Join the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police): 26 paid weeks at Depot in Regina, then a posting anywhere in Canada.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$104,000
First-year constable
$67,000
Senior constable or corporal
$133,000
Job Bank's national median for RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) officers is $50 an hour, about $104,000 a year full time. The force's own grid: constables start at $71,191 and reach $115,350 after 36 months (April 2024 rates). Corporals, sergeants, overtime and northern allowances take you past $133,000.
$1,000 a week
Cadet allowance for the 26-week program at Depot, about $26,000 in total
Room, meals, uniforms and travel are covered too, so cadets leave Depot with money saved. First-year constables then earn $71,191 (as of April 2024).
$115,350
Reached after 36 months of service
That is faster than most city police grids. Promotion to corporal and sergeant, plus overtime and isolated-post allowances in the North, push total pay well past $130,000.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The only thing you must pay for is a standard first aid certificate with Level C CPR before you report to Depot, which runs about $150. Depot training is free and you are paid a salary while you are there, and there is no fee for the fitness test or medical. The high end adds an optional two year college police studies diploma at $4,000 to $6,000 a year, which does not shorten the process or guarantee acceptance. No degree is required to join the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police); the cost is a year long application and a willingness to be posted anywhere in the country.
No degree, no tuition. The cost is the year-long application and the willingness to move.
Pension
Full pension after 25 years of service; maximum at 35.
Vacation
15 days a year to start, rising to 30 with long service.
Health coverage
Supplemental health care at no cost to officers; family plans available.
Relocation and isolated-post allowances
Moves are paid; northern postings add money and extra leave.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
No degree. A long selection process, then 26 weeks at Depot.
High school diploma
Grade 12
A Canadian secondary school diploma or equivalent.
Meet the basics
Before applying
Canadian citizen or permanent resident with 3 of the last 5 years in Canada; 18 to apply, 19 to be hired; unrestricted driver's licence; proficient in English or French; no serious criminal record; willing to move anywhere and work shifts.
Selection
6 to 18 months
Online application, entrance assessment, fitness test (PARE, the Physical Abilities Requirement Evaluation) and attribute interview, forms, suitability interview, psychological and medical assessments, then a field investigation and security clearance.
Depot
26 weeks
26 weeks living on base in Regina, Saskatchewan: law, driving, firearms, defensive tactics, scenarios and fitness. Paid $1,000 a week.
Field coaching
6 months
Posted to a detachment and paired with a field coach for the first months.
Any post-secondary education
Not required, but common among successful applicants.
Fitness
Depot is not designed to get you fit. Arrive fit.
French
Bilingual officers are needed and get more choice of postings.
Volunteer and life experience
Maturity is assessed in the interviews.
The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) is Canada's federal police and also the contract provincial and local police in every province except Ontario and Quebec, and in all three territories. Officers are sworn under federal law, so one badge works everywhere. Your first posting is decided by the force, not you, and can be a village in northern Saskatchewan or a city in BC. Transfers between provinces are part of the career.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Federal policing
Organized crime, national security, cybercrime, border integrity.
Emergency Response Team
The tactical unit. Highly selective.
Major crimes and forensic identification
Musical Ride
The ceremonial horse unit; a temporary posting for regular officers.
A second or third language
Military experience
Comfort with small towns
Most first postings are rural.
The force also hires civilian members and public servants for intelligence, forensics and technology, and runs a separate federal policing recruiting stream aimed at people with degrees in areas like accounting, computer science and languages.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
In a rural detachment: 12-hour shifts, often with two or three officers covering a huge area. Calls range from collisions and domestic disputes to break-ins and mental health crises, with long drives between them and backup an hour away. City detachments in BC and Alberta look more like municipal policing. Court days, reports and paperwork fill the rest.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Depot Division has trained recruits in Regina, Saskatchewan since 1885. Cadets live on base for 26 weeks, train in troops of about 32, and graduate with the same parade traditions as generations before them.
Ontario and Quebec have their own provincial forces. Everywhere else, the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) polices under contracts with the provinces and territories, which is why a Mountie can be your small-town cop.
The scarlet tunic and Stetson are worn for ceremonies and the Musical Ride. On the job, officers wear a grey shirt and dark pants, and drive the same cars as any police service.
For most of its history the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) had no union. The National Police Federation was certified in 2019, and its first contract raised constable pay sharply.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.