Superintendent Dave Zackrias Earns Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award

On the evening of August 13, 2025, at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Bell Lightbox, Superintendent Dave Zackrias stepped onto the stage to accept one of Canada’s Top 25 Immigrant Awards. The applause was thunderous, but in the sea of faces, his eyes searched for only one—his father, Michael.

Just one month earlier, Dave hadn’t known if Michael would survive. A sudden, life-threatening infection had brought the family to the edge of despair. Yet, against the odds, Michael was now seated in the audience, watching the son he had once carried across an ocean in hopes of giving him a brighter future, be honoured for a lifetime of service and contribution to their adopted homeland.

“This journey all started with him,” Dave told the crowd during his emotional acceptance speech.

The moment was more than a personal triumph—it was the culmination of a promise made nearly four decades earlier. In 1987, Michael Zackrias left behind everything he knew in India to give his family a chance at something greater. The early years in Canada were challenging; the family lived at the YMCA before finding temporary housing. But Michael’s belief in hard work and perseverance never wavered.

When Dave decided to pursue a career in law enforcement, it was Michael who drove him to Toronto for every step of the application process, waiting through long hours and countless hurdles. Those drives, unremarkable at the time, became the quiet foundation of a life and career built on resilience and service of others.

Now Superintendent of the Ottawa Police Service’s Respect, Values and Inclusion Directorate, Dave has dedicated 28 years to police services, bridging divides, standing up for marginalized communities, and fostering trust between law enforcement and the public. Yet in his eyes, this award was not simply a recognition of his own work—it was a tribute to the journey his entire family had taken together.

Grateful to the team who made the event possible—the organizers, sponsors, and every person who cast a vote—Dave was struck by the weight of the honour as he stood among the other recipients. “To be surrounded by all these great people, I felt very honoured and privileged to be there,” he reflected. “Everyone who comes here from nothing and makes such a great contribution to the country—they are all deserving.”

That evening, surrounded by his wife Tina, their three sons and his father, Dave reflected on the shared story of so many immigrants: arriving with little, working tirelessly, and building a life that not only takes root, but flourishes.

“We worked hard as a family,” he said. “Through the good times and the more challenging ones, we stuck together and continue to instill those values in the next generation.”

In that instant, with his father watching from the crowd, it wasn’t just an award ceremony. It was a full-circle moment—proof that sacrifice, resilience, and love can carry a family across continents, transcend generations, all the way to the stage of one of Canada’s highest honours.