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.
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.