Defund the Police Campaign
In 2020 members of SURJ Toronto took up the urgent call from Black Lives Matter to defund, disarm and dismantle police services. As a volunteer group of primarily white settlers, it was and remains vital for us to be guided by the demands and needs of Black, Indigenous, and racialized groups and communities. Read SURJ Toronto’s Accountability Framework.
Image Description: A person in a mask that says “Queer” stands next to a sign that says “Ana Bailão Defund the Police by 50%”.
Why We Take Action
By mobilizing, educating, and empowering residents to speak up and act out, we seek to build and demonstrate the widespread support of the growing movement to defund police services.
Change might feel slow, but we must continue to demand and push for it. Along with lobbying efforts and applying public pressure on councillors to reform the City of Toronto to defund police and invest in public services, we work with community groups and coalitions to expose the racist and colonial aspects of policing and security in our community.
Read why we are talking about police.
We aim to defund the Toronto Police Services budget by 50% and reallocate those funds to community supports and public community services.
Join us in demanding a city budget that reflects a shift toward a future free from unjust systems of policing, violence, and carceral approaches to justice.
Join us to organize, fight back and win!
Every campaign needs active and engaged people to push for transformative change. Together our collective voices and actions can send a loud, clear message and apply political pressure to expose everything that is wrong with the system of policing.
Get involved in the campaign and be connected with people in your neighbourhood.
Ready to demand change?
SURJ Toronto has put together a series of resources, templates, and graphics to assist you in demanding that Toronto defund police by 50%.
Image Description: Two people from SURJ Toronto are tabling handing out Defund Toronto Police signs. Two other people are looking at the resources at the table.
Show Your Support With a Sign
This resource shares a few tips to help you keep safe and handle conflicts arising from putting up a poster. Your stance is an important one. Unfortunately, it can make you a target for harassment, intimidation, and possibly vandalization.