Abstract
As Canada’s federal police force celebrates its 150th anniversary, the
past and future of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Gendarmerie royale
du Canada (RCMP/GRC) is coming under intense scrutiny. Dogged by
historical legacies and endemic external and internal controversies, the
gendarmerie is a national police force with military characteristics
that serves the Canadian state loyally and professionally. The
anachronistic connection with horses in the English name has long
outlived its usefulness and it is time that Canada’s federal police
force embraced more French, greater inclusivity in the ranks, better
accountability, and a functional approach to provision of national
security policing at higher levels. A new refresh requires rebranding
into a true gendarmerie adequately manned, trained, and equipped for the
task, already anticipated in the French name. Refocusing on federal
roles at the national level without the distraction of contract policing
would give the RCMP/GRC greater purpose and coherence. The aligned
symmetry of a Royal Canadian Gendarmerie/Gendarmerie royale du Canada
(RCG/GRC) provides a basis for necessary change to happen and
reconciliation to begin.