When it was time for former prime minister Justin Trudeau to vacate his office, he left at least one thing behind for his successor: blueprints to overhaul one of Canada’s most iconic institutions: the RCMP.
Calling the nearly 152-year-old agency “strained,” Trudeau urged the winner of the next election to start the process of getting the Mounties out of boots-on-the-ground policing across the country and focus instead on federal files, including national security and fentanyl trafficking.
His plan — laid out in a policy document pitched as a white paper by his office — echoes numerous reports that have also criticized the RCMP’s sprawling mandate, which sees the organization respond to everything from traffic violations to terrorist attacks.
Despite those recommendations, the main political parties are so far tepid on following through.
When asked last week about Trudeau’s proposal and his plans for the RCMP, Carney first quibbled that it should be called a green paper, not a white paper.
“For the distinction, a green paper is a discussion document which raises issues, promotes debate, consideration and then action,” said Carney, when questioned at a public safety announcement in Brampton, Ont., last week.
He said he would “take into account the reflections on the proposals made” if the Liberals win on April 28.
“I view the RCMP as central to the security of Canadians,” Carney said, and that he’d “make the reforms necessary to take what is a great force for protection and security of Canadians and make it even better.”
The Conservatives did not respond to a CBC News request for comment on their vision for the RCMP.
The New Democrats are “open to reviewing the role of the RCMP and welcome advice from the commissioner and policing experts on how best ensure public safety,” said a spokesperson for the party.
“In doing so, we remain committed to strengthening the RCMP’s ability to serve communities effectively and respond to public safety needs, including threats of foreign interference.”
While the election has been dominated by talk about U.S. President Donald Trump and tariffs, both the Conservatives and Liberals have pitched their proposals to tackle public safety issues, like fentanyl rings, gun control and criminal justice reform. However, there’s been no big-picture conversation about the RCMP.
With two weeks to go until election day, none of the parties have released their full platforms yet.
Trudeau’s proposal would require a legislative overhaul, a new training curriculum, budget updates and rounds of negotiation with provinces that use the RCMP as their local police.
The RCMP serves as the police of jurisdiction in most provinces, three territories, 150 municipalities and about 600 Indigenous communities. Those contracts are set to expire in 2032.
Its mandate also includes federal policing, such as national security, violent extremism and terrorism, money laundering, cybercrime and organized crime.
RCMP leader says challenges due to under-investment
Trudeau faced pressure to change the RCMP while he had the power to do so. It was under his watch that multiple reports argued the RCMP is distracted by too many responsibilities to be flexible or efficient.
Following the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that claimed 22 lives, a public inquiry uncovered widespread issues in the way Mounties do front-line policing and called for organizational change.
In 2023, a special intelligence and security committee warned Trudeau’s government that it needed to give urgent attention to the RCMP’s federal policing wing or risk seeing national security files fall through the cracks.
The committee, often referred to as NSICOP, said the dual mandate creates “undesirable effects.”
The head of the RCMP and its union oppose the Trudeau-backed proposal to split up the institution.
After the government published its policy paper last month, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme issued a statement saying he hadn’t been consulted.
While he acknowledged the Mounties are challenged when it comes to “today’s criminal landscape,” Duheme argued that stems from a decade of under-investment.
“I firmly believe that we are best positioned to face these challenges as one organization,” he wrote.
The union representing thousands of Mounties said it “adamantly disagrees” with the prime minister’s proposal.
“It is entirely disruptive and inappropriate to suggest structural changes to the RCMP as a solution when the clear and obvious answer is simply increased, sustained and dedicated funding,” wrote National Police Federation president Brian Sauvé in his own statement.
In an interview with CBC News before leaving office, Trudeau argued his proposal for the RCMP is meant for a future prime minister “if they want to take national security seriously.”
