Niagara police stopped hundreds of vehicles and made four arrests during Canada Day R.I.D.E. checks in Port Colborne, St. Catharines, and Niagara Falls.
On July 1, 2026, officers with the Niagara Regional Police Service pulled over more than 350 drivers as part of the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere program, which is partly funded by the Ministry of the Solicitor General.
Police required 38 drivers to provide breath samples. Three men were arrested at the scene for providing samples over the legal limit – one from North York, one from Fort Erie, and one from Niagara Falls. The North York man was also charged with driving while under suspension.
A fourth person, a 46-year-old man from Toronto who was a passenger in one of the stopped vehicles, was arrested for obstructing a peace officer and two counts of failing to comply with his release order.
All three impaired drivers had their licences suspended for 90 days on the spot, and their vehicles were impounded for seven days. Officers also handed out 18 tickets for other offences, including driving while under suspension, open alcohol in vehicles, seatbelt violations, and having too many passengers.
The arrests come as Ontario faces stricter impaired driving penalties that took effect January 1, 2026. First-time offenders now lose their licence for seven days, up from three days, and a conviction for impaired driving causing death leads to a lifetime driving ban.
Impaired driving remains the leading criminal cause of death in Canada. According to MADD Canada, 521 Canadians died in crashes involving a drinking driver in 2022, which is about one in every four crash deaths.
While the R.I.D.E. checks took place outside the Grimsby area, police patrol all parts of the region throughout the year. District 8, which covers Grimsby, Lincoln, and West Lincoln, continues regular traffic enforcement from its office on Clarke Street in Grimsby.
