Media Statement: Grande Prairie Policing Transition Costs Climb Again: All Albertans Footing the Bill for a Politically Driven Agenda

/EIN News/ -- EDMONTON, Alberta, May 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following is a statement from Brian Sauvé, President and CEO of the National Police Federation, in response to Government of Alberta’s announcement of an additional $7 million contribution toward Grande Prairie’s municipal police transition:

"The Province’s announcement of an additional $7 million in provincial taxpayer funding to support the creation of a local police service in Grande Prairie brings the total provincial contributions to nearly $17 million. This almost fully covers the City’s estimated $19 million transition costs. These funds come not from the City’s budget, but from the pockets of Alberta taxpayers.

This decision underscores the provincial government’s ongoing and politically driven push to dismantle RCMP policing in Alberta at any cost, despite earlier failed attempts to convince the public. When that failed, they turned to incentivizing individual municipalities to make the switch, using provincial money to do it.

This preferential and political approach is in sharp contrast to how the Province has treated hundreds of other communities under the Police Funding Model. In 2020, the Province started requiring rural municipalities and small towns to pay more of their frontline policing costs, now up to 30%, and slated to rise to 39% in 2025. That increase has been temporarily paused for one year while the Province renegotiates the funding model, but these communities still face rising costs with no guarantees of improved policing, no local input, and no clear accounting for where their dollars go.

Many community leaders have rightly asked where this money is being spent, as little to no reinvestment has occurred in their communities. Instead, Police Funding Model-collected funds appear to be diverted into provincial political pet projects: feasibility studies, municipal transitions, and the expansion of the Alberta Sheriffs. All this at a time when the Province of Alberta is already facing a multi-billion-dollar deficit. With the emergence of another new policing initiative with no consultation — the Independent Alberta Police Service — Albertans are left asking: “Is Police Funding Model money also being used to fund this?”

There has been no transparency, no consultation, and no evidence that these decisions are in the best interest of public safety or fiscal responsibility. Instead of dividing and duplicating police services, the Government of Alberta should be focused on investing equitably in proven frontline capacity, including in the Alberta RCMP which continues to serve all Albertans with professionalism, dedication, and deep community roots.

Albertans deserve a policing system based on evidence, fairness, and accountability, not backroom deals and political motives.”

About the National Police Federation:

The National Police Federation (NPF) represents ~20,000 RCMP Members serving across Canada and internationally. It is the largest police union in Canada. We are focused on improving public safety in Canada for our Members and all Canadians by advocating for investment in policing and other related supports and services. This includes calling for required resourcing, equipment, and supports to enhance community safety and livability in the communities we serve, large and small, across Canada.

For more information: https://npf-fpn.com/ and KeepAlbertaRCMP.ca

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Media Contact:

Sarah Kavanagh
Advisor, Media Relations
Media@npf-fpn.com
604-842-6864