Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gendarmerie royale du Canada (French)
Abbreviation	RCMP/GRC
Heraldic badge of the RCMP
Ensign
Motto	Maintiens le droit "Maintain the Right"
Agency overview
Formed	February 1, 1920
Preceding agencies	Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP) (1904) North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) (May 23, 1873) Dominion Police (1868)
Employees	28,461 (2015)
Volunteers	Approximately 1,600 Auxiliary Constables
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency	Canada
Constituting instruments	Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act Provincial Police Acts
General nature	Federal law enforcement Gendarmerie
Operational structure
Headquarters	M. J. Nadon Government of Canada Building 73 Leikin Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R2
Sworn members	18,292 (Sept. 2015) Commissioner: 1 Deputy Commissioners: 7 Assistant Commissioners: 26 Chief Superintendents: 58 Superintendents: 179 Inspectors: 348 Corps Sergeant Major: 1 Sergeants Major: 1 Staff Sergeants Major: 13 Staff Sergeants: 812 Sergeants: 1,923 Corporals: 3,377 Constables: 11,491 Special Constables: 55
Unsworn members	10,169 (Sept. 2015) Civilian Members: 3,838 Public Servants: 6,331
Elected officer responsible	The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety
Agency executives	Queen Elizabeth II, Commissioner-in-Chief Charles, Prince of Wales, Honorary Commissioner Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Honorary Deputy Commissioner Bob Paulson, Commissioner
Parent agency	Public Safety Canada
Divisions	15 National Division: National Capital Region B Division: Newfoundland and Labrador C Division: Quebec D Division: Manitoba E Division: British Columbia F Division: Saskatchewan G Division: Northwest Territories H Division: Nova Scotia J Division: New Brunswick K Division: Alberta L Division: Prince Edward Island M Division: Yukon O Division: Ontario V Division: Nunavut Depot Division: Regina, Saskatchewan
Facilities
Detachments	712  Alberta: 119  British Columbia: 154  Manitoba: 88  New Brunswick: 44  Newfoundland: 43  Northwest Territories: 22  Nova Scotia: 53  Nunavut: 26  Ontario: 16  Prince Edward Island: 6  Quebec: 14  Saskatchewan: 113  Yukon: 14
Vehicles	8,677 Cars: 5,600 Trucks: 2,350 Motorcycles: 34 Snowmobiles: 481 All-terrain vehicles: 181
Patrol vessels	5
Fixed-wings	32
Helicopters	10
Notables Significant incidents Mayerthorpe tragedy Spiritwood Incident 2014 Moncton shootings Awards Battle honours Canadian Newsmaker of the Year (2007)
Website
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Footnotes
While a federal agency, the RCMP also provides direct policing to dependent territories.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gendarmerie royale du Canada
Guidon of the RCMP
Active	1873–present
Country	Canada
Type	Dragoons
Size	15 divisions
Garrison/HQ	RHQ—Ottawa
Nickname(s)	The Mounties
Motto(s)	Maintiens le droit (Defend the law)
Battle honours	see Battle honours
Commanders
Current commander	Bob Paulson (Commissioner)
Commissioner-in-Chief	HM The Queen
Honorary Commissioner	HRH The Prince of Wales
Honorary Deputy Commissioner	HRH The Earl of Wessex
Insignia
Tartan	RCMP
Abbreviation	RCMP/GRC

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; French: Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC), "Royal Gendarmerie of Canada"; colloquially known as the Mounties, and internally as "the Force") is both a federal and a national police force of Canada. The RCMP provides law enforcement at a federal level in Canada, and also on a contract basis to the three territories, eight of Canada's provinces (the RCMP does not provide provincial or municipal policing in either Ontario or Quebec), more than 150 municipalities, 600 aboriginal communities, and three international airports.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was formed in 1920 by the merger of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP, founded in 1873) with the Dominion Police (founded in 1868). The former was originally named the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), and was given the Royal prefix by King Edward VII in 1904. Much of the present day organization's symbolism has been inherited from its days as the NWMP and RNWMP, including the distinctive Red Serge uniform, paramilitary heritage, and mythos as a frontier force. The RCMP-GRC wording is protected under the Trade-marks Act.

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. It is the only police force of any sort in several areas of Canada.