increases the financial risk” to the police service because they need more funds in their base budget, said Bell, who is also chief administrative officer for the OPS.Sick leave, overtime on the riseDuring their presentation to the board, OPS executives laid out various other pressures. Sick leave and overtime have been increasing since 2020, and especially since the 2022 convoy protest. The average sworn officer took 12 days of sick leave in 2024, while the average civilian member took 15 days, according to slides presented to the board. The 2026 budget targets $16.2 million for regular overtime. The OPS has adopted a staff stabilization strategy to fill gaps, and is planning on another 25 new hires in 2026.Meanwhile, police say residents feel crime is rising, especially violent crime and drug-related offences.Stubbs pointed to Statistics Canada data comparing Ottawa to 12 other Ontario municipalities. Ottawa ranks third lowest for violent crime, but second lowest for its clearance rate on cases — 26 per cent in 2024, police said.The OPS has begun rolling out a district policing model to meet the different needs of urban, rural and suburban areas, and to boost police presence on city streets.The Ottawa Police Service Board plans to hear public delegations about its 2025 draft budget on Friday, Dec. 5, five days before the document goes to city council for final approval.ABOUT THE AUTHORKate Porter does explanatory and analysis pieces about local issues for CBC Ottawa. She covered Ottawa City Hall daily for eight years, doing deep dives into development decisions, covering the LRT public inquiry and analyzing multiple elections and budgets. In her more than 20 years at CBC, she has also read the radio news and covered the arts beat.Follow Kate on Twitter
Ottawa police table 2026 draft budget with 5% tax boost
