After years of debate, Montreal police officers will soon be equipped with body cameras, Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada says.
Martinez Ferrada made the announcement alongside the city’s police chief and the head of the police brotherhood Friday.
Montreal also plans to adopt a rule banning insults toward city employees, including police. If adopted, police would have new powers to issue fines for someone who insults them or another municipal employee.
The goal of the bylaw is to protect city employees from abuse, not to prevent criticism, Martinez Ferrada said.
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She announced Friday that 3,500 police officers will get body cameras and roughly 600 patrol vehicles will have dashcams and automated licence plate readers installed. Her administration earmarked $40 million for police cameras in its first budget this year.
Martinez Ferrada revived the decade-old body camera debate in December 2025.
The cameras are already widely used in other cities, including Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, and the RCMP has equipped 80 per cent of its officers. Montreal police have said it supports the use of body cameras. Officers used them in a pilot project several years ago, but they were never fully rolled out.
In June, Martinez Ferrada said she was working with police and the minister of public security to accelerate the rollout following a scandal that erupted at a Montreal North police station.
The force dismantled a 16-member patrol unit following allegations of criminal behaviour and misconduct. Two officers were suspended, and 14 others were reassigned to duties that do not involve contact with the public.
Jim Beis, who is responsible for public security at the city’s executive committee, said Friday that Montreal will also review police stop practices.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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