Toronto fire chief who played key role in COVID-19 response announces retirement

Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg, who was a key figure in the city’s COVID-19 response, has announced his retirement.

After 32 years in active service and eight years as chief, Pegg says he will officially step down on Oct. 4.

Pegg was one of the prominent faces of the city’s pandemic response and helped steer the immunization program as Toronto’s COVID-19 incident commander, a role he held until 2022.

In a statement posted to social media, he says there has not been a single day when he has not been “immensely proud” to wear the uniform.

Pegg says he’s “deeply appreciative to be able to retire healthy.”

He praised the incredible team of thousands of professionals he’s worked with and thanked the city “from the bottom of (his) heart.”