The RCMP Heritage Centre, the official museum of Canada's elite federal police force, is offering exclusive behind-the-scenes walking tours on Wednesday, August 9 and Thursday, August 10, giving participants a peek at what really goes on at Depot Division, where every RCMP officer is initially trained.
Interested parties must register by August 7. The one-hour tour, offered for two days only and provided by the RCMP Depot Division, is a free bonus with the purchase of a regular $10 gallery admission. It will replace the regular 11 a.m. Heritage Centre tour on both days.
Tickets are available to purchase online at rcmphc.com/en/behind-the-scenes. There are a maximum of 20 spots per tour, and tours for both the 9th and 10th will start at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Academy is an active and secure training site, which means there are a few important things to know before guests can embark on this unique tour opportunity:
- The Academy is controlled-access: No photography or recording of any kind will be permitted on the tour
- Guests must pre-register and should be on site 1 hour before the start of the tour
- Guests must sign in, provide their full name and address, and leave an official form of photo identification with the Heritage Centre staff for the duration of the tour
- Wheelchair access on the tour is relatively limited
Subject matter experts from Depot Division will be on hand for the tours to offer insider information on Depot goings-on. Tour participants will also be visiting locations that have never previously been opened to the public.
The RCMP Academy was established in 1885. It remains the exclusive training facility for all RCMP cadets. The Centennial Museum, a precursor to the Heritage Centre, opened in 1933. In 2006, the Centennial Museum closed permanently, and the Heritage Centre opened in 2007.
The RCMP Heritage Centre is currently trying to become a National Museum of Canada. Part of that journey has been reckoning with the force's past as enforcers of the Indian Residential School system, its relationship with 2SLGBTQ+ communities and immigration, and its involvement hunting Canadian citizens with non-mainstream political beliefs during the Cold War.
The recent Mass Casualty Commission report, a result of the 2020 mass shootings in Nova Scotia, heavily criticized the RCMP culture and training processes and recommended that Depot Division be closed by 2032 in favour of more progressive, research-driven training. The report highlighted the embedded cultural issues the force must come to terms with if it wishes to regain the trust of historically marginalized Canadians, and Canadians as a whole.
RCMP Heritage Centre leadership have said that acknowledging the harms of the past, while moving forward in a spirit of Truth and Reconciliation, is their top priority as they work for National Museum status. This new spirit of openness may be why the August 9 and 10 walking tours will give members of the public unprecedented access to Depot and the chance to understand the RCMP Academy's inner workings from those who know it best.
