Canada Had No National Police Until 1873 — This Is Who Kept Order in the West

Before the famous Mounties became a symbol of Canada, maintaining order in the vast western territories was a complicated challenge. Indigenous communities had their own systems of governance and justice, while colonial authorities, local officials, and the Hudson's Bay Company exercised different forms of authority. In 1873, the Canadian government established the North-West Mounted Police to extend federal authority across the western territories. The Dominion Police already existed, but its limited size and mandate made it unsuitable for policing the vast Northwest. Royal Canadian Mounted Police +1 In this video, we explore how law and order worked before the Mounties, why the North-West Mounted Police was created, and how it eventually evolved into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. #CanadaHistory #Mounties #RCMP #CanadianWest #HistoryDocumentary