Dominion Police
The Dominion Police, although the federal police of Canada, was mainly active in the Eastern Canada region, while the Royal Northwest Mounted Police handled the expansive and sparsely populated Northwest Territories of Western Canada. In May 1918, the 969-member Dominion Police was reassigned under the Department of Militia and Defence and became a civilian wing of the Canadian Military Police Corps (CMPC). In the early 1900s, the Royal Northwest Mounted Police had declined as the Northwest Territories was divided into new provinces and territories, and due to the general unpopularity of the force for conduct during industrial disputes such as the Winnipeg General Strike. On 1 February 1920, the civilian members of the CMPC, including the Dominion Police, were merged with the Royal Northwest Mounted Police to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the new federal police force of Canada, and the CMPC was disbanded on 1 December 1920.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The hat is most commonly worn as part of a uniform, by such agencies as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the New Zealand Army, United States Park Rangers, and ￼￼Scouts.￼￼ The RCMP did not adopt it until about 1904. The original primary summer headdress was the white British foreign service helmet, also known as a pith helmet. This was an impractical choice for the Canadian west, and RCMP members wore a Stetson type hat on patrol and around camp. Sam Steele is often credited with introducing the Stetson-type hat, and when he left the force to command Lord Strathcona's Horse in South Africa, his unit adopted the Stetson. During winter, members wore a Canadian military fur wedge cap or busby. In British Columbia, the hat features a black bearskin rim belt.