Our use of the word divisions started with the North-West Mounted Police in 1874. That's when the first 300 members gathered at Lower Fort Garry, Manitoba.
The organization divided the members into 6 troops from A to F. To help tell them apart during the March West, each troop had horses of a different colour:
A Troop: Dark bay
B Troop: Dark brown
C Troop: Light chestnut
D Troop: Grey
E Troop: Black
F Troop: Light bay
As the troops set out across the prairies to set up new posts, they continued to use these letters. These posts later became divisions, with the smaller outposts known as detachments.
We continue to use the terms division and detachment today. For example, Surrey Detachment is located in E Division (British Columbia).
As our organization grew and members moved across the country, our commissioners continued to assign letters to divisions. Some of these letters are no longer in use and some headquarters have since moved. But today, we have 15 divisions, along with National Headquarters.
Map of Canada with letters identifying each respective division.
Marine and Air Divisions, as well as the Security Service, had divisional status but were not assigned letters.
Division
Location
Key dates
Current headquarters
National (formerly A)
Ottawa, Ontario
Established in Fort Edmonton, Alberta, as A Division in 1874
Moved to its current location in the National Capital Region in 1920
Name changed to "National" Division in 2013
Ottawa
HQ
Ottawa, Ontario
Established in Ottawa in 1920
Absorbed by A Division from 1947 to 1953
Reinstated as HQ Division in 1954
Lost division status in 1987, name changed to National Headquarters
Not applicable
B
Newfoundland and Labrador
Established in Fort Macleod, Alberta, in 1874
Not in use from 1895 to 1897 and 1938 to 1946
Assigned to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949, headquarters in St. John's
St. John's
C
Quebec
Established in Fort Macleod, Alberta, in 1874
Not in use from 1924 to 1931
Assigned to Quebec in 1932, headquarters in Montreal
Montreal
D
Manitoba
Established in Fort Dufferin, Manitoba, in 1874
Assigned to Manitoba in 1919, headquarters in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Depot
Regina, Saskatchewan
Did you know?
In the British Army, regiments had "regimental depots," which was the regiment's home base for recruiting and training.
North-West Mounted Police Depot established in Regina in 1885
Served as headquarters for organization until 1920
Changed to RCMP Academy in 1988
Divisional status restored and name changed back to Depot in 1995
Regina
E
British Columbia
Established in Swan River, Manitoba, in 1874
Located in Vancouver in 1919
After RCMP takes over British Columbia provincial policing duties in 1950, E Division assigned to British Columbia, with headquarters in Victoria
Vancouver becomes only headquarters in 1982 after splitting with Victoria since 1977
Headquarters moved to Surrey in 2013
Surrey
F
Saskatchewan
Established in Fort Macleod, Alberta, in 1874
Not in use from 1881 to 1885
Assigned to Saskatchewan in 1932, headquarters in Regina
Regina
G
Northwest Territories
Established in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1885
Assigned to Yukon and Northwest Territories from 1933 to 1974, with headquarters in Ottawa
Assigned solely to Northwest Territories in 1974, headquarters in Yellowknife
Yellowknife
H
Nova Scotia
Established in Fort Macleod, Alberta, in 1885
Not in use from 1895 to 1897, 1904 to 1920 and 1924 to 1931
After RCMP takes over Nova Scotia provincial policing duties in 1932, H Division assigned to Nova Scotia, headquarters in Halifax
Halifax
J
New Brunswick
After RCMP takes over New Brunswick provincial policing duties in 1932, J Division assigned to New Brunswick, headquarters in Fredericton
Fredericton
K
Alberta
Established in Battleford, Saskatchewan, in 1885
After RCMP takes over Alberta provincial policing duties in 1932, K Division assigned to Alberta, headquarters in Edmonton
Edmonton
L
Prince Edward Island
After RCMP takes over Prince Edward Island provincial policing duties in 1932, L Division assigned to Prince Edward Island, headquarters in Charlottetown
Charlottetown
M
Yukon
Established in Fullerton on Hudson's Bay in 1904
Not in use from 1919 to 1923 and 1931 to1974
Assigned to Yukon in 1974, headquarters in Whitehorse
Whitehorse
N
Ottawa, Ontario
Established in Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta, in 1905
Not in use in 1919
Assigned to Ottawa (Rockcliffe) in 1920
Division designation stopped in 1987, now Canadian Police College and Musical Ride headquarters
Not applicable
O
Ontario
Established in Toronto in 1920, headquarters in Toronto
Headquarters moved to London in 1992
London
V
Nunavut
Assigned to Nunavut in 1999, headquarters in Iqaluit
