Mission

The OPP Museum preserves and celebrates the heritage of the Ontario Provincial Police.

Vision

The OPP Museum is committed to the preservation and continuation of the material and cultural heritage of the Ontario Provincial Police. 

 

It is dedicated to communicate and celebrate the OPP’s history for its own members and for the general public.  The museum’s basic responsibilities of stewardship and public service are expressed by preserving, documenting and interpreting artifacts and archival materials.  These help build an understanding of the history of policing in Ontario since the formation of Upper Canada in 1791, specializing in the material culture of the Ontario Provincial Police from 1909 through to today.

 

The museum is funded by the Ontario government and administered by the Ontario Provincial Police.  “Friends of The OPP Museum”, a non-profit organization, supports and promotes The OPP Museum.  The museum is accountable for its collections to pass them on to future generations.  The museum creates and advances knowledge by making the collections and information about them available to all communities served by the institution.

Award Winning Museum!

In 2006, The OPP Museum was presented with two awards:  the Ontario Historical Society’s “Museum Award of Excellence for Community Programming” and the Ontario Museum Association’s “Award of Excellence” for the Museum’s innovative exhibit – The OPP’s Best Friend:  Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Ontario Provincial Police Canine Unit. 

 

In 2008, The OPP Museum received an Ovation Award from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services for Outstanding Achievement.  This nomination was graciously supported by Friends of The OPP Museum. 

 

In October of 2009, the Ontario Museum Association presented The OPP Museum with an Award of Excellence for an outstanding contribution to the Ontario museum community through the exhibition Arresting Images: Mug shots from The OPP Museum.

About the Museum exhibit gallery

• Open year round, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm (except statutory holidays)
  
  
• Admission is free and visits are self-guided
  
  
• Major exhibits are featured in our main gallery and smaller displays are
  created throughout the year
  
  
• A variety of interactive elements are available and provide a learning
  experience for people of all ages
  
  
• Community Service Officers, teachers and group leaders are encouraged
  to use the museum as a resource

Tours & Self-Guided Group Visits

The self-guided tour brochure for GHQ is available at the main information desk and at the museum. To book a self-guided group visit to the museum (for groups more than 10) please call (705) 329-6889, ahead of time.

Donations

If you have a potential item, new or old, to donate to the museum, please call to make an appointment. Please visit the contact us page for telephone information.

Research

If you would like access to the museum's collection for research, please make your request in writing. Please visit the contact us page for The OPP Museum mailing address.

Dedication to Harold H. Graham

On December 14, 1995, the museum was dedicated to Harold H. Graham, commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police from 1973 until 1981, in appreciation of his contribution to policing in Ontario.

Harold Hopkins Graham,
OPP Commissioner (1973 - 1981)

Receiving his appointment on February 28th in 1973, Harold Graham joined the provincial police on January 1, 1941, and was posted to London, then to Sarnia where he served until his promotion in 1949 to inspector of the Criminal Investigation Branch.  The youngest inspector of the branch at thirty-three, Graham had already gained considerable experience as a criminal investigator and had been involved with several murder cases. In his years with the CIB, Graham earned a widely respected reputation. He became chief inspector of the branch in 1961 and two years later was named assistant commissioner of the newly formed Special Services Division. Promoted to deputy commissioner in 1971, Graham boasted membership in the Harvard Associates in Police Science, in the International, the Canadian, and the Ontario Associations of Chiefs of Police, and had served as the president of the Ontario Public Service Quarter Century Club. 

 

During Commissioner Graham’s tenure, the OPP improved its policing capacity through increasing specialization as well as with the purchase of two Bell Jet Ranger helicopters (a new Bell 206-L Long Ranger helicopter was added to the OPP air fleet in 1978 to replace the Jet Ranger OXX, which crashed in 1977) and the acquisition of two mechanical robots to handle explosive devices.  Also, women were recruited for the first time as uniform members in 1974 and new programs, such as the Ontario Government Protective Service and the Indian Policing program, had been created. After a remarkable forty-one year career with the Ontario Provincial Police, Commissioner Graham retired on December 31, 1981 (Excerpts from the OPP’s official history, O.P.P.:  the history of the Ontario Provincial Police Force by Dahn Higley, 1984). 

 

Early photo of Constable Graham (middle) with newly purchased Chevrolet
Master Deluxe marked patrol cars, 1942 (2008.53.1)