Police in Canada - Ontario to be exact

JoMcC

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Hi all

Can anyone tell me what the equivilent of a state trooper would be called in Ontario. I have had to change the location at the start of my novel (first one) and I have a police officer who plays a part in the story but I have no idea what to call him in an official sense.

Thanks in advance :)
 

LJD

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The equivalent I guess would be the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police).

ETA: So you could refer to him or her as an OPP officer.
 
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VeryBigBeard

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Here's a list of official OPP ranks and what they do. That would cover official communication and possibly communication between cops.

In lay terms, a "Mountie" is the usual term for a Canadian cop if you, say, see a cop car go by. As in, "Aw shit, the Mounties are raiding Jake's place again."

Note that this technically refers to members of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), which is a national police force. It doesn't do much local policing in Ontario or Quebec. It does still operate in those provinces for larger issues, though, so it may depend what's going on in your story. There can be rather complex agreements governing which police force has jurisdiction where.
 

LJD

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In lay terms, a "Mountie" is the usual term for a Canadian cop if you, say, see a cop car go by. As in, "Aw shit, the Mounties are raiding Jake's place again."

It depends where you live, I guess. Nobody says this where I live (Toronto). If we say "Mountie," we mean RCMP :)
 

JoMcC

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Cheers all, much appreciated. I will call him "Officer" when I refer to him.

So great to have people all over the world who can help with this sort of thing. Looking up info online didn't help so it's fantastic to be able to get the details from real people out there :) Hopefully I will be able to pay this forward using my own knowledge and expereince in the future.

Thanks again

Jo
 

blacbird

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For a minor diversion, I once got stopped in northern BC by a real live Mountie, for driving just a wee bit beyond the 100 km per hour speed limit. I had an Alaska license plate, so I was able to claim (with absurdly mendacious falsitude) that I didn't understand the difference between Imperial and Metric measurements. He smiled, slightly, told me with completely politeness to slow down a trifle, and let me drive on.

I really like Canada and Canadians. If matters go too far in the direction they are aiming in my native nation, I can seen relocating to a quiet small retirement home near Lake Opanagan in BC.

caw
 

KTC

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Yep, here in Toronto it's OPP. I can't recall seeing many Mounties. Sure, it's a familiar term... But it's the Black and White we look for... Not the red.
 

VeryBigBeard

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Just to clarify, since I think the OP is American (?): most Mounties don't wear red while on patrol. Blue and black/yellow, usually. Fairly standard cop attire.

Again, the agreements that govern police jurisdiction in different areas are complicated. I live, for instance, in a municipality with its own police force, but far enough out that local towns contract with the RCMP for patrol.