RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki Announces March Retirement From Force

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki speaks at a news conference in Ottawa on Oct. 21, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Brenda Lucki will be retiring next month from her role leading Canada’s national police force.

In a statement on Feb. 15, Lucki said she had “made a personal decision to retire.”

Lucki was approaching the end of a five-year term, which began on April 16, 2018. She was the organization’s 24th commissioner and the force’s first permanent female commissioner.

Her last day will be March 17.

“This was not an easy decision as I love the RCMP,” she said. “I leave knowing I did my best and take comfort that the RCMP is well placed to shine in its 150th year.”

“I’m so proud of the steps we’ve taken to modernize—to increase accountability, address systemic racism, ensure a safe and equitable workplace and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples,” she stated, adding that the organization had made “great progress.”

Lucki took leadership of the organization after long-standing concerns of bullying and harassment had been alleged within the force. Her statement indicated she was asked to modernize and address the RCMP’s internal challenges, which she called a “significant mandate.”

Criticism

Lucki’s time as top Mountie included calls for her resignation in June 2022, after allegations of political interference in the police investigation of the Nova Scotia shooting in which a gunman killed 22 people.

RCMP Superintendent Darren Campbell’s notes suggested that he was pressured by Lucki to reveal the types of firearms involved in the shooting, even while police were still actively investigating. At the time, the Liberals were about to announce a gun ban on “assault-style” weapons. Campbell wrote that Lucki had “promised” the minister of public safety and the prime minister that the RCMP would release specific information on the types of firearms used.

Lucki denied the allegations.

“I would never take actions or decisions that could jeopardize an investigation. I did not interfere in the ongoing investigations into the largest mass shooting in Canadian history,” she wrote in a statement on June 21.

Audio of a call between Lucki and RCMP officials in Nova Scotia was later released, in which the release of information related to the shooting in April 2020 was discussed.

On Nov. 23, Alberta’s Justice Minister Tyler Shandro called for the federal government to fire Lucki.

“Alberta has lost confidence in RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and is calling on Canada’s minister of public safety, Marco Mendicino, to immediately rescind her appointment,” Shandro said.

Shandro listed areas he deemed Lucki as having failed in, such as dealing with “the RCMP’s history of systemic racism in a forthright and public manner,” “risking the integrity” of the investigation into the Nova Scotia mass shooting, and not informing the federal government “of all law enforcement options available prior to the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.”

He also criticized Lucki’s contribution to two major public inquiries held during her tenure, including the Public Order Emergency Commission (POEC), which held weeks of hearings on the Trudeau government’s invocation of the use of emergency measures to shut down the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa earlier this year.

Lucki testified at the POEC on Nov. 15 that RCMP officers had the legal means to clear protesters in Ottawa as part of the Freedom Convoy without the use of the Emergencies Act, but said she did not communicate that information to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before the act was invoked.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino thanked Lucki for her years of service.

“From training new recruits at depot to becoming the Mounties’ first woman commissioner, she has dedicated her life to keeping Canadians safe. Commissioner Lucki has led the force for nearly five years, navigating through the pandemic and beyond. I want to thank her for her partnership and dedication,” he posted on Twitter.

Mendicino said the government will begin the process of appointing the next commissioner of the RCMP and will be “searching for an exceptional new leader who will keep our communities safe while advancing the reforms necessary to maintain the confidence of all Canadians.”

Noé Chartier and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.