Photo credit: Bradford Today
Ontario is planning a massive expansion of jails over the next few decades.
Toronto Tofay reports that the province’s jails are bursting and have been significantly over capacity for years, with the situation worsening. Ontario plans to add nearly 6,000 beds by 2050, according to documents obtained by University of Ottawa researchers through freedom of information laws.
The plan is broken down into three phases, with the first phase underway, says the transition binder prepared last year for Solicitor General Michael Kernez.
Ontario’s jails “are experiencing significant capacity challenges (i.e., there are approximately 2,000 more inmates than beds – the equivalent of five large jails),” the documents say.
The ministry said the capacity problems are “complex”, but several factors are contributing to the rise, including a backlog in the court system to deal with those on remand in jail awaiting trial, inmates remaining in custody longer, bail reform and population growth.
The first phase of the province’s plan includes 1,170 new beds by 2032 at $4 billion, though the document notes only $2.9 has been approved.
Those efforts include the $1.2-billion project currently underway to build the new Thunder Bay Corrections Complex that will replace an aging jail, plus new, expanded or refurbished jails in Brockville, Kemptville and Napanee, and modular builds in Niagara, Milton and Sudbury, the documents show.
“Phase 1 projects will provide incremental relief in our overcrowded facilities,” the documents say. “However, the need is growing over the next 10 years, and another 3,500-4,000 beds are still required.
Phase 2 will deliver an estimated 1,500 beds at six sites between 2033 and 2041, “through a combination of expansions and new institutions,” according to documents. Phase 3 will see another “2,000-3,000” jail beds built between 2040 and 2050.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General prepared the binder for Kerzner, who was re-selected in the snap election Premier Doug Ford called in February 2025, more than a year early. Kerzner has since returned to the role of solicitor general, who is responsible for law enforcement and provincial correctional facilities across Ontario.
He hinted that the province will be expanding the modular jail builds that will accommodate 300 more beds and is looking to reopen the jails in Brantford and Walkerton.
The documents note that jail capacity as of February 2025 is 8,508 beds, which means the province is planning to increase capacity by 66 per cent.
Mackenzie Plumb, a PhD candidate in the criminology department at the University of Ottawa, obtained Kerzner’s March 2025 transition binder through a recent freedom-of-information request.
She works under Justin Piche, a criminology professor at the University of Ottawa, who researches provincial jails and federal prisons. They shared the documents with The Canadian Press.
“When I saw the numbers, my jaw hit the floor,” Piche said in an interview. “This is an unprecedented increase in jail capacity.”
