What is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)?

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, known as the RCMP or in French the Gendarmerie royale du Canada, is Canada's national, federal, provincial, and municipal police service. It was established in 1873 as the North-West Mounted Police to bring law and order to the prairies during the establishment of European-style governance and the negotiation of the Numbered Treaties with First Nations. Sir John A. Macdonald's government modelled the force on the Royal Irish Constabulary.

The force was renamed the Royal North-West Mounted Police in 1904 by King Edward VII and merged in 1920 with the Dominion Police to become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with national jurisdiction. The RCMP took over federal policing in every province and now provides contract policing to eight provinces (all except Ontario and Quebec, which run their own provincial forces), three territories, and roughly 150 municipalities.

RCMP officers wear the Red Serge ceremonial tunic with brown breeches, brown leather boots, and a Stetson hat for formal duties. The dress dates from the original 1873 uniform, chosen specifically because the red coat distinguished the Mounties from the blue-uniformed United States Army cavalry on the other side of the border. The Musical Ride, a touring equestrian display first performed in 1887, is one of the most recognisable Canadian cultural exports.

The RCMP polices federal statutes nationwide, runs the Canadian Police College, operates Depot Division in Regina where every cadet trains for 26 weeks, and houses the national criminal records database. About 19,000 sworn members serve at any given time, supported by civilian staff. The force has its own coat of arms, granted in 1954, with a buffalo head and the motto 'Maintiens le droit', meaning 'Maintain the right'.