Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is using some of his final hours in office to call for a drastic and controversial shakeup to one of the country’s most emblematic institutions: the RCMP.
In an exclusive interview, Trudeau laid out why he believes the Mounties should get out of the boots-on-the ground policing they provide in provinces across the country and instead shift focus to challenges like national security, violent extremism and terrorism, money laundering, cybercrime and organized crime — including fentanyl rings.
“We know we have an extraordinary institution. But I know from having seen it that the RCMP is strained — we’ve all seen it — in dealing with the level of threats and the new reality of a much more dangerous world,” he told CBC News.
The prime minister is putting out a white paper later Monday that outlines a gutsy — and controversial — vision for the RCMP to focus solely on federal policing priorities.
As it stands, the RCMP also serves as the police of jurisdiction in most provinces, three territories, 150 municipalities and about 600 Indigenous communities.
The prime minister’s proposal would see the police service eventually end its contracts, which reports have said soak up resources and funding to the detriment of its federal policing wing.
Trudeau argued that the “gap between doing necessary front-line enforcement in a rural community across the Prairies or in the North, to going after the evilest cybercriminals you can imagine who are threatening our kids” is so vast, it’s “maybe not the best use of our resources.”
“As politicians, as leaders, we have a responsibility to step back and say, ‘But is this fit for purpose in the 21st century?'” he said.
Government has long faced pressure to reform RCMP
The crux of the white paper — a report outlining the government’s proposal for legislation or explaining a political issue — is not new.
Calls to reform the RCMP have been mounting for years — perhaps never as intense as after the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead, the worst in Canadian history.
The resulting public inquiry denounced the RCMP response to the crisis on almost every level and called for radical change.
In 2023, a special intelligence and security committee warned Trudeau’s government that it needed to give urgent attention to federal policing or risk seeing national security files fall through the cracks.
The timing of the paper, coming the day after the federal Liberal Party elected its next leader and in the final days before Trudeau vacates the job he’s held for nine years, will likely garner criticism.
“I have been trying to do this since the very beginning. So this isn’t me trying to jam something out the door,” he said, when asked about the timing of the proposal.
“This is me realizing that we’re at a moment where we have to bring Canadians, all Canadians, into this conversation.”
Trudeau didn’t answer whether he’s discussed his vision with his successor, saying following through on his vision would likely trace multiple mandates of different prime ministers.
The white paper is a guide to move forward, but following through would require a legislative overhaul, a new training academy, budget updates and rounds of negotiation.
He argued that this blueprint is for a future prime minister, “if they want to take national security seriously, if they want to build on the responsibility of keeping Canadians safe.”
Proposal not supported across the board
Previous iterations of the idea to ditch contract policing haven’t received across-the-board support, and Trudeau’s proposal will likely find detractors with the RCMP’s union, the National Police Federation, and with some provinces.
While places like Alberta have discussed ditching the Mounties over the years, and cities like Surrey, B.C., already have, others say the cost to go it alone is too high.
Under the RCMP’s existing contract agreements, provinces and territories pay 70 per cent of the cost of the RCMP’s services and the federal government covers the rest.
The agreements are set to expire in 2032. The white paper suggests that might be a good transition point and calls on the provinces to start thinking of their needs and solutions “now.”
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme talks with Power & Politics about the arrests made in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing, drug decriminalization and what needs to change within the RCMP to prepare it for future challenges.
“I think, quite frankly, that 70-30 split — and the fact that the federal government delivers $800 million worth of value of policing that the provinces don’t pay for every year — is something that we’re looking to fix anyway,” Trudeau said.
The prime minister said that could mean provinces going it alone or, for example, having an Atlantic police force or an agency covering all of the Prairies.
The white paper, which was shared with CBC News before its public release, says the government should work with the territorial leaders and Indigenous partners to “define a new policing model to support fair access to adequate and effective policing services that reflect their unique needs and circumstances.”
The outgoing leader said he’s not saying how long this process should take or how the provinces should pivot but that the conversation needs to happen.
“Every time one of those comes up, it’s like, ‘Oh, well, the RCMP will be diminished.’ Well, no, the RCMP with the stetsons and the Musical Ride and the history and the bison — but also that extraordinary international reputation of which Canadians should be proud and can be proud — should be equipped with people,” he said.
The shakeup is personal for Trudeau, who, as he pointed out, was raised surrounded by the RCMP when his father was prime minister.
“I was raised on the Mad Trapper of Rat River stories, Mounties always get their man, this idea of the Mounties as something that is iconic and core to who Canada is,” he said.
“One of the things I wanted to do when I got elected prime minister was make sure that the RCMP structures and capacities and abilities were worthy of the incredible men and women who serve.”
Trudeau’s final day in office is not yet clear, but he told reporters last week he would transition to his successor in the coming days.
