International Women's Day Feature: Sara Cunningham, Chief of Greater Sudbury Police

Stitch & Stone IWD 2025 Campaign Questions: Police Chief – Sara  Cunningham 

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating women who lead with courage, strength, and compassion—and what better way to kick off our campaign than with Chief Sara Cunningham, the first female Chief of Police for Greater Sudbury!

Chief Cunningham’s journey is one of resilience and leadership, proving that breaking barriers isn’t just about making history—it’s about paving the way for future generations. Her commitment to public safety, community engagement, and mentorship is inspiring change every day. Take a look at what the GSPS Police Chief had to say ahead of IWD 2025.

As the first woman to hold the position of Chief of Police in Greater Sudbury, what does this achievement mean to you personally and professionally?

Personally: I am both humbled and honoured to be in this position to represent the women and men of GSPS.  To be able to advocate on their behalf.  As a mother of daughters it gives me immense pride to not only be a role model for them but for our female officers or those who someday want to join our wonderful profession. I hopefully can inspire future leaders.

Professionally: This signifies growth in the right direction for our profession.  Signifying merit-based leadership.  It also emphasizes our Services commitment to diversity and inclusion.  As the first female in this role I hope to mentor and empower others while ensuring our policies and practices reflect the diverse community we serve.  I also want to ensure our members and their mental health and well-being is at the forefront of everything we do.

Being the first female in this role reinforces that leadership is about ability, vision and dedication and not about gender.

What are some key leadership lessons you’ve learned throughout your career, and how have they shaped your approach as Chief?

Integrity and Accountability.  This is a foundation of the policing profession and I say all of our police officers are leaders.  Public trust is paramount to this profession and as a leader you will have people follow you if they trust you. This is key.  So that leads me to the accountability piece.  The public expects that we are transparent and make ethical decisions.  As a community leader I hold myself and the members of GSPS accountable and this fosters trust as well. 

In this profession you also need to be adaptable.  No two situations are the same and I have to be willing to be flexible and will to learn to ensure continued growth personally and as an organization. 

There is strength in collaboration and building relationships is key.

Effective communication is paramount both internally to our over 400 members and to the community in which we serve.

Lastly, I strongly believe in leading by example and modelling the way for acceptable behaviour.

Law enforcement has traditionally been a male-dominated field. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

Yes this field has traditionally been male dominated and proving that women can lead in high-stress environments required demonstrating competence, resilience and strong leadership.  There was a lack of female role models when I first started and I was fortunate to have male partners who did not see me as my gender but as a partner and I was able to build supportive relationships that allowed me to grow.

We have created internal female support networks to ensure that both our female officers and our Police Professionals receive support and mentorship both formally and informally. 

What qualities do you believe make women particularly strong leaders in high-pressure fields like policing?

Emotional Intelligence - this assists with conflict resolution.

Strong communication skills, collaborative leadership style, empathy and compassion, ability to multi-task and organize, courage to challenge the status quo, lead by example and ensure inclusive leadership.  Servant leadership, ensuring you are working for your members.

If you could go back in time and give advice to your younger self at the start of your career, what would you say?

Challenges will make you stronger…embrace the obstacles you face and they will help shape you into the leader you will become.  View them as opportunities to grow, learn and prove your resilience.

Stay true to who you are.  Others opinions of you are simply their opinion.

And lastly as a female in a male dominated profession remember to take up space, you belong there, you’ve earned it, you bring value, don’t doubt that.