Out-of-province drivers owe City of Ottawa millions for unpaid photo radar tickets

A photo radar camera waits to snap images of drivers exceeding the speed limit. (CTV News Ottawa)

Drivers from nine provinces and the United States owe the City of Ottawa money for outstanding photo radar camera tickets, three months after the Ontario government turned off the speed cameras on municipal roads.

Data provided to CTV News Ottawa shows there are still 81,654 unpaid speeding tickets issued through the automated speed enforcement camera program, totalling $12.377 million in outstanding fines.

Ontario drivers have the highest number of outstanding tickets, with 65,266 unpaid tickets worth $9.7 million. The city did not specify how many of those tickets were issued to Ottawa drivers.

Drivers from eight other provinces and the United States have 16,388 outstanding photo radar tickets, owing $2.6 million in fines to the City of Ottawa.

Quebec drivers have 16,259 unpaid tickets owing to the city, worth $2.6 million.

Ottawa’s busiest photo radar camera was located on King Edward Avenue, a busy road that leads to the interprovincial bridge connecting the capital with Gatineau, Que. The camera issued 33,144 tickets in 2025 and caught 59,656 speeding drivers in 2024.

New Brunswick drivers have 45 unpaid speeding tickets worth $7,413, while Alberta drivers have 33 unpaid tickets worth $6,910. Drivers from the United States have six unpaid speeding tickets through the photo radar camera program, with a total owing balance of $1,052.

The City of Ottawa has “reciprocal agreements” with other provinces to collect the fines for unpaid tickets from drivers outside of Ontario. Staff have said the city can refer tickets to a private collection agency for enhanced collection.

The City of Ottawa deactivated 60 photo radar cameras installed in school zones, community safety zones and high-speed areas on Nov. 14 after the Ontario government passed legislation to ban speed cameras. Municipalities need to install large new signs to slow down drivers in areas where photo radar cameras are located, with permanent, large signs with flashing lights to be in place by September 2026.

A total of 1,143,240 speeding tickets were issued through Ottawa’s automated speed enforcement camera program between July 2020 and November 2025, including 279,595 tickets in 2025 and 383,830 tickets in 2024.

Here’s a breakdown of unpaid fines for photo radar tickets by province

• Ontario: 65,266 tickets ($9,740,433 in unpaid fines)
• Quebec: 16,259 tickets ($2,614,824 in unpaid fines)
• New Brunswick: 45 tickets ($7,413 in unpaid fines)
• Alberta: 33 tickets ($6,910 in unpaid fines)
• Nova Scotia: 25 tickets ($3,903 in unpaid fines)
• British Columbia: 11 tickets ($1,984 in unpaid fines)
• Manitoba: 6 tickets ($745 in unpaid fines)
• Newfoundland and Labrador: 2 tickets ($250 in unpaid fines)
• Saskatchewan: 1 ticket ($135 in unpaid fines)