What might policing look like for a member of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in 2037? No one can claim to know with certainty, but it is possible to speculate based on some of the trends observed today.

In 2037, the OPP will be celebrating its 128th anniversary as the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Ontario is the most populous province in Canada with nearly 14 million inhabitants, and it has a vast territory of more than 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles). While Ontario’s geographical size will not change, its population will no doubt continue to grow over the next 20 years. Economic factors and the cost of real estate in many larger cities could mean an explosion of growth in the currently less urban areas of the province that lack their own municipal police services. The OPP—currently the second-largest police service in Canada—will need to adjust to meet these changes in population and settlement trends.