Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police | |
---|---|
Commissaire de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada | |
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 |
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.
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.