Police in Peterborough have charged Clarington Local Ward 3 councillor Corinna Traill with uttering threats towards a potential mayoral candidate who used to be a Durham Regional Police officer.
In a release Wednesday, police say they charged Traill, 41, with two counts of utter threats following a three-month investigation.
“In early September 2025, Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) asked the Peterborough Police Service to undertake an investigation involving a Clarington councillor, a former police officer with DRPS and a current DRPS member,” the release states.
“The investigation was related to communication made to a potential mayoral candidate for the Municipality of Clarington,” in the 2026 election.
Traill has been released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in court on January 13, 2026.
The alleged victim in the case is Tom Dingwall, a former Durham officer, who previously ran for mayor of Clarington back in 2022, losing to Adrian Foster.
In a Facebook post on September 4, 2025, Dingwall alleged that the suspect called him and left a threatening voicemail.
“On August 28, 2025, I received a voicemail from Clarington Councillor Corinna Traill,” he wrote. “Corinna directed me to stay out of next year’s mayoral race to allow her friend Joe Neal to run unencumbered.
“Miss Traill made it clear that if I did not, she would come to my home, kill me, and sexually assault my wife, then sexually assault her again,” he alleged.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster issued a statement on Wednesday saying, “It is important to allow the court to determine the outcome of this case. I want to affirm to residents that Clarington Council is focused on serving our community and we will continue to do so.”
Back in September, Traill released a statement, professing innocence and claiming that artificial intelligence had been used to manipulate her voice in the phone call.
“Recent media coverage has raised questions regarding a voicemail that has been attributed to me,” she wrote. “I want to state clearly and unequivocally: I did not create this message.
“I have been advised that artificial intelligence technology was involved. Portions of the voicemail were my voice, but other parts were artificially generated.”
