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Parking enforcement officers in Ottawa issued close to half a million tickets in 2025, nearly double the amount handed out five years ago, according to new numbers from the city.
The number of parking tickets jumped from 262,089 in 2021 to 452,202 tickets in 2024 and 489,617 in 2025, according to the data provided to CBC and Radio-Canada.
Those totals also include tickets issued by parking enforcement agencies on private properties, the city said.
The year-over-year increase can be attributed to factors like population growth, increased enforcement in school zones and a rise in service requests, according to Jake Gravelle, Ottawa’s chief of bylaw and regulatory services.
The low number of tickets issued in 2021 also reflects changes to parking regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gravelle said over email.
“Ottawa’s running about a ticket every two-and-a-half years per citizen, which is overall a reasonable level when compared to other cities,” said Pierre Barrieau, a lecturer in transportation planning at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
“Those numbers of tickets sort of fit. It’s not overly zealous, it’s not lax either for a city of the size.”
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In addition to making the new parking tickets yellow instead of white, the City of Ottawa is giving residents more time to pay or challenge the fine. The CBC’s Cameron Mahler reports.
The City of Ottawa also says there were just over 50,000 calls for service via 311 in 2025, an increase of around 19,000 compared to 2021.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante said she attributes the increase to council’s decision to add more paid parking spaces in other parts of the city — including in Westboro, Wellington West, and other high-demand areas.
“I don’t really get a lot of complaints about this from residents in Ward 12 because most people are on foot, they are on bike,” she said.
“The complaints that I get are usually people who’ve come from outside and are coming to the ByWard Market for something.”
Plante added that she welcomed the increased enforcement in school zones, especially after the province’s ban on automated speed cameras.
The 2025 annual report from the parking services department said the city saw an 8.8 per cent increase in revenue from parking fees compared to 2024.
Off-street revenues increased by $660,000 in 2025, which the city said reflects a rising demand for longer-term parking, along with pricing adjustments that were implemented that year.
The report also states on-street parking fee revenues increased by $920,000 between 2024 and 2025.
That’s largely due to adjustments in parking rates, additional paid parking in Wellington West and Westboro, and incremental increases to parking permit fees, the report said.