Who We Are

Founded in 1933, the Police Association of Ontario (PAO) is the official provincial representative body for 18,000 sworn and civilian police personnel from 47 police associations across Ontario. A unifying voice for advocacy in policing, the PAO provides its member associations with representation, resource, and support.

The PAO is involved in a variety of activities at the provincial level on behalf of Ontario’s sworn officers and civilian police service employees. Through lobbying and representation with government principals, the PAO has made significant advances on a number of critical pieces of legislation which impact on our membership and the community that they serve.

Our member associations are regularly informed of PAO activities, events, and advocacy efforts through email communications, PAO.ca, and the quarterly PAO magazine.

The PAO convenes a minimum of three membership meetings a year to provide our members the opportunity to shape PAO policy and direction, and to exchange information and participate in workshops on current issues. Additionally, the Association holds civilian workshops to provide an additional forum to address issues and provide training on matters of particular concern to our civilian representatives.