New Ottawa police mounted unit will cost $1.4 million a year

Toronto Police mounted unit stand on Wellington Street as police work to clear the streets in front of Parliament Hill to end the 'Freedom Convoy' protest in Ottawa, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. In 2024, Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs said the city's police service would create a mounted unit by April 2025. (Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Ottawa's police chief says the new Mounted Patrol Unit will be a "game changer" for the service in 2025, helping officers with specialized operations, crowd control and community engagement.

The Ottawa Police Service expects the first four horses to arrive in the spring, with four more horses joining the unit in late 2025 or early 2026.

Chief Eric Stubbs says the Toronto Police Service's Mounted Unit provided a "positive impact" to Ottawa police during previous work in the capital.

"One horse can equate to 10 to 12 officers, in terms of boots on the ground," Stubbs told the Ottawa Police Services Board on Friday.

"The words that they use is invaluable or game changer when they're present."

The 2025 Ottawa Police Service budget outlines the plan to spend $1.4 million a year for three years to launch the new Mounted Patrol Unit.  Funding from the Ontario and federal governments will cover the $4.2 million cost over three years for the unit.

Police say the new Mounted Patrol Unit will assist with demonstrations, police visibility in urban areas and search operations.

"Mounted officers not only serve as a visible crime deterrent and foster positive police-community relations but also play a critical role in specialized operations," says the 2025 police budget. "Research has shown that officers on horseback are more effective in search and rescue missions, locating evidence and missing persons more quickly. This efficiency minimizes potential harm to individuals and reduces the number of officers needed to complete searches."

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Stubbs says there have been recent protests in Ottawa where he thought a Mounted Patrol Unit would help provide a "wedge to separate groups" or assist with the movement of people.

"There's so many different uses. We'll use them as well for presence in the market in key times, on Wellington (Street), on Sparks (Street), in different areas," Stubbs told the Ottawa Police Services Board on Friday.

"It won't just be the downtown; we can get into Centretown… the rural areas, of course. They will be used. We will use them, for sure."

Deputy Chief Trish Ferguson explained to the board why a Mounted Patrol Unit will assist the service.

"A much more operational unit; similar to officers on bikes and officers in cars," Ferguson said. "Where their expertise lies is in things like crowd movement."

Ferguson says the eyesight an officer on a horse will have is a benefit to operations, with officers having "a much better line of sight."

The Mounted Patrol Unit will include eight officers and one civilian. Stubbs says officers interested in joining the Mounted Patrol Unit spent time at the RCMP stables for four weeks, and the Toronto Police Service have offered training for 15 weeks.

Police expect four horses to arrive in the spring, with four additional horses arriving to the service in late 2025 or early 2026.

The Ottawa Police Service had a Mounted Unit in 1993, used mainly for ceremonial duties.