Thomas W. B. Carrique is a Canadian police officer who has been the

commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police 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 ...

since June 6, 2019. Before joining the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...

(OPP), Carrique was a member of the

York Regional Police The York Regional Police (YRP) are a law enforcement organization that serves over 1.1 million residents in the York Region of Ontario, Canada, located north of Toronto. YRP was formed in 1971 from the police forces maintained by the nine municip ...

, where he was the deputy chief of police from 2011 to 2019.

Career

York Regional Police

Carrique joined the York Regional Police in 1990. He has worked in the intelligence unit, the drugs and vice enforcement unit, and led the traffic bureau, organized crime unit, and special services unit before being named a deputy chief of police in 2011. He left the York Regional Police in 2019 after 29 years, which he emotionally described as "hardest decision of my life".

Ontario Provincial Police

Appointment as Commissioner

Carrique was initially the provincial government's second choice behind Superintendent Ron Taverner of the

Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

to lead the OPP, however, Taverner withdrew his name from consideration in March 2019 after claims of political interference due to his close relationship with Premier

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

sparked an investigation by the provincial integrity commissioner.

Notable events

In May 2020 Carrique went public with his concerns over a "toxic workplace culture" and the officer suicide problem experienced by the OPP. Between 2012 and 2020, 17 OPP officers committed suicide. Following the death by gunfire of Constable Marc Hovingh in November 2020, in October 2021 Carrique reached out to a local newspaper to explain how the OPP had improved member wellness since he arrived on the scene. On March 24, 2022, Carrique testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security that the OPP's intelligence bureau identified a threat associated with the

Freedom Convoy A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy (french: Convoi de la liberté, links=no) by organizers, began in early 2022. The initial convoy movement was created t ...

protest in Ottawa on February 7, one week before the federal government invoked the ''Emergencies Act''". He stated that the demonstrations constituted a "provincial and national emergency", and that the "situation and the associated events simultaneously taking place across Canada required unprecedented national collaboration to prevent injury, preserve life and protect critical infrastructure."

Awards and honours

Carrique was named a member of the

Order of Merit of the Police Forces The Order of Merit of the Police Forces (french: Ordre du mérite des corps policiers) is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the only such fellowship reserved for only members of Canada's various police forces. Cr ...

on January 11, 2013, and was promoted to an Officer of the Order of Merit on January 20, 2020. On October 21, 2021, he earned a 30 year bar to his

Police Exemplary Service Medal The Police Exemplary Service Medal (french: Médaille de la police pour services distingués) is a Canadian service medal for police officers. The medal honours 20 years of full-time exemplary service by police officers serving with one or more r ...

. On November 30, 2021, Carrique received an honour from First Nations leaders for his work following National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Family

Carrique's son Danny serves in the

South Simcoe Police Service South Simcoe Police Service is a municipal police force in Ontario, Canada, providing service to the municipalities of Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury. It came into existence on January 1, 1997, through the amalgamation of the Innisfil Po ...

, and his daughter is a crime analyst. He was inspired to become a police officer by his father, who was an auxiliary officer with the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrique, Thomas Commissioners of the Ontario Provincial Police Year of birth missing (living people) Living people