What could a provincial policing model look like in Alberta?

The union representing Mounties shot down the Alberta Next Panel’s recommendations to proceed with a provincial policing model. Nicole Lampa reports.

Following backlash from the RCMP and its union on the Alberta Next Panel’s provincial policing recommendations, CTV News Edmonton spoke with a former Ontario Provincial Police commissioner and a criminologist about what a provincial model would look like.

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In a statement Monday, National Police Federation president and CEO Brian Sauvé called the Alberta Next report a “politically driven attempt to revive a policing proposal that Albertans have repeatedly rejected,” adding that the recommendations lack credibility and are based on old and inaccurate information.

Questions have been raised about how a provincial model could be implemented, looking at the RCMP funding model, recruitment issues, infrastructure and the logistics of transitioning.

Chris Lewis, retired commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, said there’s no way to quickly determine which model is better than the other.

“The issues are so complex … to say ultimately, this is good or this is bad, it’s going to require years of work,” Lewis told CTV News Edmonton Tuesday.

He pointed to the Surrey Police Service in B.C., which began transitioning from RCMP in 2020, saying the force is still trying to “pull it together” for one city police service.

“Infrastructure, radio networks … you can’t just snap your fingers and say we’re a provincial police service. It’s a tremendous undertaking.”

• How long will RCMP stay in Surrey? Questions remain about police transition

He said it could take years for Alberta to transition to its own police force.

The United Conservative Party government has long been keen on a provincial police service, claiming it will increase accountability as well as service in rural areas that are seeing dozens of empty RCMP positions.

However, Lewis says police recruitment is a struggle across North America, and will continue to see low numbers for the foreseeable future, no matter the model of policing.

“Hiring is an issue for all police services right now,” said Lewis. “Police services across the country are recycling the same applicants over and over.”

Lewis said it is likely that many Mounties would join the Alberta force should a provincial model be put in place, but not all.

“At the very least, you’d have thousands of police officers that would be required to be hired and put into place. That does not happen overnight. You’re looking at a decade minimum to really try and staff a provincial police model.”

Dan Jones, a criminologist at Norquest College, said there are advantages and disadvantages to a provincial police service.

One issue with RCMP, he said, is that priorities set out for police come from Ottawa, not Alberta.

“I think the RCMP is a very large bureaucracy that is kind of immovable,” said Jones.

He pointed to Grande Prairie’s municipal policing model which began the take over from RCMP in 2023.

“Grande Prairie is actually ahead of schedule with their transitioning from the RCMP to municipal police,” said Jones. “I think we’re starting to see a playbook on how to do it, and if you look at what Chief Lakusta is doing, you might see that as a model to replace the RCMP in Alberta.”

In May, the Grande Prairie Police Service announced that it was nearly halfway to its officer recruitment target with 50 officers hired since 2023. The service’s goal is to reach 110.

The Alberta government contributed $17 million to the municipal force, with the full transition to cost an estimated $19 million, which is expected to be completed in the fall.

Kevin Halwa, NPF, director of prairie region echoed Sauvé’s comments on the Alberta Next report, saying the recommendations are based on old and inaccurate information.

“We’re now seeing more recruits, more applicants per year than we’ve ever seen before,” said Halwa. “A full Alberta troop will be graduating and returning here in March. Our hard vacancy numbers are actually quite low.”

He said out of about 4,500 applications received in Alberta last year, 10 per cent of those will likely get put forward, still counting for 450 qualified people.

Despite recruitment appearing to be up, he said it is ultimately up to the Alberta government to move to a provincial model.

“At the end of the day … it is the provincial government’s decision to make, and I guess everybody has the right to make a bad decision,” said Halwa. “It would be horribly concerning to drag down the next seven to 10 generations of Albertans with that bad decision.”

The province said it is reviewing the panel’s recommendations before determining next steps.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Lampa