Everyone in Scugog seems to know Chuck Mercier, or at least knows of him. In 2010 he took on the role of mayor, but long before that he wore a police uniform, and later the title of Honourary Colonel of the Ontario Regiment. When I sat down with him, I quickly realized the story most people know, is only the surface of a much deeper journey.

Chuck was born in Timmins, one of eight children in a family that followed the work wherever it led. His father was a carpenter in the mining industry, moving from site to site across the province. Eventually the constant travel wore him down. He missed the stability of home life, missed watching his children grow up, and decided the road was no longer where he belonged. He settled the family in Elliott Lake, working with Dennison Mines, and it was there that Chuck spent his formative years.

The IGA grocery store became familiar territory for Chuck, who worked there throughout high school. He also joined the air cadets, a decision that seemed almost natural for a young man drawn to structure, discipline, and the idea of public service. The cadets took him to the military base in Trenton during summers, giving him his first real sense of what a future in policing or the military might look like.

Graduation approached, and Chuck found himself staring at several job offers, including one from IGA and another from Chrysler. Yet none of them felt quite right. A conversation with a friend changed everything, when he learned about a Dennison Mines program that guaranteed summer employment for students with relatives working for the company. All he needed to do was attend a post-secondary institution.

That was enough to set a course. Chuck enrolled in the Law and Security Management program in Belleville, convinced policing was where he belonged. “It was a great routine,” he told me. “School in the winter and Dennison Mines in the summer. Life was good.”

He loved the program, but there was a catch. When he graduated, he was still too young to join a police service. So he worked, waited, and kept moving forward until 1977, when Durham Regional Police interviewed him, hired him, and handed him the badge he had wanted for years. “I had always wanted to be a detective,” Chuck recalled. “Becoming a constable was the first step.”

Nine years later, now a first-class constable, he was sent on a five-week management course to learn the administrative side of policing. He returned to front-line duties afterward but never stopped reminding supervisors of his real ambition. Eventually someone listened. Chuck was placed with the detectives on a two-year probation. He was still a constable, but now he was doing the work he had long envisioned. When the two years were up, he earned full promotion, and became a detective in the property crime unit.

His success led to a transfer to homicide, where he worked major cases including Bernardo, Morand, and the 1994 McArthur robbery in Port Perry. His performance earned him a promotion to detective sergeant.

Life outside the job was changing too. Part of his duties included escorting injured individuals to Oshawa General Hospital, and it was there he met Paula, a nurse who would soon become his wife. Together they raised four children.

Promotions continued. Chuck rose to inspector and worked from the Sunderland station, as well as the Port Perry station on Old Simcoe Road. Both buildings were aging and inadequate, and Chuck pushed persistently for better facilities. His efforts paid off when a new, modern police station was finally built on Highway 12.

When the Durham police chief retired, numerous names surfaced as potential successors, but Chuck’s was the one that kept returning to the top. He became Deputy Chief, a role he served in until retirement. But retirement, as it turned out, did not mean slowing down.

In 2010 he entered municipal politics, launching a well-run campaign for Mayor of Scugog. “It was a great time for me,” he said. “A chance to give back to the community that supported me throughout my career.”

Later that same year he was appointed Honourary Colonel of the Ontario Regiment, an honour marked by a portrait in Oshawa’s Colonel R.S. McLaughlin Armoury, alongside figures such as Colonel Sam McLaughlin.

Today, Chuck and Paula spend winters in warmer places, and travel remains a steady priority. “My mother’s family is from Ireland,” Chuck admitted. “I have always wanted to visit.”

Communities thrive when people step forward, and Port Perry has been fortunate to have residents who do just that. Chuck Mercier is one of them. And on behalf of our township, we thank him, along with every first responder, for years of dedication and service.