The RCMP Security Service () was a branch of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

(RCMP) that had responsibility for

domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

and

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was replaced by the

Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; , ''SCRS'') is a Intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service and security agency of the Government of Canada, federal government of Canada. It is responsible for gathering, processing, a ...

(CSIS) in 1984 on the recommendation of the McDonald Commission, which was called in the wake of major scandals during the 1970s.

History

The RCMP carried out extensive security service work since the force was reconstituted in 1920, when it merged with the Dominion Police and became the federal police agency solely responsible for national security. Between the wars, this work was overwhelmingly directed at the Communist Party, as well as

labour union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s and

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

s more generally. It was in 1946 that the RCMP's Intelligence Section was in charge of national security work. In 1950, the RCMP's

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

was formally established to conduct its

counterintelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's Intelligence agency, intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering informati ...

operations. Prior to that, the branch was a component of the RCMP's Criminal Investigation Branch, where political security operations and criminal investigations were not distinct before 1936. The first Special Branch class was held in 1953. In 1962, the branch was renamed the Directorate of Security and Intelligence, and in 1970, it became the RCMP Security Service. During the 1960s, it targeted

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

nationalists, particularly the militant Front de libération du Québec (FLQ). As a result of illegal tactics, including illegal surveillance and

vigilantism Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

, used by the RCMP Security Service and the consequent scandals surrounding the RCMP, intelligence work was transferred to a new agency, CSIS in 1984 through the implementation of Bill C-9.

Legacy

The RCMP has again become involved in intelligence work, particularly related to

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

, following the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985 and the 9/11 attacks under the Security Offences Act.

References

{{Canadian Intelligence Agencies Defunct Canadian intelligence agencies Defunct divisions and units of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police