By Dan Joffe, lawyer at NextLaw (LSO #37145V) · Published October 15, 2026 · Last updated October 15, 2026 · Ontario, Canada

Short answer: Speeding ticket in Richmond Hill, Ontario? It's heard in one of Ontario's most-contested courts. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, from 2015 to 2019, 43% of speeding charges at York Region's court were contested rather than paid or ignored, against 24% across Ontario, and York stayed in the top fifth of Ontario courts every one of those years. Richmond Hill tickets are heard at that court, in Newmarket. Contesting rarely ends in a trial, though: since 2023, a trial was held on 8% of York charges that reached a trial date, against 10% across Ontario. The data can't tell you what happens to your insurance, but it shows how common contesting a ticket is in York.

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Speeding ticket Richmond Hill: 4 in 10 are contested

From 2015 to 2019, 43% of speeding charges at York Region's court, which hears Richmond Hill tickets, were contested rather than paid or left unanswered, against 24% across Ontario. Source: NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court Statistics, 2015–2019.

This page is about Richmond Hill, Ontario, in York Region. We analyzed eleven years of Ontario Court of Justice data, 2015 through March 2026, for speeding charges under Ontario's Highway Traffic Act (section 128), what most people call a speeding ticket.

For a speeding ticket in Richmond Hill, the headline is how often drivers push back. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, from 2015 to 2019, 43% of speeding charges at York Region's court were contested, meaning they were not simply paid or left unanswered. Across Ontario, it was 24%. Put the other way, 57% of York's speeding charges were paid or never answered, against 76% across the province.

This isn't one odd year. York's contest rate ran between 38% and 47% year by year, and it sat in the top fifth of Ontario courts in every one of those five years. Of Ontario's 52 municipal provincial offences courts, only two contested a bigger share of speeding charges: Toronto (60%) and Brampton (54%). Our Toronto speeding ticket court data and Brampton speeding ticket court data cover those two courts.

MeasurePeriodYork Region's courtOntarioSpeeding charges contested (not paid, not left unanswered)2015–201943%24%Speeding charges paid or never answered2015–201957%76%Contested speeding charges a year (average)2015–201918,035120,318Trial held, share of speeding charges reaching a trial date2023–March 20268%10%York Region's court hears Richmond Hill speeding tickets along with every other York Region municipality's; the data can't be split by city. Percentages cover speeding charges (Highway Traffic Act s.128), pooled by period. The 2015–2019 rows are shares of all speeding charges; the trial row is a share of charges that reached a trial date, a different base. Trial verdicts are not recorded. Source: Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court Statistics (2015–2019; 2023–March 2026); NextLaw Analysis.

Source: Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court Statistics (2015–March 2026); analysis by NextLaw.

Where Richmond Hill speeding tickets are heard

Richmond Hill speeding tickets are heard in Newmarket, at the York Region Provincial Offences Court, 17150 Yonge Street, 2nd floor. In 2024, York Region merged its Richmond Hill courthouse at 50 High Tech Road into that one court, which now hears the whole region (York Region announced the consolidation in 2023).

Ontario's list of Provincial Offences Court locations still names a "Richmond Hill – York" court (code 4961), but at the Newmarket address. York Region's own traffic ticket page lists the Newmarket courthouse. Some online guides and search summaries still send Richmond Hill drivers to 50 High Tech Road, the courthouse York merged into the Newmarket court in 2024.

Because one court hears all of York Region, the court data on this page covers the whole region. It can't separate Richmond Hill tickets from tickets written in Vaughan, Markham or anywhere else in York.

About 18,000 contested charges a year, second only to Toronto

Before speed cameras, York Region's court, which hears Richmond Hill tickets, handled about 18,000 contested speeding charges a year (18,035 on average, 2015–2019), second only to Toronto's 34,906 and about 15% of Ontario's total. Source: NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court Statistics, 2015–2019.

York's court isn't only contest-heavy; it's busy. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, before speed cameras, from 2015 to 2019, York Region's court handled about 18,000 contested speeding charges a year (18,035 on average). Only Toronto handled more, at 34,906 a year. York's share was about 15% of the 120,318 speeding charges contested across Ontario each year.

Contesting rarely ends in a trial

Contesting a ticket and having a trial are not the same thing. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, from 2023 to March 2026, a trial was held on 8% of York speeding charges that reached a trial date, against 10% across Ontario. Year by year, York's share ran between 3% and 11%. The data doesn't record trial verdicts, so this figure says how often a trial happened, not how it ended.

