Royal Canadian Mounted Police

"Mountie" redirects here. For other uses, see Mountie (disambiguation).
"RCMP" redirects here. For the TV series, see R.C.M.P. (TV series).
"Royal Mounted Police" redirects here. For the film, see Giubbe rosse.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Gendarmerie royale du Canada
Badge of the RCMP[1]
Badge of the RCMP[1]
Patch (i.e. shoulder flash) of the RCMP
Patch (i.e. shoulder flash) of the RCMP
Corps ensign of the RCMP[2]
Corps ensign of the RCMP[2]
Common nameThe Mounties
Abbreviation
  • RCMP
  • GRC
MottoMaintiens le droit
(French for 'uphold the right' / 'maintain the right' / 'defend the law')[1][3][4]
Agency overview
FormedMay 23, 1873; 151 years ago (1873-05-23) (NWMP formed)[5][6]
February 1, 1920 (1920-02-01) (renamed to RCMP and absorption of Dominion Police)[7]
Preceding agencies
Employees30,092 (2019)
VolunteersApproximately 1,600 auxiliary constables[8]
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agencyCanada
Operations jurisdictionCanada
Constituting instruments
  • Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act (RCMP Act)
  • Various provincial police legislation
General nature
Operational structure
Overseen byCivilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
HeadquartersM. J. Nadon Government of Canada Building
73 Leikin Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R2[9]
Sworn members
22,445[10] (April 2019)
    • Commissioners: 1
    • Deputy commissioners: 6
    • Assistant commissioners: 26
    • Chief superintendents: 54
    • Superintendents: 179
    • Inspectors: 339
    • Corps sergeants major: 1
    • Sergeants major: 10
    • Staff sergeants major: 8
    • Staff sergeants: 830
    • Sergeants: 1,993
    • Corporals: 3,641
    • Constables: 11,970
    • Special constables: 106
    • Civilian members: 3,087
Unsworn members
5,759[10] (April 2019)
    • Public Service employees: 5,759
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Parent agencyPublic Safety Canada
Divisions
Detachments
712[11]
Facilities
Vehicles
8,677
  • Cars: 5,600
  • Trucks: 2,350
  • Motorcycles: 34
  • Snowmobiles: 481
  • All-terrain vehicles: 181
  • Armored Personnel Carriers: 2
Boats5
Fixed-wings26[12]
Helicopters9[12]
Notables
Significant incidents
Awards
Website
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca Edit this at Wikidata
While a federal agency, the RCMP also serves as the local law enforcement agency for various provincial, municipal, and First Nations jurisdictions.[13]

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; French: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; GRC) is the national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 provinces and territories, over 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. The RCMP is commonly known as the Mounties in English (and colloquially in French as la police montée).

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was established in 1920 with the amalgamation of the Royal North-West Mounted Police and the Dominion Police. Sworn members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a peace officer in all provinces and territories of Canada.[14] Under its federal mandate, the RCMP is responsible for enforcing federal legislation; investigating inter-provincial and international crime; border integrity;[15] overseeing Canadian peacekeeping missions involving police;[16] managing the Canadian Firearms Program, which licenses and registers firearms and their owners;[17] and the Canadian Police College, which provides police training to Canadian and international police services.[18] Policing in Canada is considered to be a constitutional responsibility of provinces;[19] however, the RCMP provides local police services under contract in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Quebec.[20][21][note 1] Despite its name, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are no longer an actual mounted police service, and horses are used only at ceremonial events and certain other occasions.

The Government of Canada considers the RCMP to be an unofficial national symbol,[22] and in 2013, 87 per cent of Canadians interviewed by Statistics Canada said that the RCMP was important to their national identity.[23] However, the service has faced criticism for its broad mandate,[24][25] and its public perception in Canada has gradually soured since the 1990s, worn down by workplace culture lawsuits, several high-profile scandals, staffing shortages, and the service's handling of incidents like the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks.[26][27] The treatment of First Nations people by the RCMP has also been criticized.

  1. ^ a b "Registration of a Badge". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. Official website of the Governor General. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "Grant of Flags and Badges". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. Official website of the Governor General. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  3. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (April 19, 2018). "Tipstaff". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Badges and Insignia". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. February 8, 2005. Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  5. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (January 24, 2020). "History of the RCMP | Royal Canadian Mounted Police". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "Infographic for Royal Canadian Mounted Police". GC InfoBase. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
  7. ^ Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (July 20, 2016). "Historically relevant dates to the RCMP | Royal Canadian Mounted Police". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "Auxiliary Constable Program". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  9. ^ "New RCMP National Headquarters Building: The M.J. Nadon Government of Canada Building". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. October 5, 2011. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  10. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference RCMP organisation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Find a detachment". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference TCFleet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "About the RCMP". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. April 26, 2016. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  14. ^ Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, RSC 1985, c R-10, s 11.1.
  15. ^ "Border Law Enforcement". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. July 22, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  16. ^ "Peace operations". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. August 9, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  17. ^ "Firearms". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. October 10, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "Canadian Police College". June 25, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  19. ^ "Police in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "Community policing". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. April 15, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  21. ^ "Contract policing". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. August 30, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Unofficial symbols of Canada". Government of Canada. June 5, 2020.
  23. ^ "The Dark Side of the RCMP". The Walrus. October 20, 2021.
  24. ^ "The RCMP is broken". Maclean's. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  25. ^ Hager, Mike (May 2, 2021). "RCMP's dismal record on investigating money laundering in B.C. is improving, Cullen Commission hears". Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  26. ^ "Strained RCMP struggling with services as controversies erode trust". Global News.
  27. ^ "Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)". The Canadian Encyclopedia.


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