The OPP Association Board of Directors thank everyone who turned out and supported the 25th Anniversary of the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation Ceremony of Remembrance at the Ontario Police Memorial on Queen’s Park Cr in Toronto on Sunday May 5th, 2024. A total of 281 names of police officers who have died in the line of duty are now engraved on the Memorial. There are 113 of those names were members of the Ontario Provincial Police.

This year, the names of OPP Sergeant Eric Mueller and OPP Detective Constable Steven Tourangeau were added to the Memorial, witnessed by their families who all attended the event. Two historical names were also added this year.

Several families of fallen officers attended the Ceremony, joined by a large contingent of police officers and civilian members. The event was attended by dignitaries, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, The Honourable Edith Dumon, The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, The Honourable Michael Kerzner, Solicitor General and Mayor of Toronto Olivia Chow.

A mass pipe pand, police motorcycles, mounted officers and thousands of uniformed police officers and civilian members were a part of the March Past saluting families following the one hour Ceremony, as families of the Fallen Officers, and dignitaries stood on the red carpeted platform to take the salute.

There was a live broadcast of the event, that included the Reading of the Names of all 281 police officers on the Memorial, as well as a special pre-show that celebrated the history of the Memorial with an interview of retired OPP officer Dave Brown, who has been the historian for the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation since its inception. Lianne Hovingh, widow of OPP Provincial Constable Marc Hovingh laid the wreath on behalf of families. Lianne, along with Nancy MacDonald, widow of Sudbury Police Service Constable Joe MacDonald both spoke in the pre-show about the significance of the Memorial to Survivors of Law Enforcement (SOLE), a support group for families of fallen officers.

OPP Sergeant Trevor McKean shared his story of the line of duty murder of his father, and the significance of the Memorial to his family and the entire police family. The Reading of the Names, the Pre-Show and the Ceremony including the March Past was broadcasted on large screens at the Memorial and live online. The Ceremony and the individual segments of the pre-show can be viewed anytime on the “HeroesInLife” Youtube channel. An album of photos is posted on the “HeroesInLife” Facebook page. Our fallen officers will always be remembered as our Heroes In Life, Not Death.