Chief Ron Gignac, Wikwemikong Tribal Police Service, Awarded 2026 OACP Leadership Excellence Award

Media Release

Chief Ron Gignac, Wikwemikong Tribal Police Service,

Awarded 2026 OACP Excellence in Leadership Award

For Immediate Release: June 4, 2026

(Niagara, ON) – Chief Ron Gignac of the Wikwemikong Tribal Police Service (WTPS) has been honoured with the 2026 Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police’s (OACP) Excellence in Leadership Award for his significant contributions to law enforcement and exemplary leadership as a police leader.

The OACP proudly celebrates Chief Ron Gignac for his exceptional leadership, visionary oversight, and groundbreaking innovations since assuming his current role in June 2024. Over the past two years, Chief Gignac has radically strengthened the service, setting new standards for Indigenous policing both in Ontario and across Canada.

Chief Gignac has consistently prioritized modern technological integration to protect the community. Under his direction, WTPS successfully introduced the Offender Management Apprehension Program (OMAP), which has drastically enhanced investigative consistency and improved critical inter-agency collaboration.

Breaking national barriers, Chief Gignac led the implementation of online police reporting, making WTPS the first Indigenous police service in Canada to adopt this technology. This critical innovation has vastly improved accessibility for community members, increased operational efficiency, and reduced the administrative burden on frontline officers.

His forward-thinking approach to operational logistics also led to the introduction of a progressive staffing and deployment model. By aligning personnel resources directly with real-time community demand, Wikwemikong became the first Indigenous police service to implement such an efficient, data-driven framework.

Most notably, under Chief Gignac’s leadership, the Wikwemikong Tribal Police Service became the first Indigenous police service in Ontario to secure a landmark 10-year funding agreement. This historic achievement guarantees long-term financial stability, allows for robust strategic planning, supports workforce sustainability, and reinforces the vital push for equitable funding in Indigenous policing.

This annual award is made possible by the generous support of

The Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

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For more information, contact: 

Dr. José Luís (Joe) Couto

Director of Strategic Initiatives, Research, and Corporate Communications

C. (416) 919-9798

E. media@oacp.ca

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The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police is the Voice of Ontario’s Police Leaders

Members of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police serve their communities as the senior police leaders in municipal, regional, provincial, national, and Indigenous police services across Ontario