Matthew Torigian

Matthew Torigian is an international leader in policing and security with a 35-year career involving all aspects of community safety, having served as Ontario’s Deputy Solicitor General and as chief of police for the Waterloo Regional Police Service. As a Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Torigian leads a global policing initiative, providing advice and assistance to government officials in the United States; South, Central, and Latin America; Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean on a range of challenging issues in criminal justice. Torigian is a highly sought-after speaker at global conferences and events on contemporary matters of public safety and criminal justice. Torigian is also designated as a Subject Matter Expert in policing by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and provides strategic advice and independent reviews for governments, police services, and private technology-based companies. Additionally, as the Chief Strategy Officer for Niche Technology, Torigian reports directly to the CEO on the future needs for police leaders worldwide.  

Torigian served as the Deputy Solicitor General of Community Safety from 2014–2018 and led a comprehensive community safety transformation through the passing of the Safer Ontario Act. He provided executive leadership for a portfolio that included the Ontario Provincial Police; public safety, including police education and training; the monitoring and inspections of police services and boards; the provincial security advisor; criminal intelligence services of Ontario; the death investigations system; and the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management. For a period, he was concurrently responsible for Ontario’s correctional system, with over 16,000 employees and an overall budget of approximately $3 billion CAD.  

Prior to his appointment to the Ontario Public Service, Torigian served 29 years with the Waterloo Regional Police Service and was appointed Waterloo Region’s fifth chief of police, a role he held for seven years. Torigian is a past president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and served as a member of the board of directors with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.  

Torigian is a published author and holds a Master of Public Administration from Western University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the FBI National Executive Institute, and was invested as an Officer of the Order of Merit of Police Forces in 2012, and in 2014 he proudly accepted the President’s Award from the Ontario Women in Law Enforcement (OWLE) for championing women in policing.