en.wikipedia.org
The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (
RCMP; French:
Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC), lit. 'Royal
Gendarmerie of Canada'; colloquially known as the "
Mounties", and internally as the "Force") is the
federal and national police service of Canada. The RCMP provides law enforcement at the federal level. It also provides provincial policing in eight of Canada's provinces (
Alberta,
British Columbia,
Manitoba,
New Brunswick,
Newfoundland and Labrador,
Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island, and
Saskatchewan, i.e. all except Ontario and Quebec) and local policing on contract basis in the three territories (
Northwest Territories,
Nunavut, and
Yukon) and more than 150 municipalities, 600 aboriginal communities, and three international airports. The RCMP does not provide active provincial or municipal policing in
Ontario or
Quebec.
[11] However, all members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a
peace officer in
all parts of
Canada, including
Ontario and
Quebec.
[12]
Despite the name, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is no longer an actual
mounted police force, with horses only being used at ceremonial events. The predecessor NWMP and RNWMP had relied on horses for transport for most of their history, though the RNWMP was switching to automobiles at the time of the merger.
As Canada's national police force, the RCMP is primarily responsible for enforcing federal laws throughout Canada while general law and order including the enforcement of the
criminal code and applicable provincial legislation is constitutionally the responsibility of the
provinces and territories. Larger cities may form their own municipal police departments.
The two most populous provinces,
Ontario and
Quebec, maintain provincial forces: the
Ontario Provincial Police and
Sûreté du Québec. The other eight provinces contract policing responsibilities to the RCMP. The RCMP provides front-line policing in those provinces under the direction of the provincial governments. When
Newfoundland joined the confederation in 1949, the RCMP entered the province and absorbed the then
Newfoundland Ranger Force, which patrolled most of Newfoundland's rural areas. The
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary patrols urban areas of the province. In the territories, the RCMP is the sole
territorial police force. Many municipalities throughout Canada contract to the RCMP. Thus, the RCMP polices at the federal, provincial, and municipal level. In several areas of Canada, it is the only police force.
