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Preamble:
WHEREAS municipalities are responsible for supporting safe communities and must understand the financial, operational, governance and service-level consequences of any change to local policing; and
WHEREAS the Government of Alberta announced plans to establish an Alberta Sheriffs Police Service, but municipalities have not been provided with a comprehensive independent feasibility study, full lifecycle costing, long-term funding framework, detailed governance model or community-by-community service transition plan; and
WHEREAS a May 2026 survey of 1,210 Alberta adults found 76% satisfaction with RCMP policing among respondents in RCMP-served communities, 71% believed the public had not been adequately consulted, 59% opposed replacing the RCMP province-wide, and 83% wanted detailed accounting of costs and service-level impacts before policing changes are approved; and
WHEREAS rural crime, violent repeat offending, court delays, mental-health and addiction crises, recruitment pressures and gaps in community-based prevention require immediate investment regardless of the uniform worn by the responding police officer;
Operative Clause:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that before any municipality is asked to transition from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Government of Alberta (GOA) should establish a transparent governance and accountability model, binding service-level and staffing standards, equivalent access to specialized and surge resources, a sustainable funding formula that does not transfer additional costs to municipal taxpayers, and a detailed transition and workforce plan;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED THAT the GOA obtain explicit public support before implementing any province-wide replacement of the RCMP;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED THAT the GOA prioritize immediate investment in RCMP staffing, the Alberta Sheriffs’ complementary enforcement and court-security mandate, Crown Prosecutors, Provincial Court capacity, repeat-offender management, police and mental-health crisis teams, addiction services and community-based crime prevention.
Member Background:
Purpose of the Resolution
This resolution is not an argument against the Alberta Sheriffs or against improving policing. Alberta Sheriffs provide important services, including highway enforcement, court security and targeted public-safety functions. The resolution asks the Government of Alberta (GOA) to strengthen those complementary services and address immediate public-safety pressures while requiring evidence, transparent costs, municipal participation and public confidence before creating a replacement municipal policing system.
Current Policing Context
Many rural Alberta communities receive local policing through the RCMP under provincial and municipal policing arrangements. The supplied polling material states that the current RCMP contract expires in 2032 and reports that the federal government contributes 30% of the cost of RCMP service in Alberta, estimated in the survey material at approximately $188 million annually. Any replacement model must identify who will absorb the lost federal contribution and how provincial and municipal shares will be calculated over the full life cycle of the new service.
Policing costs are only one part of the decision. Rural municipalities require clarity on detachment locations, minimum staffing, vacancy coverage, response areas, dispatch, major-crime investigation, forensic support, emergency response teams, police-dog services, air support, information systems, records, equipment, facilities, training, civilian oversight, complaint processes and mutual-aid arrangements. A new badge or organizational structure does not by itself guarantee more officers, faster response or stronger community safety.
May 2026 Alberta Polling
The National Police Federation’s Wave 9 online survey ran from April 24 to May 11, 2026. It used a randomly selected sample of 1,210 Alberta adults, weighted by age, gender, region and education. The report gives a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. This advocacy-sponsored polling should be considered alongside independent government, municipal and operational evidence, but the results as is demonstrate significant concern about cost, consultation and service continuity.
| Survey finding | Result |
| Satisfied with RCMP policing in their community among respondents served by the RCMP | 76% |
| Believe the public was not adequately consulted about creating the ASPS | 71% |
| Oppose replacing the RCMP in all RCMP-served communities when the contract expires in 2032 | 59% |
| Support a province-wide referendum before replacing the RCMP | 75% |
| Prefer fixing the justice system through better resources, enforcement and tougher sentencing over replacing the RCMP | 75% vs. 9% |
| Want detailed accounting of costs and service-level impacts before policing changes | 83% |
| Prefer boosting existing local police funding over spending millions to establish ASPS | 72% |
| After receiving additional information, favour retaining the RCMP or retaining it with improvements | 78% |
Financial and Municipal Risk
The polling material refers to a 2021 report estimating $372 million in start-up costs and an additional $164 million in annual operating costs compared with existing provincial RCMP costs. Those figures do not reflect a current business case for the proposed ASPS, but their scale shows why an updated independent study is essential. Municipalities need a full lifecycle analysis covering transition, recruitment, training, facilities, vehicles, technology, pensions, collective bargaining, specialized units, dispatch, records conversion, insurance and contingencies.
A provincial commitment that municipalities will not initially pay more is not enough unless it is supported by legislation or a durable funding agreement. Rural municipalities need protection against future cost downloads, requisitions, facility obligations and unequal service levels. The model must also account for the value of federal funding and national RCMP infrastructure that would not automatically transfer to a provincial service.
Training Staffing and Service Continuity
The survey also compared 26 weeks of RCMP cadet training with a proposed six-week transition program for Alberta Sheriffs and found that 61% of respondents felt less confident in the policing plan after receiving that information. Training comparisons must be evaluated carefully because prior experience, field coaching and role-specific standards also matter. Nonetheless, the GOA must publicly define recruit qualifications, transition standards, field training, supervision, use-of-force certification and equivalency requirements before sheriffs assume full police responsibilities.
A transition also risks temporary vacancies and competition for experienced officers. Rural communities cannot absorb reduced coverage while a new service recruits, trains and deploys personnel. Any proposal must guarantee continuous local coverage and equivalent access to specialized and surge capacity before a municipality transitions.
Priority Investments That Can Improve Safety Now
| Priority | Immediate action |
| Front-line policing | Fill rural vacancies, stabilize detachments, fund proactive patrols and improve access to specialized and surge resources. |
| Alberta Sheriffs | Expand targeted enforcement, highway safety, fugitive apprehension, rural crime initiatives and court security as complementary services. |
| Justice capacity | Increase Crown Prosecutor and Provincial Court capacity and improve disclosure, case management and timely access to justice. |
| Repeat offenders | Strengthen coordinated supervision, warrant execution, bail-compliance enforcement and information sharing for violent and high-risk offenders. |
| Mental health and addictions | Expand integrated police and mental-health crisis teams, mobile response, treatment access and addiction supports. |
| Prevention | Support community-based prevention, victim services, youth intervention and local partnerships that address root causes of crime. |
Conclusion
Municipalities share the GOA’s goal of safer communities, but a structural change of this scale must demonstrate that it will deliver better public-safety outcomes without weakening rural coverage or transferring costs to local taxpayers. Alberta can act immediately on staffing, justice capacity, repeat offenders, mental-health response, addictions and prevention while completing the evidence and consultation necessary for any future policing-model decision.
Sources
RMA Background:
12-24F: Accountability in the Establishment of an Independent Agency Police Service in Alberta
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta advocate that the Government of Alberta provide a public itemized costing of any independent agency police service, complete with a detailing of costs borne by municipalities through the existing or a future Police Funding Model facilitated by the Government of Alberta;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the Government of Alberta not introduce an independent agency police service prior to substantive consultation and quantifiable significant majority support from municipalities and Albertans-at-large.
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