RCMP report: northern posts ‘chronically’ understaffed

An internal RCMP evaluation has found that northern and isolated detachments are harder to staff than other posts and that the force’s current strategies to fill them have had limited success.

The evaluation, dated June 2026, was posted on the RCMP’s website and updated on Oct. 19. CBC News reported its findings Saturday, saying northern and isolated posts have become “chronically and at times critically” understaffed.

CBC reported that hard vacancy rates, which count positions left open by retirements, resignations or permanent transfers, were above 20 per cent in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in the third quarter of the fiscal year. Manitoba’s rate was just under 20 per cent and Saskatchewan’s was close to 15 per cent, CBC said. The RCMP’s published summary does not include those figures.

The RCMP says it is responsible for policing 75 per cent of Canada’s geography under policing agreements, including much of rural Canada and all of the North, and that in many of those places it is often the only government presence.

The evaluation drew on interviews, a document review, program data and site visits to V Division, which covers Nunavut, G Division, which covers the Northwest Territories, and the RCMP’s Depot training academy. It also relied on an internal survey sent to 6,258 regular members, of whom 4,068 responded, a response rate of 65 per cent.

The report said environmental and organizational factors limit members’ interest in northern and isolated posts and their willingness to stay. It found that the flexible posting plan created challenges for staffing those posts, that recruitment practices are not aligned with their needs and that incentives are seen as insufficient. It also found that, without a centralized approach, divisions have tried different ways to attract people north.

CBC reported that the plan, introduced in 2023, lets new applicants choose their division, which raised the number of applicants but left divisions in need receiving fewer cadets.

The evaluation made four recommendations: a co-ordinated strategy supported by better workforce data and long-term planning; more targeted recruitment of applicants who fit the needs of northern and isolated posts; a review and modernization of RCMP-controlled incentives; and stronger communication about northern vacancies, including in Depot’s training curriculum. CBC reported that the RCMP has reviewed and accepted the findings and recommendations.

The findings add to earlier warnings about the force’s workforce. In September, Canada News Media reported that the RCMP’s hiring plan fell short of the auditor general’s 3,413-officer gap, and in March it covered the auditor general’s finding that the RCMP’s staff shortage got worse in recent years.

Source: RCMP, Evaluation of Strategies to Staff Northern and Isolated Posts (June 2026); CBC News, Nov. 7, 2026.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.