Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the professional head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The commissioner exercises control and management of the RCMP under the direction of the minister of public safety. The position is a Governor in Council appointment made on the advice of the prime minister of Canada.
In addition to his or her role in the management of the RCMP, the commissioner serves as Principal Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces. Under the Firearms Act, the RCMP commissioner also serves as the commissioner of firearms, the chief executive of the Canadian Firearms Program.
Michael Duheme is the 25th commissioner of the RCMP, having taken office in an interim capacity on March 17, 2023, and permanently as of the Change Command ceremony held on May 25, 2023.
Queen Elizabeth II was commissioner-in-chief from 2012 to 2022, and King Charles III was honorary commissioner of the RCMP from 2012 until 2023. In recognition of the RCMP's 150th anniversary and the upcoming coronation, on April 28, 2023, King Charles III consented to assume the title of the RCMP Commissioner-in-Chief. However, neither appointment exercises a substantive role in the operation of the organization.
List of commissioners
There have been 25 commissioners, including one acting commissioners and one interim commissioner, and excluding one unofficial acting commissioner since the founding of the North-West Mounted Police in 1873:| Agency | No. | Image | Name | Term start | Term end | Notes |
| North-West Mounted Police designated "Royal" in 1904 | 1 | W. Osborne Smith | September 25, 1873 | October 17, 1873 | Acting commissioner of the NWMP | |
| North-West Mounted Police designated "Royal" in 1904 | 2 | George Arthur French | October 18, 1873 | July 21, 1876 | ||
| North-West Mounted Police designated "Royal" in 1904 | 3 | James Farquharson MacLeod | July 22, 1876 | October 31, 1880 | ||
| North-West Mounted Police designated "Royal" in 1904 | 4 | Acheson Gosford Irvine | November 1, 1880 | March 31, 1886 | First Canadian born man to hold the post | |
| North-West Mounted Police designated "Royal" in 1904 | 5 | Lawrence William Herchmer | April 1, 1886 | July 31, 1900 | Was a civilian at the time of his appointment although with an army background. | |
| North-West Mounted Police designated "Royal" in 1904 | 6 | Aylesworth Bowen Perry | August 1, 1900 | March 31, 1923 | Perry was the commissioner of the NWMP when King Edward VII awarded the force the title "Royal" in 1904, and was still commissioner when the RNWMP merged with the Dominion Police in 1920 to form the RCMP, with Perry appointed the first commissioner of the RCMP. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 6 | Aylesworth Bowen Perry | August 1, 1900 | March 31, 1923 | Perry was the commissioner of the NWMP when King Edward VII awarded the force the title "Royal" in 1904, and was still commissioner when the RNWMP merged with the Dominion Police in 1920 to form the RCMP, with Perry appointed the first commissioner of the RCMP. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 7 | Cortlandt Starnes | April 1, 1923 | July 31, 1931 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 8 | Sir James Howden MacBrien | August 1, 1931 | March 5, 1938 | Only Commissioner to die in office of a heart attack. One of only two Mounties to be knighted for his WWI service with the British Army. Had some NWMP training prior to WWI but was called up as a reservist just after training in 1914. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 9 | Stuart Taylor Wood | March 6, 1938 | April 30, 1951 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 10 | Leonard Hanson Nicholson | May 1, 1951 | March 31, 1959 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 11 | Charles Edward Rivett-Carnac | April 1, 1959 | March 31, 1960 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 12 | Clifford Walter Harvison | April 1, 1960 | October 31, 1963 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 13 | George Brinton McClellan | November 1, 1963 | August 14, 1967 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 14 | Malcolm Francis Aylesworth Lindsay | August 15, 1967 | September 30, 1969 | RCMP Patrol Vessel Lindsay was named in his honour. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 15 | William Leonard Higgitt | October 1, 1969 | December 28, 1973 | RCMP Patrol Vessel Higgitt was named in his honour. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 16 | Maurice Jean Nadon | January 1, 1974 | August 31, 1977 | RCMP Patrol Vessel Nadon was named in his honour. The present-day RCMP National Headquarters building in Ottawa was named in his honour on October 5, 2011. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 17 | Robert Henry Simmonds | September 1, 1977 | August 31, 1987 | RCMP Patrol Vessel Simmonds was named in his honour. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 18 | Norman Inkster | September 1, 1987 | June 24, 1994 | RCMP Patrol Vessel Inkster was named in his honour. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 19 | Joseph Philip Robert Murray | June 25, 1994 | September 1, 2000 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 20 | Giuliano Zaccardelli | September 2, 2000 | December 15, 2006 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 21 | Beverley Busson | December 15, 2006 | July 16, 2007 | Interim commissioner; Busson was the RCMP's first female commissioner. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 22 | William J. S. Elliott | July 16, 2007 | November 20, 2011 | First civilian commissioner. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 23 | Bob Paulson | November 21, 2011 | June 30, 2017 | ||
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | — | Dan Dubeau | June 30, 2017 | April 16, 2018 | Acting commissioner; Dubeau served in the role at the rank of deputy commissioner. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 24 | Brenda Lucki | April 16, 2018 | March 17, 2023 | Lucki was the RCMP's first permanent female commissioner. | |
| Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 25 | Michael Duheme | March 17, 2023 | Incumbent |