Police
In Canada, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary was founded in 1729, making it the first police force in present-day Canada. It was followed in 1834 by the Toronto Police, and in 1838 by police forces in Montreal and Quebec City. A national force, the Dominion Police, was founded in 1868. Initially the Dominion Police provided security for parliament, but its responsibilities quickly grew. The famous Royal Northwest Mounted Police was founded in 1873.
The merger of these two police forces in 1920 formed the world-famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
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.