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OPP officer: what the job actually is

A police officer with Ontario's provincial police service, hired by the OPP and trained through the Ontario Police College.

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OPP officer: quick facts

OPP officer salary in Ontario: Job Bank reports one figure for the whole group of police officers (except commissioned), not for opp officer alone. For that group the median pay is $50.55 an hour (reference period 2023-2024). The group's three-year outlook in Ontario is moderate. The job usually needs a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years.

Median pay in Ontario
$50.55 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$32.21 to $64.00 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Moderate
People working in it in Ontario
31,500
Usually needs
Usually a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 42100. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • The Ontario Provincial Police is Ontario's provincial police service. You are hired by the OPP itself and not by a city, which is the difference from the municipal route on the police officer page.
  • It is also different from the RCMP (see the RCMP officer page), which is a federal force with national postings and training in Regina. The OPP's recruits train in Ontario.
  • The OPP's own page says that after being sworn in, recruits attend the Ontario Police College in Aylmer and then further training at the Provincial Police Academy in Orillia.
  • The Ontario Police College says on ontario.ca that it trains hired police officers and does not offer training to members of the public, so nobody can enrol first and apply afterwards.
  • Job Bank reports one pay figure and one outlook for all police officers except commissioned officers. That one group includes the OPP, the RCMP and municipal services, so its figure is not an OPP figure.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 6:45 — Shift briefing. The sergeant covers what happened overnight and what to watch for.
  2. 7:15 — Out in the cruiser. Where that is depends on your detachment, and the pages I read do not describe it.
  3. 8:30 — A call. Most of it is talking: a collision, a dispute, someone worried about a family member.
  4. 10:00 — Notes. Every call generates a report written to survive a lawyer reading it two years later.
  5. 11:30 — A traffic stop. Routine, and the kind every officer stays alert for anyway.
  6. 13:00 — Lunch, if the calls allow it.
  7. 14:00 — Court disclosure. You assemble the file so everything that should be there is there.
  8. 15:30 — A call involving someone in crisis. You are not a clinician, and you stay calm and do the best version of a job that belongs to others as well.
  9. 17:00 — The paperwork from the afternoon, written properly.
  10. 18:30 — Handover, then home. On other weeks that same shift starts at night.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You want to work for a service that covers a whole province rather than one town, with the variety that implies.
  • You are honest, accountable and caring, which are words the OPP's own recruiting page uses for competitive applicants.
  • You have a positive work history and some leadership experience. The OPP's page names this as something it looks for.
  • You can write clearly and accurately when tired.
  • You like structure and a team, and you can accept being judged publicly on decisions made in seconds.
You may hate this if
  • Shift work, nights and missed occasions would break you or your relationships.
  • You are not sure where you would be posted. The OPP pages I read do not describe postings, so ask a recruiter before you assume you can stay where you are.
  • You want the starting pay to be clear before you apply. I could not find the OPP's own stated starting pay on a page I could read, so I have not printed one.
  • You dislike paperwork and court. A large share of the job is notes, disclosure and being cross-examined on them.
  • You carry things home. You will see what people see on the worst day of their lives, repeatedly.
  • You want to be thanked. Policing is one of the most criticised jobs in the country.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Check the minimum requirements for Ontario police services

    The police officer page on this site and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police list the usual Ontario minimums: citizenship or permanent residence, age, secondary school, a valid Ontario driver's licence, first aid and CPR, fitness and no unpardoned convictions. Check the OPP's own recruitment page for its current list, because services set their own.

  2. Apply through the OPP's online recruitment portal

    The OPP's page says candidates submit an application through its online portal, and says competitive applicants are honest, accountable, caring and committed to upholding the law, with a positive work history and leadership experience. The pages I read list no further steps, so use the portal and its contacts for the current process.

  3. Be hired and sworn in, then trained

    You do not apply to the Ontario Police College. The college says it trains hired police officers and not the public. The OPP says recruits attend the Ontario Police College in Aylmer after being sworn in, and then train at the Provincial Police Academy in Orillia. I could not read the length of either on a page I could open.

  4. Ask whether the OACP Certificate is needed

    Many Ontario services use the OACP Certificate, but the OACP says only participating services require it. Ask the OPP before you pay for it.

Where this comes from: OPP — Become a police officer · Ontario — Ontario Police College · Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police — Getting started in policing · Job Bank — Police officers (except commissioned) requirements in Ontario

The money

OPP officer salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$32.21
Low (hourly)
$50.55
Median (hourly)
$64.00
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 42100. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — OPP officer wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Moderate3 out of 5 stars

  • Employment is expected to remain relatively stable.
  • Several positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

  • Recruitment activities are expected to be relatively steady in some areas to meet overall demand for policing services
  • Targeted hiring initiatives to improve diversity in the police workforce are also supporting opportunities
  • Budgetary considerations may affect the level of enrolment each year in the different regions

Who hires for it

  • Nearly all employed in public administration, mainly by municipal governments
31,500
people work in this job in Ontario
23%
are women (48% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Police officers (except commissioned) job prospects in Ontario (NOC 42100). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Keep your record clean, including everything you have posted online. Background checks go back years.
  • Get your G licence and keep it clean. A poor driving record is an avoidable disqualifier.
  • Get fit as a habit and stay that way. The fitness test comes before training, not after.
  • Take first aid and CPR now. They are asked for later and are useful immediately.
  • Take on a leadership role you can describe in two sentences: a team captain, a club executive, a shift lead. The OPP's page names leadership experience.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Ask three people to describe you in the OPP's words

About 60 minutes
  1. Write the four words from the OPP's recruiting page: honest, accountable, caring, committed. Add the phrases positive work history and leadership.
  2. Ask three people who know you well, such as a coach, a teacher or a boss, to give you one real example for each word, or to tell you honestly that they cannot. Do not argue with the answers.
  3. Read the OPP's Become a police officer page and the Ontario Police College page on ontario.ca. Write down in one sentence who trains whom, and in what order.
  4. Open the recruitment pages of two other Ontario police services and one other force, and note one difference you care about.

What it tells you. A yes is that the examples came easily and the answers matched how you see yourself. That is a good basis for looking at the portal and talking to a recruiter. A no is that people could not give you examples, or the honest ones were uncomfortable. That is useful too: the hiring process looks for exactly this, and you have time to build it.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “What does a normal week look like at your detachment?”
  2. “How did you find out where you would be posted?”
  3. “What did the Ontario Police College teach you that surprised you?”
  4. “What do recruits get wrong about why they want this?”
  5. “How do you deal with the calls that stay with you?”
  6. “What would make you tell somebody not to do this?”

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an OPP officer make in Ontario?

Job Bank reports one figure for the whole group of police officers (except commissioned), not for an OPP officer alone. For that group the median pay is $50.55 an hour (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $32.21 to $64.00 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an OPP officer in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as moderate for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment is expected to remain relatively stable. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an OPP officer in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Check the minimum requirements for Ontario police services; Apply through the OPP's online recruitment portal; Be hired and sworn in, then trained.

Where does an OPP officer work in Ontario?

Nearly all employed in public administration, mainly by municipal governments. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as an OPP officer in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 31,500 people working in this job in Ontario. 23% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Where people come from

Which programs lead here?

In the 2021 Census, this job is one of the 12 most common for graduates of these programs. Each page shows what else they do, and which of those jobs have openings.

Criminology and criminal justice jobs For veterans: free career coaching and resources What can you do with your degree?

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

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Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.