Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police

Commissioner of the
Ontario Provincial Police

Incumbent
Thomas Carrique

since June 6, 2019[1]

Ontario Provincial Police
Reports to| Solicitor General
Appointer| Lieutenant Governor in Council[2]
Term length| At His Majesty's pleasure[2]
Constituting instrument| Police Services Act
Provincial Police Force Act
Formation| 1921
First holder| Harry Macintyre Cawthra-Elliot
Website| opp.ca

The commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (French: commissaire de la Police provinciale de l'Ontario) is the professional head of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of the OPP operations.

Thomas Carrique has been the 15th commissioner of the OPP since June 6, 2019.[3]

## History

[edit]

### Pre-OPP

[edit]

In May 1875, the first head of a provincial police force was John Wilson Murray, who was a provincial constable appointed to the position of "Detective for the Province of Ontario".[4] Murray was joined by two detectives under his command, Joseph Edwin Rogers in 1884 and William D. Greer in 1887. By 1887 Murray became Chief Inspector with Rogers and Greer becoming Inspectors.[5]

### Creation of OPP

[edit]

Chief Detective Murray died in 1906, and in 1909, the Ontario Provincial Police Force was formally created. It consisted of 45 constables under the direction of Superintendent Joseph E. Rogers, who began as a detective under Murray in 1884.[6]

In 1921, the force was reorganized as the OPP with the passage of the Provincial Police Force Act. Major General Harry Macintyre Cawthra-Elliot was appointed to the newly created position of Commissioner.[7] In 1922, Joseph E. Rogers was dismissed from the force by Victor Williams, thus ending his tenure as the head of the OPP.

Since 1939, most OPP Commissioners have been police officers (Eric Silk was a civilian) and some (12 up to 2018) promoted from current or former members of the OPP.

## List of OPP Commissioners

[edit]

Years Served  | Name  | Notes

|
|

1921–1922 | Major General Harry Macintyre Cawthra-Elliot (1867–1949)[8] | Cawthra-Elliot was a career military officer and married into the Cawthra family.
1922–1939  | Major General Victor Williams (1867–1949)[9] | Williams was the second career military officer to head the OPP; he was previously an Inspector with the North-West Mounted Police.
1939–1953  | William H. Stringer (1886–1953)  | Stringer was a career OPP officer, the first to be promoted within the force.[10]
1953–1958  | Edwin V. McNeill (1896–1962)  | McNeill was an OPP Inspector and served briefly as interim Windsor Police Chief.
1958–1963  | Wilfred Hamilton Clark (1904-1971)[11][12] | Clark was a career OPP officer, including Inspector of Criminal Investigation Branch.
1963–1973  | Eric Hamilton Silk, QC (1908–2004)[6] | Silk was the first civilian head of the OPP; he was a career civil servant (counsel with the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario).
1973–1981  | Harold Hopkins Graham (1916–2001)  | Graham was a career officer with the OPP, formerly Inspector, Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner.
1981–1983  | James Laird Erskine (1916–2005)  | Erskine was former head of the OPP fraud squad and Deputy Commissioner.
1983–1988  | Robert Archibald "Archie" Ferguson  | Ferguson was a 37-year OPP veteran (1951–1988).[13]
1988–1998  | Thomas Bernard O'Grady (1936-2024)[14] | O'Grady was a 36-year veteran of the OPP (1962–1998).[15]
1998–2006  | Gwen Boniface | Boniface was a career OPP officer (21-year veteran and promoted from Chief Superintendent Regional Commander); she joined Ireland's Garda Síochána Inspectorate (National Police Force) as an advisor in 2006.
2006–2010  | Julian Fantino | Fantino was a Metro Toronto Police veteran; he later served as Chief of Police of the London Police Service, York Region Police and Toronto Police Service; also head of Emergency Measures Ontario (as Deputy Minister).
2010–2014  | Christopher D. Lewis | Lewis was an OPP veteran who joined the force in 1978 and was promoted from the rank of Deputy Commissioner (Field Operations).[16]
2014–2018  | Vince Hawkes | Hawkes joined the OPP in 1984 and is a former Deputy Commissioner (Field Operations).[17][18]
2018  | Brad Blair | Interim Commissioner from November 3 to December 16, 2018.[19] He joined the OPP in 1986, and he became Deputy Commissioner (Traffic Safety and Operational Support) in December 2013.[20]
2018–2019  | Gary J. Couture | Couture served as Interim Commissioner from December 17, 2018, to April 7, 2019.[21] He joined the OPP in 1985 and became Deputy Commissioner (Field Operations) in April 2014.
2019–present | Thomas Carrique | Carrique became the 15th Commissioner on April 8, 2019.[1] He was previously Deputy Chief of York Regional Police, where he began his policing career in 1990.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Office of the Commissioner". Ontario Provincial Police. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
2. ^ a b "Order in Council 446/2017". Orders in Council. Government of Ontario. Retrieved May 24, 2017. "to serve at the pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor in Council"
3. ^ "Thomas Carrique sworn in as new OPP commissioner". CBC. 6 June 2019.
4. ^ Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
5. ^ http://www.aimonknowledge.cegepba.qc.ca/fr/canadas-great-detective [dead link]
6. ^ a b "O.P.P. 100th Anniversary". Archived from the original on 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-08-03.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-08-03.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-08-03.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-08-03.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. ^ The Globe and Mail, "W.H. Clark: Served 5 years as OPP chief" Nov. 4, 1971, page 5
12. ^ Higley,Dahn D.,"O.P.P. The History of the Ontario Provincial Police Force", The Queen`s Printer, Toronto, 1984
13. ^ "Northumberland County News - Latest Daily Breaking News Stories".
14. ^ "OPPA Mourns the Loss of Commissioner Thomas Bernard O'Grady". OPPA. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
15. ^ "Hansard Issue: L039".
16. ^ "Ontario Provincial Police".
17. ^ "Vince Hawkes named OPP commissioner". Toronto Star. February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
18. ^ "OPP Commissioner announces retirement". barrie.ctvnews.ca. September 7, 2018.
19. ^ "TPS Supt. Ronald Taverner named OPP commissioner". toronto.citynews.ca. November 29, 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
20. ^ Brad Blair – Deputy Commissioner, Traffic Safety and Operational Support
21. ^ "Appointment of Ron Taverner to OPP Commissioner delayed". globalnews.ca. December 15, 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-17.