St. Albert will explore future policing options after council ordered a business case, with supporters saying the city must be prepared if the province or Ottawa changes the RCMP contract.
The review will outline potential models for policing in St. Albert, including costs, staffing and governance, and will be presented during the 2026 budget deliberations. Coun. Ken MacKay told the Gazette in August that his intention with the motion is to ensure that St. Albert is prepared for any future model of policing. With the RCMP's contract with Canada and St. Albert set to expire in 2032, he said it's important for the city to be prepared and understand what other policing models in the city might look like.
Administration's business case will define scope, resource needs, estimated funding and the source of funding for council's consideration during the upcoming fall budget deliberations. The motion was passed by a vote of 5-2 with councillors Natalie Joly and Mike Killick opposed.
Coun. Sheena Hughes mentioned there was a letter of concern regarding what the motion was suggesting, which MacKay said he responded to, then clarified the intent being the motion.
"This review will actually show that the current model that we have is the most efficient and effective model," MacKay told council members. "It's being prepared, being proactive rather than being reactive in case the province decides to go a couple different directions and then we're forced into a situation far too late to make a real well-informed decision."
He told the Gazette last month the city has no desire to move away from the RCMP to provide its policing services, but thinks that undertaking the review will highlight many different factors in its policing model.
"What are the community needs? What are the safety issues that are important to our residents?," he said. "Not only would it identify what policing model we would follow but also what are the needs of our residents."
A shift away from the RCMP could lead to different policing models in St. Albert, including the Alberta Sheriffs Police Force or a municipal police force similar to the transition Grande Prairie is going through now.
Joly said she was voting against the motion because she felt there were too many unknowns at this point.
"If we are directed by the province to do a particular thing, then it will make any research moot," Joly said. "I'm very confident that the RCMP will give us plenty of notice if they make a decision to exit from municipal policing."
St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron said she doesn't feel that same confidence.
"I'm tired of having our residents policed, with us having very little confidence in the future. And as we get closer and closer to 2032, my confidence gets less and less," she said. "We need to be the masters of our own destiny on this one."
Heron reiterated that the intent is not to replace the RCMP.
"It's to be prepared if we're forced to look at a different model of policing and how do we best meet the [community] needs," Heron said. "I don't want to be pigeonholed into what another order of government is telling us to do. I want us to have this conversation and find the best model for us."
