April 9, 2025
Edmonton, AB – Following is a statement from Brian Sauvé, President and CEO of the National Police Federation, in response to the Government of Alberta’s introduction of Bill 49, announcing new steps towards the creation of an independent provincial police service:
“We are deeply concerned that the Government of Alberta is once again pushing forward with a costly, unproven provincial police model, this time under a new name, without transparency, consultation, or a clear financial plan.
Rather than investing in the nearly 3,500 RCMP Members who provide effective and committed police services across 99% of Alberta, the Province is choosing to funnel precious taxpayer dollars into the new Independent Agency Police Service (IAPS), a project Albertans and municipalities have already rejected.
Alberta provincial police service, which failed, had start-up costs at $372 million, plus an additional $164 million each year in operating costs. This was in 2021, before record inflation and rising operational expenses. With Alberta now projecting a deficit exceeding $5 billion announced in Budget 2025, it is fiscally irresponsible to pursue a politicized project that undertakes a major restructuring of public safety without a detailed cost analysis or public mandate.
The lack of information about the IAPS indicates how expensive it will be for Albertans. Based on known policing reviews and transition estimates, converting roughly 600 Sheriffs into fully trained police officers could cost:
- Salary Upgrades: $29.36M (to match First Class Constable salaries)
- Training: $5.4M (to meet Alberta Policing Standards)
- Uniforms, gear, and pistols per officer: $7.8M
- New or retrofitted vehicles: $140,000 each (fully outfitted police vehicles)
- Body-worn Cameras: $1.8M
- Infrastructure upgrades: Estimated at $32M from the failed Alberta provincial police service (building upgrades, leases, and related costs)
- Other costs: Significant costs for upgraded IT/IM, dispatch systems, legal services and indemnification, specialized equipment and vehicles, oversight, and administrative support
This is only a partial list of estimated costs. There is no clarity on whether these costs will be borne provincially or downloaded into municipalities. But either way, there is only one taxpayer- and that’s every Albertan.
The Province often touts the Grande Prairie transition as a success, but fails to mention the $9.4M in provincial funding, with a promise of more in the future, was provided to support that transition: an amount not guaranteed to other municipalities. Will taxpayers in Calgary, Edmonton, or Lethbridge be expected to subsidize police transitions elsewhere?
Recent Pollara Strategic Insights polling from June 2024 confirmed that 77% of Albertans in RCMP-served communities remain satisfied with the policing services they receive; 86% of all Albertans want to retain the RCMP and 87% want a detailed accounting of the costs and impacts prior to any changes. In repeated waves of research since 2020, the vast majority of Albertans have been clear: they want to see investment in their RCMP Members and are not interested in replacing the RCMP with other policing services.
Every dollar spent on restructuring is a dollar taken from frontline services like crime prevention, enforcement, and victim support. It’s time the government listened to Albertans and invested in enhancing—not replacing—the Alberta RCMP.”
About the National Police Federation:
The National Police Federation (the NPF) represents ~20,000 RCMP Members serving across Canada and internationally. We are the largest police union in Canada. The NPF is focused on improving public safety for all Canadians, including our Members by advocating for much-needed investment in the public safety continuum. This includes investments in police resourcing and modern equipment, as well as social programs including health, addiction, and housing supports to enhance safety and livability in the many communities we serve, large and small, across Canada.
For more information: https://npf-fpn.com/
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Media contact:
Sarah Kavanagh
Communications and Media Relations Advisor
[email protected]