For the province-wide picture of how trial dates end, see our Ontario court data on the trial date.

What the York court data can't show

The data counts charges, not drivers, and it can't tell us why so many York charges were contested. It covers the whole York Region court, so it can't be split by city. The contest rate comes from 2015 to 2019, the last five years before speed cameras, so read it as how this court has worked, not as a current count. And it describes the court, not your odds.

Our read: in York, contesting is a normal first step

One fact first, separate from the court data. Car insurance in the GTA already averages about $650 a year more than across Ontario: $2,868 against $2,218, as of October 2026, by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario's average premium figures. The regulator's GTA covers Toronto and nearby areas, including parts of York Region. That's a regional average, not a Richmond Hill figure, and not a prediction for your policy.

Our read at NextLaw is this: where a conviction could cost more, more drivers check before they pay. In York, contesting is a normal first step, not a long shot. That is our interpretation of the pattern; the data doesn't record why drivers contest.

Your three choices in the first 15 days

You have 15 days to respond to the ticket. York Region sets out three options (York Region, traffic tickets):

- Pay it. Paying is a guilty plea, and the conviction goes on your record.
- Meet a York prosecutor. You can ask for a meeting to discuss the charge, in person or virtually.
- Request a trial. The charge goes to a trial date at the Newmarket court.

If you ignore the ticket, you can be convicted without a hearing (Provincial Offences Act, section 9).

A trial request doesn't lock you into a trial

Requesting a trial keeps your options open. Ask for disclosure, meaning the officer's notes and the speed evidence, and decide with that in front of you. York Region has a request for disclosure form, and the prosecution's duty to disclose its evidence comes from R. v. Stinchcombe, Supreme Court of Canada.

A plea to a lower speed reduces or removes demerit points, but it doesn't erase the conviction. Whether it changes your insurance depends on the tier it crosses and your insurer's rules; our guide to how a speeding ticket could affect your insurance in Ontario covers that side.

If you are deciding whether to handle it yourself, our guide on how to fight a speeding ticket in Ontario walks through the steps, and our guide on whether you need a lawyer or a paralegal for a speeding ticket in Ontario sets out the difference.

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Got a speeding ticket in Ontario? Don't pay it yet. Not every ticket is worth fighting. But every ticket is worth checking. Our free insurance calculator asks 7 quick questions to see how much your insurance could go up. Get your number first. Then, if it makes sense, book a free call for a straight answer.

How the camera years were handled

Speed cameras operated in Ontario from July 2020 until they were banned on November 14, 2025 (Bill 56). Camera tickets were issued to the vehicle owner, carried no demerit points and never touched a driving record. Because they distorted how many tickets were issued and how many were simply paid, this analysis uses the five camera-free years, 2015 to 2019, for those measures, confirmed against the first post-ban months of 2026. It uses the most recent three years only for what happens on the day of trial, where camera tickets almost never reached.

York Region's camera penalties ran through its administrative penalty system, not the court. A check on the trial-date figures: 10,041 York speeding charges reached a trial date from 2023 to March 2026, 0.8 times the pre-camera size of its trial docket (Ontario: 63,135 charges, also 0.8 times). Camera tickets did not swell the trial docket.

Quick answers

Is it worth fighting a reduced speeding ticket in Ontario?

It's worth a look before you pay. A reduced ticket you pay is still a speeding conviction. Insurers check your driving record at renewal, so even with fewer points, it could cost you a conviction-free discount. Our guide to how long a speeding ticket stays on your record in Ontario explains the record side.

Do you still have to pay camera speeding tickets in Ontario?

Yes, if the violation happened before November 14, 2025, when Ontario ended speed cameras. York Region says those penalty orders remain valid and must be paid by their due date (York Region, pay an automated traffic penalty). They're issued to the vehicle owner and carry no demerit points.

About NextLaw

NextLaw is a speeding ticket law firm based in Toronto, representing drivers in every court in Ontario, including the York Region Provincial Offences Court in Newmarket. This article was written by Dan Joffe, lawyer at NextLaw (Law Society of Ontario #37145V). Services by licensed lawyer and licensed paralegals at NextLaw. For speeding ticket inquiries, call 647-558-2679. Court statistics current as of March 2026. This covers ordinary Ontario speeding under the Highway Traffic Act, not stunt driving, and it is general information, not legal advice about your specific case. https://www.nextlaw.ca/?p=36444