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

Questions surrounding timing are being raised one year after Surrey announced it would be fully transitioning from the RCMP to the Surrey Police Service.

A year into the biggest police transition in Canadian history, there are calls for clarity about the timeline for the withdrawal of the RCMP in Surrey.

In a statement this week, the RCMP said it continues the complex work of demobilizing the largest detachment in the country.

Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said the RCMP would fully withdraw by November 2026.

The Surrey Police Service, however, has said the data supports a completion date roughly a year later, by late 2027.

In a statement, Surrey police said the timeline for the end of the police transition has not been agreed to by all parties, and will “depend on several factors, including the cadence of SPS’s hiring, (Justice Institute of B.C.) recruit seats, the RCMP’s demobilization, and the completion of the transfer of files from RCMP to SPS.”

“Until SPS is fully resourced, the province of B.C. will continue to ensure there are adequate and effective levels of policing in Surrey, as per the Police Act,” the statement reads.

But a local MLA said the discrepancy in timelines is creating uncertainty.

“This could have some serious cost implications for British Columbia taxpayers, taxpayers in Surrey,” said Surrey Cloverdale MLA, Elenore Sturko, who sits as an independent.

Sturko, who is also a former Surrey RCMP officer, also said there are also “municipalities waiting for these Surrey police officers to leave Surrey so they can be deployed in other municipalities.”

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke also said a later timeline is a “very big concern.”

Locke said it was her understanding from the police chief that the transition would be complete next year.

“I have always understood that it would be…Nov. 29, 2026, they would be fully operational. But recently he has said he may need more time,” she said.

“Certainly the longer this takes, the more it costs. There’s no question about that,” Locke told CTV News.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said in a statement that, “It is too early to speculate what costs (if any) would be incurred should the transition completion date need to be extended.”

The ministry also said, “The RCMP temporary transitional supports will be required until the SPS can takeover the responsibilities, functions, and programs currently supported by the RCMP.”

Though the ministry said the potential need to extend RCMP temporary supports beyond 2026 has been known and discussed among all parties since early 2025, Sturko remains critical.

“This is just going back to a lack of HR plan from the start when they greenlit this,” she said.

The province said throughout the transition, public safety remains a top priority.