RCMP says Premier Smith wrong on RCMP numbers despite monthly updates

Premier Danielle Smith (left) speaks to Wetaskiwin Mayor Tyler Gandam at the Alberta Municipalities Convention in Red Deer on Sept. 27, 2024. (Galan McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)

The Alberta RCMP says Premier Danielle Smith was "inaccurate" in statements about the province's Mounties on Thursday.

Smith made the remarks at the Alberta Municipalities Convention in Red Deer, while discussing policing needs in the province.

"The RCMP has not been able to fill the need that we have," Smith said on Thursday.

"We pay for 1,911 officers and they have 400 or 500 vacancies, and we cannot allow for municipal or for rural communities to be under policed."

On Friday, the Alberta RCMP said Smith was wrong.

"Despite continuous communications with our provincial partners, the current strength of Alberta RCMP officers is regularly miscommunicated, as is our current vacancy rate in Provincial Policing," the statement read.

According to the Alberta RCMP there are 1,772 officer positions within the provincial policing contract – 139 fewer than Smith claimed.

Of those 1,772 positions, the RCMP said only 124 are unfilled. Another 182 officers are on medical, parental or other special leave, putting the current provincial vacancy rate at 17.3 per cent.

"These are statistics that are shared with our provincial partners every month," RCMP said.

Alberta has received more than 1,400 RCMP applicants and expects that to double by the end of the year, the statement said, for an increase of 77 per cent in the past five years.

The Alberta RCMP also said it is working with communities to review policing models and explore new service models on local needs.

"The employees of the Alberta RCMP are fiercely proud of the policing services they provide to Albertans," said Dep. Commissioner Rob Hill, Alberta RCMP commanding

"We are here to serve and protect Albertans, and we will continue to do so with dedication and integrity."

When asked about the discrepancy, Arthur Green, spokesman for Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis, said a recent assessment suggested there were 413 vacancies, with that number "fluctuating."

Green did not respond to questions about when that assessment was done or how that number was arrived at.