Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was formed in 1920 by the merger of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP), founded in 1873, with the Dominion Police founded in 1868. The former was originally named the North West Mounted Police (NWMP), and was given the "Royal" prefix by King Edward VII in 1904. Much of the present-day organization's symbolism has been inherited from its days as the NWMP and RNWMP, including the distinctive Red Serge uniform, paramilitary heritage, and mythos as a frontier force. The RCMP-GRC wording is protected under the Trade-marks Act.
Despite its name, the RCMP is no longer an actual mounted police force, with horses only being used at ceremonial events. The predecessor NWMP and RNWMP had relied on horses for transport for most of their history, though the RNWMP was switching to automobiles at the time of the merger.
Law enforcement by country
In Canada, all criminal law (including the Criminal Code) falls under federal jurisdiction, but policing is a provincial responsibility. However, there is a national police force known by either its official English name Royal Canadian Mounted Police|RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) or its equally official French name GRC (Gendarmerie Royale du Canada). The RCMP/GRC is tasked with enforcing certain federal laws throughout the country, as well as anti-terrorism duties. They also perform domestic counter-espionage with the assistance of CSIS. Additionally, eight of the ten provinces choose to employ the RCMP/GRC under contract as their provincial police force rather than establishing their own police services; the exceptions are Ontario (Ontario Provincial Police) and Québec (Sûreté du Québec). Newfoundland has retained the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for limited use, but still uses the RCMP/GRC for the majority of its provincial policing. In most provinces individual towns and cities are allowed, or required, by law to set up their own local police forces to provide policing inside their communities. Those municipalities (approx. 300 in total) which do not have their own police forces will contract instead either the RCMP/GRC (with the federal government absorbing some of the cost) or their provincial force to police the community.