I am not familiar with the laws of Canada, but this surprise me: “they have no jurisdiction in municipalities that have their own police forces.” Doesn’t Canada have federal or national laws? If so, who enforces them in municipalities?
Probably more like Texas Rangers, I’d offer.
Ever seen a cowboy in real life?
You probably haven’t, and even though there are vacqueros in Spain and gauchos in Argentina and Brazil, and even a big damn rodeo in Calgary, chances are when you see this, you think USA.
The municipal police force.
Criminal law in Canada is federal, but it’s enforced locally, by municipal or provincial police forces, and prosecuted by the provincial Attorney General.
Two provinces, Quebec and Ontario, have their own provincial forces: the OPP and the Sûreté du Québec. Newfoundland & Labrador have their own provincial force, but it doesn’t operate throughout the province.
The other six provinces, and Newfoundland & Labrador for the area outside the provincial capital, contract with the Feds to provide provincial policing services. That’s provided by the RCMP. So it’s provincial enforcement, but by a federal agency.
Bigger municipalities have their own police forces, but smaller ones contract with the provincial agency to provide policing services. In Ontario and Quebec, that means that the provincial forces provide municipal policing. In the other provinces, it means that the RCMP are also the local municipal force.
The RCMP also,provides federal enforcement of federal laws other than the Criminal Code. When they do that, they’re acting under the authority of the federal Minister of Public Security.
Disclaimer, IANAL.
Yes, but the truth is much more complicated as while the RCMP **does **provide policing services throughout Canada **and **they do so at every level of government (federal, provincial, and municipal), it is not the sole law enforcement agency in operation.
In many areas of Canada policing services can be effectively carried out by local agences both at the provincial and municipal levels (such as Ontario Provincial Police or Toronto Police Service) or by specialized federal ones (such as Canada Border Services Agency or Parliamentary Protective Service). If this is the case, the RCMP are not contracted out to provide these services (someone needs to pay the RCMP to get the service).
sigh Yeah, pretty much what Northern Piper said.
Why are they associated?
Partly because Canada works to enhance that association with Mounties. The RCMP musical ride that Ike Witt linked to is performed by several trained groups of Mounties, and they tour throughout North America (and maybe Europe?). They are funded by the Canadian government, as a Public Relations goodwill team for Canada. Like the Budweiser Clydesdale horse hitches or the Goodyear blimps.
So basically the RCMP is kind of like a combined FBI / State Police type organization, if we were to frame it in terms of similar US agencies?
Plus municipal police forces.
Bottom line is that you don’t have an equivalent in the US, in part because the area of the criminal law is one of the more significant differences in our two federations.
If you happen to be in Toronto, you can head down to Sunnybrook Park, where the Toronto police stables are located. It’s not uncommon to see the horses in the paddocks, and the police officers (if any are also in the paddocks) are happy to answer questions, pose for photos with their horse, etc.
It’s a good location to operate a mounted unit from, as Sunnybrook is part of a big park chain, and it is not uncommon to see mounted officers patrolling the parks that connect to it, though they can and do operate elsewhere as well. They also do such ceremonial things as participate in parades.
Back when I lived in Toronto, I knew one of the (retired) mounted officers. He had some great stories about his days as a mounted officer.
Of course, there is nothing stopping the various provinces outside ON/QC/NL from establishing provincial forces and eliminating the need for the local policing aspect of the Mounties, and essentially leaving the RCMP as a Canadian FBI.
However, it just isn’t a pressing issue. Converting RCMP K Division into an Alberta Provincial Police would cost money for no obvious immediate benefit. Some provinces did have their own provincial police in the past, but abandoned it.
I was once interviewed by an RCMP officer (in connection with a grad student who had just been expelled as a Cuban spy) and he just wore a business suit. No uniform at all. And certainly not mounted.
They’re almost never mounted. Should be investigated for truth in advertising if you ask me.
Tell their spouses that… 
Most of the RCMP I know have more than a few kids…
Thanks. I believe I understand about the RCMP. Now I need to wrap my US-based head around the criminal code. Are all criminal laws in Canada federal? Can Ontario pass a criminal law (a law that could result in a prison sentence) that is specific to Ontario? Or is all that handled at the federal level? And finally, does the RCMP enforce, say espionage laws, everywhere but under the federal Minister of Public Security?
Let’s see…”two provinces, Quebec and Ontario…” That’s two.
“Newfoundland and Labrador have their own…” that’s one more, making three.
“The other six provinces…” That’s nine.
Could’ve sworn there were ten last time I looked. Which one has been evicted?
“Dammit Ulf, I’m a lawyer, not a mathitician!”
All the classic types of criminal law: murder, theft, assault, fraud, [del]buggery[/del], treason, alarming the Queen, drug trafficking; yes, only the federal government can enact offences like that.
Yes, provinces can pass regulatory offences, like highway traffic, wildlife, municipal offences, securities regulations, environmental offences; and those can be punished with jail sentences in extreme cases. The difference is that the offence can’t be a free-standing one, but tied to a regulatory system, like highway rules of the road, securities marketing regulation, environmental standards.
Yes, if it’s a federal offence other than what’s in the Criminal Code, then the RCMP can investigate and lay charges. Money-laundering, foreign corruption, federal income tax offences, and so on.
But it’s not really strict rules at the policing level. If a municipal officer raids a chop shop and finds evidence of auto theft (Criminal Code), and also finds illicit drugs (contrary to the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act), the municipal officer can lay the criminal charges and the drug charges. It’s then up to the provincial and federal Crown prosecutors to decide who prosecutes the charges, even though both statutes are passed by the federal Parliament.
One of the quirkier things I’ve ever done was visit Ottawa on July 4 – that just happened to be the day I passed through – and do you know, those guys treated it like it was just another day. Huh.
Anyhow, I was walking past the Canadian Parliament building, and sure enough, I saw Canadian Mounties in full traditional regalia. So that’s a place to look, if that’s what you want to see.
I’ve also been on the highway and seen the police cars labelled RCMP. Thankfully, I’ve never had any business with them (as I have the California Highway Patrol a few times).
Why I was a teenager, the nickname for the Mounties was “the Queen’s cowboys”.
If you got a ticket and a fine for a minor traffic infraction (speeding or open liquor), it meant “you bought the Queen breakfast.”