Montreal Police Expand AI Surveillance as Privacy Questions Grow

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published August 14, 2026

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Montreal police are expanding the use of artificial intelligence-powered surveillance tools across the city, allowing officers to more efficiently track vehicles and people, according to a CBC News report published Friday, August 14, 2026. The expansion is raising questions about privacy, transparency and oversight.

The technology gives the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) additional tools to analyze large volumes of images, video and other information that may be useful during police investigations.

However, the growing use of AI-assisted surveillance has also intensified concerns over how far police monitoring should extend and what safeguards are in place when such technology is deployed.

Privacy concerns centre on how surveillance information is used, what oversight governs the technology and how much the public knows about the systems being used by police.

The debate highlights the challenge facing police services as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into law enforcement: using new technology to support investigations while ensuring that individual privacy, transparency and public accountability are protected.

Montreal’s expansion of AI-assisted surveillance also forms part of a broader Canadian discussion over the legal and ethical limits that should apply to increasingly sophisticated police monitoring technologies.