Dominion Police
The Dominion Police Force was the federal police force of Canada between 1868 and 1920, and was one of the predecessors of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was the first federal police force in Canada, formed the year following the Canadian Confederation to enforce federal laws and perform policing duties for the Federal Government of Canada. On 1 February 1920, the Dominion Police was merged with the North-West Mounted Police to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the new federal police force of Canada.
North-West Mounted Police
In 1869, the Canadian Prime Minister, Sir John Macdonald, made plans to create a 200-strong mounted police force to maintain order along the border; such a force, he thought, would enable the colonisation of the region and be much cheaper than deploying regular military units for the task. The implementation of this proposal was delayed, however, first by the rebellion of the Métis, and then by the threat of a Fenian invasion. Meanwhile, a survey conducted in 1871 by Lieutenant William Butler recommended establishing a mounted force of up to 150 men under a magistrate or commissioner, based along the northern trade routes, leaving the border area as a liminal, ungarrisoned zone. Colonel Patrick Robertson-Ross conducted another survey in 1872, and recommended an alternate strategy of recruiting a larger force of 550 men who would be tasked to push south into the border region itself and establish law and order there.