Peel Regional Police say they stopped and screened significantly more drivers during their latest Holiday Season RIDE campaign in Mississauga and Brampton, even as the number of impaired driving charges declined compared with the previous year.
Police inspected 16,101 vehicles during the six-week campaign, which ran from mid-November through Dec. 31, 2025—about 4,000 more checks than in the 2024 holiday campaign. Officers conducted 6,443 roadside screening tests and laid 101 impaired driving charges, along with a total of 1,122 charges under the Highway Traffic Act and the Criminal Code.
Overall, 123 people were charged during the campaign.
By comparison, during the 2024 Holiday Season RIDE initiative, police checked 12,094 vehicles, administered 3,618 roadside tests and laid 126 impaired driving charges. A total of 373 charges were issued that year, and 104 people were charged.
“Seasonal RIDE enforcement stepped up this holiday season — and the results speak for themselves,” Peel Regional Police said in a social media post Tuesday, highlighting the increased number of spot checks and screenings.
The annual holiday campaign was once again conducted in partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
At the launch of the campaign on Nov. 16, police emphasized that while alcohol-impaired driving remains a serious concern, drug-impaired driving is increasingly challenging frontline officers.
“Detecting and addressing these offences requires specialized tools, advanced training and cross-disciplinary collaboration,” police said at the time. They noted that RIDE programs have evolved in response to the legalization of cannabis, the opioid crisis and the rise in poly-drug use among drivers.
Peel police say the holiday campaign complements year-round enforcement and education efforts aimed at reducing impaired driving.
Deputy Chief Marc Andrews said impaired driving—whether involving alcohol or drugs—remains one of the leading causes of serious collisions across the region and the country.
“They’re collisions, not accidents,” Andrews said. “Because they’re all avoidable.”
MADD Canada chief operating officer Dawn Regan echoed that message, noting that impaired driving continues to claim hundreds of lives and injure thousands of Canadians each year.