(May 23, 1873- )
Born in Canada
Originally established as the Northwest Mounted Police
Federal police force of Canada
24,578 personnel (2007)
Responsibilities include enforcing federal laws, serving as the police force of Canada's three territories, providing protection for government officials and visiting dignitaries and domestic security and counterterrorism
Known in French as Gendarmerie Royale du Canada
Nicknamed 'Mounties'

They killed two people and injured thirty by firing into a crowd while suppressing a strike in Winnipeg (1919).
They created a 'fruit machine' to ferret out homosexuals in the force during the Cold War.
The McDonald Commission found that they had stolen documents from the Parti Quebecois, illegally opened mail and conducted illegal electronic surveillance (1981).
They provide training for the Haitian National Police, which has been accused of widespread human rights abuses.
Except on ceremonial occasions, they neither ride horses nor wear their famed red uniforms.

They helped suppress the North-West Rebellion led by Louis Riel (1885).
King Edward VII granted them Royal status (1904) to honor their service in South Africa during the Boer War.
They took part in peacekeeping missions in Haiti, Namibia, Kosovo and East Timor.
They maintain a database of 3.5 million criminal records.
They are an enduring symbol of Canadian culture.

Credit: C. Fishel

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• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 17]
• I Come from Canada
• Look at Me, I'm Armed
• Look at Me, I'm Mounted
• Look at Me, My Picture Is Art
• Police Officers
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