Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police
Encyclopedia
The Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police is the head of the Ontario Provincial Police
force in the Canadian
province of Ontario
.
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. In 1897, Murray was joined by two detectives under his command. In 1909, the Ontario Provincial Police Force was formally created consisting of 45 constables under the direction of Superintendent Joseph E. Rogers (Rogers began as a detective under Murray). In 1921, the force was reorganized as the OPP with the passage of the Provincial Police Force Act and Major General Harry M. Cawthra-Elliot was appointed to the newly created position of Commissioner.
Since 1939 most OPP Commissioners have been police officers and some promoted within the OPP.
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
force in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
The first head of a provincial police force was John Wilson Murray
John Wilson Murray
John Wilson Murray was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and came to North America as a young boy. He joined the United States Navy on 5 June 1857 and became a crew member of the USS Michigan...
, who was a provincial constable appointed to the position of Detective for the Province of Ontario. In 1897, Murray was joined by two detectives under his command. In 1909, the Ontario Provincial Police Force was formally created consisting of 45 constables under the direction of Superintendent Joseph E. Rogers (Rogers began as a detective under Murray). In 1921, the force was reorganized as the OPP with the passage of the Provincial Police Force Act and Major General Harry M. Cawthra-Elliot was appointed to the newly created position of Commissioner.
Since 1939 most OPP Commissioners have been police officers and some promoted within the OPP.
| Years Served | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1921–1922 | Major General Harry Macintyre Cawthra-Elliot (1867–1949) | Cawthra-Elliot was career military officer and married into the Cawthra family |
| 1922–1939 | Major General Arthur Victor Seymour Williams Arthur Victor Seymour Williams General Arthur Victor Seymour Williams , was a Canadian general in the First World War and later the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.... C.M.G. (1867–1949) |
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 career OPP officer, the first to be promoted within the force |
| 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-????) | |
| 1963–1973 | Eric Hamilton Silk, QC (1908–2004) | Silk was the first civilian head of OPP; he was 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; former Inspector, Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner |
| 1981–1983 | James Laird Erskine (1916–2005) | Erskine was former head of OPP fraud squad and Deputy Commissioner |
| 1983–1988 | Robert Archibald (Archie) Ferguson | Ferguson was 37 year OPP veteran (1951–1988) |
| 1988–1998 | Thomas Bernard O'Grady (b. 1936) | O'Grady was a 36 year veteran of the OPP (1962–1998) |
| 1998–2006 | Gwen M. Boniface Gwen M. Boniface Gwen M. Boniface, COM, OOnt, is a Canadian police officer, lawyer, and the former Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police ending in 2006. She is the first female to hold this position... (b. 1956) |
Boniface was a career OPP officer |
| 2006–2010 | Julian Fantino Julian Fantino Julian Fantino is a retired police official and the elected Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a November 29, 2010 by-election... (b. 1942) |
Fantino was a Metro Toronto Police veteran; later served as Chief of Police of London, York Region and Toronto; head of EMO (Deputy Minister) |
| 2010- | Christopher D. Lewis Christopher D. Lewis Christopher D. Lewis is a career police officer and the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.-Early career:Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Lewis has been with the Ontario Provincial Police since 1978. His first posting was as a constable in Kapuskasing, Ontario... (b. 1953) |
Lewis is a former Deputy Commissioner and OPP veteran |