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Because the Federal Government is failing to provide the number of promised officers and resources to Alberta communities under the policing contract, response times are slow, staffing is stretched thin.
As a federal force, French language requirements limit promotions for most Albertans, officers are moved across the country at a moment’s notice, and priorities are mostly dictated by Ottawa.
An Alberta provincial police service would be run by and for Albertans—accountable to our province, and not to the federal government in Ottawa. Police officers and support staff could build long-term careers in the Alberta communities they know and love. And any current RCMP officers and support staff working in Alberta would be invited to join a new Alberta provincial police service.
With local recruitment and stable placements, rural response times would improve considerably from where they are now, and coverage would become more reliable and tailored to each municipality and region. This is especially important in underserved rural Alberta communities.
Most Albertans already have local police services. The province would assist larger communities like Red Deer, Fort McMurray, and Airdrie, to transition to their own police services, while smaller rural communities would be policed by the new provincial police service.
Establishing a new police service requires significant initial investment—hiring officers, buying equipment, building training infrastructure, and training personnel. Ultimately, the start up costs could reach into the hundreds of millions over several years.
There may be ongoing operational costs as well if the bureaucratic savings do not offset the federal subsidy for community policing, but municipalities would not be burdened with that.
For most Albertans there would be no change. This only affects communities with RCMP local policing.
No, “K” division would still be doing the Federal Policing around investigative matters that meet their mandate like counter-terrorism and nationwide gang activity.
The federal government currently covers 30% of RCMP contract policing costs. While there are operational savings we would see compared to the bureaucratic federal organization, it is likely that there will be additional ongoing operational costs for the province. Municipalities would not be asked to pay these additional costs.
© 2025 Alberta Next Panel
