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For too long, we’ve been under the thumb of a police force that doesn’t answer to us. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police—the so-called “guardians of law and order”—are not protecting us. They’re not protecting our families, our freedoms, or our values. The RCMP answers to Ottawa, not to the people of Alberta. And that’s the problem. It’s time we take control of our own safety, our own justice, and create a provincial police force that answers to us. A police force that understands Alberta, not one that’s controlled by bureaucrats in the east. A force that works for us, not against us.

The truth is, the RCMP is a failed institution, and Albertans deserve better! We deserve better than a police force with a record of incompetence, corruption, and abuse of power. I’m not just talking about one or two mistakes here and there. I’m talking about a pattern—a pattern of scandals and betrayal of the people they were supposed to serve.

Let’s talk about Wiebo Ludwig. Many of you remember him—the man who stood up to the oil and gas companies in northern Alberta. Whether you agree with everything he did or not, he fought to protect his family and his land. What did the RCMP do? They framed him! That’s right, the RCMP planted evidence to take him down. In 1999, the Mounties were so desperate to pin the pipeline bombings on Ludwig that they sent an undercover agent into his home to plant explosives and make it look like he was the guilty one. They tried to entrap him! Think about that: the RCMP, the national police, used their resources to set up an Albertan who was simply standing up for his rights and his community. 

They were more interested in protecting corporate interests and their image than in delivering justice! This sort of behavior can’t help but come to mind when one considers the recent events surrounding the Coutts four, which turned into a conspiracy of two, which turned into not a conspiracy at all it turns out, but they still sit in jail today! Is that who we want protecting our families? A corrupt force that bends the rules and operates in secret to destroy lives? If they could do it to Wiebo Ludwig, they can do it to anyone!

And Ludwig’s case isn’t the only one. Look at some more recent RCMP’s history:The High River gun grab in 2013, where Mounties took it upon themselves to confiscate firearms from private homes in Alberta during a flood. These weren’t criminals they were disarming; these were law-abiding citizens whose homes were being raided by a police force that had no respect for their rights.

The RCMP is a broken force that serves Ottawa’s interests, not Alberta’s and We deserve better! It’s time for Alberta to create its own provincial police force, like Quebec and Ontario have done. We don’t need to rely on a distant federal force that doesn’t understand our communities, our culture, or our needs. A provincial police force would be accountable to Alberta—not to the federal government. It would be run by Albertans, for Albertans.

Imagine this: A police force that answers to our provincial government, not some commissioner in Ottawa, a force that’s trained and focused on the unique needs of Alberta’s rural and urban communities, and a force that respects our property rights, our freedoms, and our values.We can create a police force that reflects the best of Alberta, not the worst of federal politics. We can have officers who understand our energy sector, who respect our land, who believe in the rule of law without government overreach. We can build a force that protects our freedoms instead of trampling on them! Think about the jobs it would create for Albertans, the money it would keep in our own province, and the independence it would give us from federal overreach.

Albertans are a proud and independent people. We deserve a police force that reflects that—one that we can trust, one that’s accountable, and one that’s not bogged down by the corrupt politics and failures of the RCMP. We’ve had enough. It’s time to take our safety, our justice, and our future into our own hands. It’s time for a police force that respects Alberta’s values and protects Alberta’s people. Let’s demand a provincial police force—let’s demand a better Alberta!