From pastor to police communicator: Adam Gilfillan’s path to emergency response

Long before he was translating chaos into calm as an Ottawa Police communicator, Adam Gilfillan was speaking to congregations.

“I was a pastor,” he shared, “and I really fell in love with the communication side of it.”

Over time, that passion led him to motivational speaking and podcasting, with one of his first events held at the very high school he once attended in Saint-Hubert, South of Montreal. “Speaking to people, connecting through words — that’s what I'm passionate about.” 

He didn’t imagine that years later, a LinkedIn job posting would catch his eye and change everything. It was the word communicator that stood out. “Something about that title just spoke to me,” he explained. “I reached out to an officer I knew, asked about the job, and that led to a sit-along [at the 9-1-1 call centre]. I spent four hours shadowing Celeste Rochon, who’s now a supervisor, and I left that day knowing: this is what I want to do.”

What resonated most with Gilfillan wasn’t the technical side of the job, but its humanity — the empathy exchanged, the teamwork built, the compassion threaded through every call. “Being the first voice someone hears on the worst day of their life — that’s a pretty special responsibility.”

His background in ministry and public speaking gave him tools that aren’t taught in training manuals. “I think those years gave me a deeper patience,” he said.

Listening — truly listening — is one of the most vital skills in the role, and one Gilfillan has worked hard to sharpen. “You learn to listen not just to the words, but to what’s behind them — the pauses, the sighs, the silence, people in the background.”

With each step of training, Gilfillan is the first to acknowledge how much he’s still learning. “It’s not just answering phones: the systems, the multitasking, running background checks, typing, understanding everything being said over the radio — it can be overwhelming.”

But the weight of the stories he hears isn’t new to him. His life has seen its share of grief — losing his best friend and his father, losing a teenager in his community to drowning, comforting police officers after their first exposure to a traumatic call. “I’ve experienced enough sadness myself to know that many people are going through hard times,” he said.

Even now, in this new chapter of his life, he still sees himself as someone who helps others carry their burdens — even if just for a few minutes. “I've quickly realized over the last several years that you don't have to necessarily be a pastor in a church to do the very same things that I was doing inside the church.”

The career of a police communicator allows Gilfillan to still be that person — through a headset, through a quiet moment on the phone.

In groups, he’s known for his sense of humour, but also for his ability to hold space in one-on-one conversations. “People tend to open up when they find out about my background,” he explained. “And I welcome it – my journey as a pastor leads to meaningful conversations about life.”

Gilfillan knows he may not always get closure on every call. Often, the story ends for him when the line goes quiet or the police arrive. But that doesn’t take away from the value of what he does. “You might only be a small part of someone’s story,” he said, “but that part is important. You don’t have to be there for the entire story, as long as you do your part in their story and you do it well.”

For Gilfillan, this job is not only about procedures but about people. “Every person has a story,” he explained. “Some are filled with tragedy, some are mostly happy.”

“But all of those stories matter.”