The Dominion Police Force was the
federal police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
force of
Canada between 1868 and 1920, and was one of the predecessors of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was the first federal police force in Canada, formed the year following the
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...
to enforce federal laws and perform policing duties for the
Federal Government of Canada. On 1 February 1920, the Dominion Police was merged with the
Royal North-West Mounted Police to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the new federal police force of Canada.
History
The Dominion Police was formed as the first
federal police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
force with
jurisdiction over the entirety of Canada, built from the Western Frontier Constabulary which had been in existence since 1864. It was mainly active in
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...
, while the
North-West Mounted Police, founded in 1873, handled the expansive and sparsely populated
North-West Territories of
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada– ...
.
It was created on May 22, 1868, in response to the assassination of
Thomas D'Arcy McGee
Thomas D'Arcy McGee (13 April 18257 April 1868) was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. The young McGee was an Irish Catholic who opposed British rule in Ireland, and was ...
, a prominent
Irish-Canadian
ga, Gael-Cheanadaigh
, image = Irish_Canadian_population_by_province.svg
, image_caption = Irish Canadians as percent of population by province/territory
, population = 4,627,00013.4% of the Canadian population (2016)
, po ...
politician and
MP for
Montreal West
Montreal West (French: Montréal-Ouest) is an on-island suburb in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Island of Montreal.
Montreal West is a small, close-knit community made up primarily of single-family dwellings. The town is largely composed ...
, in
Ottawa on 7 April. McGee was killed by elements of the
Fenian Brotherhood, a powerful
Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...
organization based in the
United States, in the new federal capital less than a year after
Confederation. The Canadian authorities were worried about the power of the Fenian Brotherhood, which had already launched three major
raids into Canada in 1866 before McGee's death, and that existing
law enforcement agencies were not capable of protecting
state security.
Its primary functions were:
* protection of buildings of the
Federal Government of Canada, including the Parliament Buildings on
Parliament Hill, the naval yards at
Halifax and
Esquimalt
The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esqui ...
,
* providing bodyguards for government leaders,
* carrying out
secret service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. Fo ...
work arising from the activities of the Fenian raids,
* enforcing certain federal laws such as those relating to
counterfeiting
To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
and
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
, and
* keeping the peace for specified railways and canals that were under construction when the ''Public Works Peace Preservation Act, 1869'' was brought into force.
They gradually also acquired responsibilities for compiling
fingerprint and
criminal record
A criminal record, police record, or colloquially RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) is a record of a person's criminal history. The information included in a criminal record and the existence of a criminal record varies between coun ...
s, and administering a
parole service.
In
Ontario, commissioners of the Dominion Police were vested with the same powers as
police magistrates and
justices of the peace in the province, and
constables
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
had the same status as those appointed under provincial law. The Dominion Police informally handled some provincial-level policing duties in rural Ontario until the creation of the
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...
in 1909.
In May 1918, the Dominion Police were reassigned to the
Department of Militia and Defence
The Department of Militia and Defence was the department responsible for military land forces in Canada from 1906 to 1921.
The Minister of Militia and Defence was in charge of this department.
The department was created in 1906 when the Brit ...
and became a civilian wing of the
Canadian Military Police Corps (CMPC).
In the early 1900s, the Royal North-West Mounted Police had declined as the North-West Territories was divided into new provinces and territories, and due to the general unpopularity of the force for conduct during
industrial dispute
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the In ...
s such as the
Winnipeg General Strike. On 1 February 1920, the civilian members of the CMPC, including the Dominion Police, were merged with the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the CMPC was disbanded on 1 December 1920.
[
]
Structure
The Dominion Police consisted of Commissioners and constables appointed for that purpose, and its authority extended over the provinces and all parts of the territories not patrolled by the RNWMP. The organization was decentralized, with many Commissioners being appointed with either provincial or national responsibility, and it had two national co-commissioners until 1876. The national Commissioner also acted as the Commissioner of the Montreal Water Police, which reported separately to the Minister of the Marine and Fisheries. Although formed under different statutory authority, its constables were appointed as police officers under the 1868 Act.
The commissioners that had responsibility for all of Canada were:
:* Gilbert McMicken (1869-1871)
:* Hewitt Bernard
Hewitt Bernard, (1825 – 24 February 1893) was a Canadian lawyer, militia officer, editor, and civil servant.
Life and career
Bernard was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica. He was educated in Bath, England, and practiced law education in Jam ...
(1871-1876)
:* Charles-Joseph Coursol (1869-1876)
:* Zebulon Aiton Lash
Zebulon Aiton Lash (September 29, 1846 – January 24, 1920) was a Canadian lawyer, civil servant, and businessman.
Born in St. John's, Newfoundland son of William Lash and Margaret Fannon, Lash was called to the Ontario bar in 1868. He pract ...
(1876-1880)
:* Augustus Keefer (1880-1885)
:* Sir Percy Sherwood (1885-1919)
:* Colonel Gilbert Godson-Godson (1919-1920)
From 1913, while Sherwood was the commissioner responsible for all of Canada, the title for this senior commissioner role was adjusted to Chief Commissioner, to whom all regional or departmental commissioners reported.
Ranks
The ranks of the Dominion Police were as follows:
*Chief Commissioner ("chief" designation added 1913)
*Commissioner
*Inspector
*Sub-inspector
*Sergeant
*Constable
Further reading
*
*
*
*
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
* , Federation of American Scientists
Dominion Police, 1868–1919
Library and Archives Canada
{{authority control
1868 establishments in Canada
1920 disestablishments in Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Former Canadian federal departments and agencies
Legal history of Canada
Defunct law enforcement agencies of Canada
Ministries established in 1868
Uniformed services of Canada
Fenian Raids