WELLINGTON COUNTY – Wellington County OPP officers, along with uniform and civilian counterparts across the province, ratified a four-year collective agreement on July 18, making them the highest paid police force in the province.
The contract runs from Jan. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2026. The first two years are retroactive.
According to a press release from the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) – the union that represents OPP officers – the first year of the contract (2023) sees a 4.75% pay increase, 2024 sees a 4.5% increase, and police will see a 2.75% increase in each of 2025 and 2026.
That would bring a first-class constable to $123,194 per year.
Some 87.7% of uniformed police and 92.9% of civilian members voted in favour of the contract.
“Our sworn police officers and civilian members work tirelessly to serve and protect the citizens of Ontario each and every day, often putting their own lives at risk,” states OPPA president John Cerasuolo in the release.
“Our members deserve to be the top paid police in Ontario. We wish to thank the bargaining team on both sides for their diligent work to finalize these collective agreements and thank our membership for the support.”
Negotiations were mired in politics from the start, when the province passed Bill 124 in 2019 – the bill that capped pay increases for public-sector workers to 1%.
Several public sector unions challenged the bill and in 2024 the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the bill interfered with collective bargaining rights.
Shortly after the bill was repealed and OPPA returned to the bargaining table.
Ken DeHart, treasurer for Wellington County, which contracts the services of OPP for all seven municipalities in the county, stated in an email the county won’t really understand the impacts until the fall.
“We don’t have any information to share on what the overall impact to the county will be as yet,” DeHart said.
“I anticipate the 2023 and 2024 amounts will be dealt with through the OPP’s annual reconciliations – and the 2025 and 2026 amounts will be dealt with as part of the county’s budget process.
“However, the 2.75% rates forecasted for 2025 and 2026 shouldn’t be too far off what the county has planned for in its forecast.
“I don’t anticipate it will be a substantial impact to our budget process.”
