Peel Region's top cop earns top dollar among police chiefs in Canada

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Peel Region’s top cop earns top dollar among police chiefs in Canada

Nishan Duraiappah was the highest paid police chief in Canada in 2025 – only 57 public sector employees in all of Ontario earned more

Published Apr 03, 2026 • Last updated 10 minutes ago • 5 minute read

Chief Nishan Duraiappah, who took the helm of Peel Regional Police in October 2019 and has since gone on to become the highest paid top cop in Canada, is seen here speaking at a news conference on Monday June 16, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

You may think the top cop in a big city like Toronto would be the highest paid police chief in Canada, but you’d be wrong.

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Turns out it’s Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah who takes that honour – by a lot – even though he oversees a service that polices a jurisdiction with less than half the population of Toronto.

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Duraiappah was hired to take the helm of the Peel Regional Police in October 2019. In 2020, his first full year as chief, he earned $299,196 plus $12,058 in benefits, for a total of $311,254.

Since then, his salary with benefits has nearly doubled – yet Peel Region still has more than its fair share of gun and gang violence, home invasions, carjackings, robberies and fraudulent activity.

In a screenshot from video released by Peel police, a man fires a gun at a home while another appears to film it, in the area of Rolling Acres Drive in Brampton in July. Three men now face charges. — In a screenshot from video released by the Peel Regional Police, a man fires a gun at a home while another appears to film it, in the area of Rolling Acres Dr. in Brampton in July 2025.

According to the most recent Ontario Sunshine List, after serving just over five years as chief, Duraiappah earned a salary of $604,449 plus benefits of $7,229, for a total of $611,668 in 2025.

That was a 25.9% increase from what Peel’s top cop earned a year earlier.

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Not only is Duraiappah the highest paid police chief in the country, he’s the 58th highest paid public sector employee in Ontario.

And he earned $118,975 more than the second highest paid police chief in the Golden Horseshoe. Astonishingly, he also raked in about $340,000 more than Ontario Premier Doug Ford, about $190,000 more than Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and about $370,000 more than Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.

Prime Minister Mark Carney. — Prime Minister Mark Carney Photo by Adam Huras /Brunswick News

Peel Regional Police leadership team makes big bucks

Duraiappah’s leadership team of five deputy chiefs, one of whom is a civilian, also took home big bucks in 2025.

Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich earned $464,575 plus benefits of $35,005, for a total of $496,580.

That’s nearly $4,000 more than the next highest paid police chief in the Golden Horseshoe, Niagara Regional Police Chief Bill Fordy, who earned $437,368 plus benefits of $55,325, for a total of $492,693.

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Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich peelpolice.ca

Peel’s other deputy chiefs include Anthony Odoardi, Mark Dapat, Marc Andrews and civilian Lauren Jackson.

Odoardi earned $423,264 plus benefits of $26,189, for a total of $449,453.

Dapat made $388,385 plus benefits of $30,303, for a total of $418,688.

Andrews earned $394,728 plus benefits of $15,295, for a total of $410,023.

Jackson made $340,851 plus benefits of $25,614, for a total of $366,465.

The six members of the Peel Regional Police leadership team earned a combined $2,256,297 in 2025.

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween on Wednesday September 3, 2025. Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun

After Duraiappah and Fordy, the next highest paid police chief in the Golden Horseshoe last year was York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween, who made $455,692 plus benefits of $32,817, for a total of $488,509 – a 9.7% increase from his earnings in 2024. He’s due to retire in June.

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Halton Regional Police Chief Stephen Tanner took the fourth spot after earning $454,083 plus benefits of $19,099, for a total of $473,182 – a 12.2% increase from 2024.

In fifth spot was OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique, who earned $468,524, plus benefits of $507, for a total of $469,031 – a 28.3% increase from 2024.

Toronto Police chief takes sixth spot

Then there is Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw, who took the sixth spot after earning $445,367 plus benefits of $12,883, for a total of $458,250 – a 13% increase from the previous year but still $153,418 less than what Duraiappah hauled in.

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Rounding out the list of top cops in the Golden Horseshoe are Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen, who earned $411,953 plus benefits of $19,240, for a total of $431,193 – an 8.3% increase from 2024; and Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira, who made $347,834 plus benefits of $13,609, for a total of $361,443 – an 18.3% increase from a year earlier.

Interestingly, the Toronto Police leadership team, which services a city of 3.3 million people, is just four people – two fewer than the Peel Regional Police, whose jurisdiction includes Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon and has a population of about 1.6 million.

The Toronto Police Service also employs about 4,870 uniformed members and about 2,230 non-uniformed members – essentially double the numbers of the Peel Regional Police Service, which has about 2,200 uniformed members and about 875 non-uniformed.

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Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw addresses the media after York Regional Police announced the results of their corruption probe, Project South, at York Regional Police headquarters in Aurora on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

The Toronto Police leadership team costs taxpayers far less.

Deputy Chief Robert Johnson earned $310,850 plus benefits of $18,520, for a total of $329,370 in 2025.

Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue earned $308,225 plus benefits of $17,310, for a total of $325,535.

And chief transformation officer Colin Stairs made $312,325 plus benefits of $3,244, for a total of $315,569.

The Toronto Police leadership team earned a total of $1,428,724 – $827,573 less than the bill taxpayers paid for the Peel Regional Police leadership team last year.