Ontario Outlines Plan to Add 2,500 Jail Beds, Including Through ‘Tensile’ Structures
The province says the expansion will add 255 beds by November and 700 correctional officers as overcrowding reaches 127% capacity, records show.
- On Thursday, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner announced a $3 billion strategy to add more than 2,500 permanent jail beds across Ontario over the next decade, addressing severe overcrowding in provincial correctional facilities.
- Recent data obtained through freedom-of-information laws show Ontario's jails operated at 127 per cent capacity in 2025, prompting Kerzner to strengthen bail enforcement and increase correctional capacity.
- Through the announcement, the government detailed plans to add 255 permanent beds by November 2026 and hire 700 new correctional officers, while utilizing "tensile structures" to create rapid capacity on existing jail grounds.
- Part of the expansion includes reconstructing and reopening the shuttered Brantford Jail, with MPP Will Bouma noting the project will help with "access to justice in the community" when construction finishes in June 2028.
- University of Ottawa criminology professor Justin Piché criticized the plan to add a third bunk in cells not designed for three inmates, warning it creates a "recipe for increased tension and violence" impacting staff and inmates.
14 Articles
14 Articles
The Hamilton Spectator
Ontario to expand jail capacity by 2,500 beds over 10 years at a cost of $3 billion
TORONTO - Ontario's solicitor general says the province will expand its jails by 2,500 beds over the next 10 years at a cost of $3 billion to the taxpayers.
Ontario Expanding Adult Correctional Capacity to Keep Dangerous Offenders Behind Bars - Today's Northumberland - Your Source For What's Happening Locally and Beyond
Province adding more than 2,500 permanent jail beds across the province As part of the government’s plan to strengthen the bail system and keep dang
Ontario to expand jail capacity by 2,500 beds over 10 years at a cost of $3 billion – 105.9 The Region
TORONTO — Ontario’s solicitor general says the province will expand its jails by 2,500 beds over the next 10 years at a cost of $3 billion to the taxpayers. Michael Kerzner says the province will build new jails, expand current ones and reopen a few that have closed. He says the province will add 255 jail beds by November 2026 and will hire 700 new correctional officers. Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show the province has even grander…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
