Request for fill-in Manitoba Mounties is working, assistant commissioner says

Manitoba’s top Mountie says efforts to have RCMP officers from other provinces temporarily fill vacancies are bearing fruit.

Assistant Commissioner Scott McMurchy says upwards of 10 RCMP members from other provinces have reached out and short-term deployments to Manitoba are being scheduled.

McMurchy says the RCMP is also prioritizing new applicants from Manitoba to help fill vacancies.

The police force issued an internal memo recently calling for members across the country to help address a shortage of staff in Manitoba and Saskatchewan by putting in a few weeks of work.

McMurchy says the vacancy rate in Manitoba, including non-front-line members, is about 15 per cent — roughly triple what it was a few years ago.

The union that represents front-line RCMP officers has said officers in rural Manitoba have been getting burned out working to investigate an unprecedented 58 homicides last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2025