Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (French: commissaire de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada) is the professional head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The commissioner exercises control and management of the RCMP under the direction of the minister of public safety. The position is a Governor in Council appointment made on the advice of the prime minister of Canada.

Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Commissaire de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada
Rank badge (left) and slip on (right)
Incumbent Michael Duheme since March 17, 2023
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Reports to	Minister of Public Safety
Appointer	Governor in Council on the advice of the prime minister
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Constituting instrument	Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act
Inaugural holder	W. Osborne Smith
Formation	1873
Website	www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Commissioner William Higgitt and Queen Elizabeth II, RCMP Centennial Celebrations, Regina, 1973

Commissioner Bob Paulson speaking at the opening of the 65th Glengarry Highland Games in 2012

In addition to his or her role in the management of the RCMP, the commissioner serves as Principal Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. Under the Firearms Act, the RCMP commissioner also serves as the commissioner of firearms, the chief executive of the Canadian Firearms Program.^[1]

Michael Duheme is the 25th commissioner of the RCMP, having taken office in an interim capacity on March 17, 2023, and permanently as of the Change Command ceremony held on May 25, 2023.^[2]

Queen Elizabeth II was commissioner-in-chief from 2012 to 2022, and King Charles III was honorary commissioner of the RCMP from 2012 until 2023.^[3] In recognition of the RCMP's 150th anniversary and the upcoming coronation, on April 28, 2023, King Charles III consented to assume the title of the RCMP Commissioner-in-Chief.^[4] However, neither appointment (commissioner-in-chief or honorary commissioner) exercises a substantive role in the operation of the organization.

List of commissioners

There have been 25 commissioners, including one acting commissioners and one interim commissioner, and excluding one unofficial acting commissioner since the founding of the North-West Mounted Police in 1873:

List of commissioners

Agency	No.	Image	Name	Term start	Term end	Notes
North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) designated "Royal" in 1904 (RNWMP) (1873–1920)	1		W. Osborne Smith	September 25, 1873	October 17, 1873	Acting commissioner of the NWMP
	2		George Arthur French	October 18, 1873	July 21, 1876
	3		James Farquharson MacLeod	July 22, 1876	October 31, 1880
	4		Acheson Gosford Irvine	November 1, 1880	March 31, 1886	First Canadian born man to hold the post
	5		Lawrence William Herchmer	April 1, 1886	July 31, 1900	Was a civilian at the time of his appointment although with an army background.
	6		Aylesworth Bowen Perry	August 1, 1900	March 31, 1923	Perry was the commissioner of the NWMP when King Edward VII awarded the force the title "Royal" (RNWMP) in 1904, and was still commissioner when the RNWMP merged with the Dominion Police in 1920 to form the RCMP, with Perry appointed the first commissioner of the RCMP.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) (1920–present)
	7		Cortlandt Starnes	April 1, 1923	July 31, 1931
	8		Sir James Howden MacBrien	August 1, 1931	March 5, 1938	Only Commissioner to die in office of a heart attack. One of only two Mounties to be knighted for his WWI service with the British Army. Had some NWMP training prior to WWI but was called up as a reservist just after training in 1914.
	9		Stuart Taylor Wood	March 6, 1938	April 30, 1951
	10		Leonard Hanson Nicholson	May 1, 1951	March 31, 1959
	11		Charles Edward Rivett-Carnac	April 1, 1959	March 31, 1960
	12		Clifford Walter Harvison	April 1, 1960	October 31, 1963
	13		George Brinton McClellan	November 1, 1963	August 14, 1967
	14		Malcolm Francis Aylesworth Lindsay	August 15, 1967	September 30, 1969	RCMP Patrol Vessel Lindsay was named in his honour.
	15		William Leonard Higgitt	October 1, 1969	December 28, 1973	RCMP Patrol Vessel Higgitt was named in his honour.
	16		Maurice Jean Nadon	January 1, 1974	August 31, 1977	RCMP Patrol Vessel Nadon was named in his honour. The present-day RCMP National Headquarters building in Ottawa was named in his honour on October 5, 2011.
	17		Robert Henry Simmonds	September 1, 1977	August 31, 1987	RCMP Patrol Vessel Simmonds was named in his honour.
	18		Norman Inkster	September 1, 1987	June 24, 1994	RCMP Patrol Vessel Inkster was named in his honour.
	19		Joseph Philip Robert Murray	June 25, 1994	September 1, 2000
	20		Giuliano Zaccardelli	September 2, 2000	December 15, 2006
	21		Beverley Busson	December 15, 2006	July 16, 2007	Interim commissioner; Busson was the RCMP's first female commissioner.
	22		William J. S. Elliott	July 16, 2007	November 20, 2011	First civilian commissioner.
	23		Bob Paulson	November 21, 2011	June 30, 2017
	—		Dan Dubeau	June 30, 2017	April 16, 2018	Acting commissioner; Dubeau served in the role at the rank of deputy commissioner.
	24		Brenda Lucki	April 16, 2018	March 17, 2023	Lucki was the RCMP's first permanent female commissioner.
	25		Michael Duheme	March 17, 2023	Incumbent

References

1. Meet Our Team Archived 2013-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
2. Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2023-05-25). "Mike Duheme's ceremonial swearing-in as 25th Commissioner of the RCMP | Royal Canadian Mounted Police". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
3. Smith, Joanna (23 May 2012), "Royal visit 2012: Prince Charles collects honorary RCMP title", Toronto Star, retrieved 25 May 2012
4. Government of Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (2023-04-28). "RCMP maintains Royal traditions | Royal Canadian Mounted Police". www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-29.

External links

• RCMP Executive Committee
• Former RCMP commissioners
• Diary of Commissioner George French