Homecoming in Waterloo looked a little different this year with police reporting no major parties and handing out a similar number of tickets to a year earlier.

Insp. Tanya Klingenberg, who oversees Waterloo Regional Police Service’s (WRPS) emergency services and public safety branch, said officers laid 104 charges this year during homecoming-related events, up from 101 in 2024.

“It’s also important to note that we saw no large street gatherings this year. That’s a significant shift and we believe it was largely due to proactive visibility and enforcement by WRPS, with strong support from the OPP and City of Waterloo by-law,” Kingenberg said in a statement emailed to CBC News on Wednesday.

In 2018, more than 14,000 people gathered on Ezra Avenue to mark homecoming. Since then, the city, police and the universities have worked to curb the unsanctioned parties, including adding fencing along Ezra Avenue to prevent people from flooding onto the street and city council has passed special noise provisions for the weekend.

On Wednesday, police released their numbers for the annual Safe Semester enforcement, which targets the university area of Waterloo in the fall. This year, Safe Semester ran from Aug. 28 to Sept. 26.

In total, 760 charges were laid during Safe Semester.

Of those charges and tickets:

334 were under the Highway Traffic Act.221 were Criminal Code violations.136 were under the Liquor Licence and Control Act.26 were under the Trespass to Property Act.16 under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.Five bylaw infractions.22 were considered “other” charges.

During homecoming-related events, which were the weekend of Sept. 26 to Sept. 28, police laid an additional 104 charges:

60 were Highway Traffic Act offences.31 were Liquor Licence Control Act offences.Four were Criminal Code offences.

“Although Project Safe Semester has concluded, Waterloo Regional Police will continue to conduct proactive enforcement in the university district and school zones to ensure everyone’s safety,” police said in the Safe Semester release.

Large crowds but ‘no major incidents’ in Guelph

Meanwhile in Guelph, there was a large street party this past Saturday that drew at its peak more than 10,000 people, but police in that city say there were “no major incidents.”

Chancellors Way had to be closed on Saturday. As the crowd swelled, Edinburgh Road S. between Stone Road W. and Wilsonview Avenue also had to be closed “for the safety of participants.” Some revellers also spilled into the parking lots for the Metro grocery store and Walmart.

Police issued more than 80 tickets under the Liquor Licence Act and police and bylaw responded to more than 80 noise complaints between Saturday morning and Sunday morning.

“In the most serious incident, three people were treated by EMS after being sprayed with an unknown noxious substance at approximately 1:40 a.m. on Sunday,” the police said in a release. “The assailant fled on foot and the incident remains under investigation.”

Other police services in Ontario also reported parties, but no major issues.

Police in London said thousands of students turned out for unsanctioned homecoming street parties on Sept. 27 but no major incidents occurred.

Similarly in Hamilton, crowds reached 10,000 near McMaster University on Sept. 20 but police there were no major issues and no nuisance parties reported.

In the past, Kingston has seen massive homecoming parties. This year, homecoming is Oct. 17 to 19 and the city says people are being reminded of the university district safety initiative that runs from 9 p.m. on Oct. 17 to 6 a.m. on Nov. 2. That means police and bylaw will be more active in the area around Queen’s University during that time.

In 2024, police in Kingston reported there were “no significant events” during the October weekend beyond “some small house parties.” 

A student-planned “fauxcoming” was held a week later, where police said there were several house and backyard parties but “students and attendees were polite and co-operative. Most backyard parties were not an issue for the community, and streets remained open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.”