Police resources in Canada, 2023
Released: 2024-03-26
On May 15, 2023, there were 71,472 police officers across all Canadian police services, 892 more than on the same date in 2022. Despite this increase in police strength in 2023, the rate of police strength in Canada continued the downward trend that started more than 10 years earlier. This was largely attributable to the increase of the Canadian population in 2023, when the growth of the population outpaced that of the number of police officers. The rate of police strength measures the number of police officers per 100,000 population, taking into account the overall Canadian population. The rate of police strength was 178 officers per 100,000 population, down almost 2% from 2022 and the lowest rate since 1970. In 2023, five provinces and territories presented a rate of police strength higher than the national level: Quebec, Saskatchewan and the three territories (Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut).
Chart 1
Rate of police officers and civilian personnel per 100,000 population, Canada, 1962 to 2023
Fewer than 1 in 10 police officers are part of a racialized group
Diversity and inclusion are central to discussions about police culture, given the importance of representing the diversity of the Canadian population within police personnel. To that end, efforts are being made through various hiring policies. According to data from the 2021 Census of Population, 26.5% of Canada's population was part of a racialized group. By comparison, 8% of all police officers and 13% of all recruits in Canada in 2023 identified as part of a racialized group, unchanged from 2022. In the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 2023, 13% of police officers were part of a racialized group. The proportion was 7% in municipal police services, 2% within the Ontario Provincial Police and 1% within the Sûreté du Québec.
The representation of Indigenous people in police services is similar to that observed in the 2021 Census of Population
In the 2021 Census, 5% of the Canadian population identified as Indigenous, that is, First Nations, Métis or Inuit. On May 15, 2023, 4% (or 2,701) of all police officers in Canada identified as Indigenous, as well as 5% (or 87) of all recruits. In First Nations police services, over half (57%) of police officers identified as Indigenous. Indigenous officers accounted for 7% of RCMP officers, 2% of officers within municipal police services and within the Sûreté du Québec and 1% of officers within the Ontario Provincial Police.
The number of women officers grows in all ranks
While the number of women in Canadian police services continues to rise, this growth has happened over a long period. Their presence in policing has increased steadily since 1986, when data on women in policing were first collected. That year, women accounted for just under 4% of all police officers, while in 2023, women represented 23% of all police officers. On May 15, 2023, there were 16,429 women police officers in Canada, 411 more than on the same date in 2022.
Across different officer ranks, women police officers mostly held constable positions, making up about one-quarter (24%) of all constables in Canada in 2023. Although women represent a slightly smaller proportion of commissioned and non-commissioned officers, their presence in these roles continues to increase. From 2022 to 2023, the number of women commissioned officers rose from 605 to 622 and the number of women non-commissioned officers rose from 3,928 to 4,000.
Chart 2
Women officers as a percentage of total police officers, by rank, Canada, 1993 to 2023
The numbers of civilian employees and special constables in police services are increasing
In addition to sworn officers, police services employed 34,193 full-time equivalents and recruits as of May 15, 2023, an increase of 1,447 compared with the same date in 2022. Among the number of full-time equivalents and recruits in 2023, almost 9 in 10 (88%) were civilian employees, 7% were special constables and 5% were recruits.
Police services are increasingly composed of civilian employees, such as clerks, communications staff, managers and other professionals in roles focusing on administrative support, operational communications, information technology services, reception services, and vehicle and facility services. Aside from sworn officers, in 2023, civilians accounted for most of the overall growth of all employees, increasing 1,316 from the previous year. This growth occurred alongside an increase of 185 special constables. By contrast, there were 55 fewer recruits than in 2022. In 2023, women represented 69% of civilian personnel within police services, 35% of special constables and 22% of recruits.
Calls for service decrease in 2022/2023
The number of calls for service to police services decreased by 2% in 2022/2023 compared with 2021/2022. Police services responded to approximately 11.6 million calls in 2022/2023, or an average of 1,320 calls for service per hour. Of all police-reported calls for service, municipal police services handled 6 in 10 (60%) and the RCMP responded to 25%, followed by provincial police services (14%) and First Nations police services (1%).
Police operating expenditures rise 6%, in current dollars, in 2022/2023
In 2022/2023, the total operating expenditures for all police services in Canada were $19.7 billion in current dollars—an increase of 6% compared with 2021/2022. These expenditures were composed of salaries and wages (61%), benefits (22%) and other operating expenditures (17%).
Although total operating expenditures, in current dollars, increased in 2022/2023, in constant dollars (i.e., after inflation was accounted for), total operating expenditures decreased 0.5% from the previous collection period. On a per capita basis for Canada, in constant dollars, police operating expenditures amounted to $335 per person in 2022/2023, a decrease of 2% compared with the previous period.
Chart 3
Police expenditures per capita, current dollars and constant dollars, Canada, 1991/1992 to 2022/2023
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Note to readers
Policing in Canada is administered on three levels: municipal, provincial and federal. At the municipal level, there are stand-alone police services and self-administered First Nations police services. Self-administered First Nations police services are created under agreements between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, along with the communities looking to administer their own police service. At the provincial level, there are three provincial police services: Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Quebec. At the federal level, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) provides provincial, municipal, rural and First Nations policing (where self-administered police services have not been established). The RCMP is also responsible for all federal policing matters, such as serious crimes, and organized crime and financial crime, as well as specialized policing services, such as the Canadian Firearms Program and the National Child Exploitation Crime Centre.
Many factors can account for differences in the number of police officers per 100,000 population when analyzed by jurisdiction and police service. These could include differences in police services' priorities, policies, law enforcement procedures and practices, as well as the availability of resources. In Canada, data on police personnel and expenditures are collected by Statistics Canada through the Police Administration Survey. Using data reported by each police service in Canada, it is possible to provide details on police personnel at the national, provincial, territorial and municipal levels.
The data in this release cover two distinct periods. Most of the information on police personnel is based on a "snapshot date" of May 15, 2023, while expenditures represent the calendar year ending December 31, 2022 (or the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023).
Data collection for the 2020 cycle of the Police Administration Survey was cancelled.
In this release, rates with a percentage change that rounds to 0% are considered stable, and percentages may not sum to 100% because of rounding.
In 2018 and earlier, data on police personnel were collected by sex; after 2018, data have been collected by gender.
Special constables are appointed civilians who have been conferred the powers of a police officer, to the extent and for the specific purpose set out in the appointment.
Racialized groups are defined according to the definition of "visible minorities" in the Employment Equity Act. "Visible minority" refers to whether a person belongs to one of the visible minority groups defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.
Data on Indigenous identity and racialized group are collected from police services through self-identification by personnel. Racialized group was "unknown" for 22% of police officers and 40% of recruits and was "not collected by the police service" for 21% of police officers and 27% of recruits. Indigenous identity was "unknown" for 21% of police officers and 43% of recruits and was "not collected by the police service" for 23% of police officers and 29% of recruits. It is not possible to further disaggregate the data.
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The infographic "Police personnel and expenditures in Canada, 2023," is now available (11-627-X).
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