Police personnel and expenditures in Canada, 2023

Release date: March 26, 2024
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Infographic: Police personnel and expenditures in Canada, 2023
Description: Police personnel and expenditures in Canada, 2023

As of May 15, 2023, there were 71,472 police officers in Canada, 892 more  than in 2022. This represents a rate of police strength of 178 officers per 100,000 population, a decrease of almost 2% from 2022.Note 1


Number of police officers by province and territory, 2023
Table summary
This table displays the results of Number of police officers by province and territory. The information is grouped by Province/Territory (appearing as row headers), Number of police officers, Rate of police officers per 100,000 population and Percentage change in rate from 2022 (appearing as column headers).
Province/Territory Number of police officers Rate of police officers per 100,000 population Percentage change in rate from 2022
Newfoundland and Labrador 868 161 -2.5
Prince Edward Island 231 133 -1.7
Nova Scotia 1,812 171 -6.4
New Brunswick 1,297 155 -1.8
Quebec 16,750 189 +0.4
Ontario 26,704 171 -1.1
Manitoba 2,567 176 -3.4
Saskatchewan 2,428 201 -0.5
Alberta 7,977 170 -4.3
British Columbia 9,268 168 -3.2
Yukon 146 325 +1.8
Northwest Territories 195 434 -0.6
Nunavut 140 344 -7.7

Police personnel

  • Police officers = 68%
  • Civilians = 28%
  • Special constables = 2%
  • Recruits = 2%

Women in policing

  • Gender representation of police officers: Men 77%; Women 23%
  • In 2023, there were 411 more women police officers than in 2022.
  • Women accounted for 69% of civilian employees, 35% of special constables and 22% of recruits.

Indigenous and racialized police officersNote 2

  • 8% of police officers were racialized.
  • 4% of police officers were Indigenous.

Calls for service
Across Canada, police services received 11.6 million calls for service.

Police operating expenditures
In 2022/2023, operating expenditures for policing totalled $19.7 billion, up 6% from 2021/2022.

Note: Data on overall police personnel, women in policing, and Indigenous and racialized personnel are based on a “snapshot date” of May 15, 2023. The other data in this infographic represent the calendar year ending December 31, 2022 (or March 31, 2023, as some police services operate on a fiscal year basis). Percentages may not add up because of rounding.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Police Administration Survey, 2023.

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Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2024

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 11-627-M

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