The remarkable story of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

The birth and development of Saskatchewan is uniquely tied to the history of the world-famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), originally known as the North West Mounted Police. Saskatchewan’s capital, Regina, remains home to the sole training academy for new members of the force. Over 1,000 new Mounties graduate each year.

The RCMP’s history can be tracked all across Saskatchewan. The RCMP Heritage Centre in Regina takes visitors back in time using interactive displays, multi-media presentations and rare artifacts. Fort Walsh National Historic Site, in the southwest’s Cypress Hills, was the Mounties’ original headquarters. Today's Fort Battleford commemorates the major role the fort played in the North West Resistance of 1885.

The story of the arrival of the RCMP cannot be told without an understanding of their early interactions with First Nations people. Sites and attractions throughout the province pay tribute to these decisive episodes in Saskatchewan history. Wood Mountain Post, near the Canada-United States border, tells of the friendship and respect between Major James Walsh and the legendary Chief Sitting Bull. Today, Saskatchewan’s inter-provincial Highway 13, known as the Red Coat Trail, approximates the route of the Great March West – the North West Mounted Police epic trek to western Canada in 1874.

Explore Saskatchewan and learn how this storied institution helped shape a province and a country, and how it continues to maintain security in modern day Canada and around the world.