The Government of Yukon is committed to building safer communities by strengthening RCMP capacity and ensuring RCMP officers have the resources they need to respond effectively across the territory. In Budget 2025–26, the Yukon government is increasing RCMP funding by $5.2 million – subject to legislative approval – bringing the total investment in the RCMP for the upcoming fiscal year to $47 million.
Through Budget 2025–26, the Department of Justice is seeking approval from the Yukon Legislative Assembly to invest strategically in ways that enable relationship building with partners to foster safer communities, to support culturally relevant services and to encourage innovation.
If approved, new funding in 2025-26 will be used to build police capacity, support RCMP members, modernize equipment and upgrade detachments.
- Building police capacity – $1.82 million will fund the creation of nine new positions – eight RCMP officers and one public service worker – which will improve policing capacity across the territory. This includes:
o New officers for specialized teams, including the Emergency Response Team, strengthening responses to high-risk incidents.
o Permanent funding for two officer positions with Car 867, ensuring a continued mental health-focused response to people in crisis, following the success of the two-year pilot program.
o The Yukon has the third highest police per capita ratio in Canada, with a police strength of 325 officers per 100,000 population. - An additional $354,000 has been allocated to continue to fund two RCMP resources for the Whitehorse Detachment to support community safety initiatives in the Downtown core.
- Supporting RCMP members – $1.51 million is allocated for RCMP pay raises per the second round of RCMP collective bargaining, with an additional $483,000 earmarked for the third round of collective bargaining. The Government of Yukon recognizes the importance of the collective bargaining process and ensuring that the hardworking members of the RCMP receive pay that reflects the increasing demands of their jobs.
- Modernizing equipment for safer policing and public accountability – $1.39 million is allocated to invest in critical tools such as body armor, boat replacements, and the introduction of new body-worn cameras to improve officer and public safety, while enhancing accountability.
- Improving RCMP infrastructure – In addition to the operations and maintenance budget, $3.15 million in capital funding is dedicated to upgrading and maintaining detachments across the territory. Planned projects include renovations to the Old Crow detachment, and the assessment of the Haines Junction detachment for potential future upgrades.
The Government of Yukon will continue to prioritize investments in public safety to protect Yukoners and the economy.
Our government is prioritizing public safety by ensuring the RCMP has the resources to do its job effectively. Investing in the RCMP is essential to strengthening public safety, supporting officers and ensuring they have the tools needed to respond to community needs. Initiatives like the Downtown Safety Response Action Plan and the Substance Use Health Emergency Strategy are just some of the ways we are working together to create a safer, more culturally responsive policing system for all Yukoners.
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- The Department of Justice is responsible for overseeing and administering four agreements that enable Yukon RCMP deployment, capital funding and operations and maintenance and are as follows:
o the Territorial Police Service Agreement;
o the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program;
o the 911 service agreement; and
o the Biological Casework Agreement.
- The Department of Justice is responsible for overseeing and administering four agreements that enable Yukon RCMP deployment, capital funding and operations and maintenance and are as follows:
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These four agreements are cost shared with the Government of Canada and act as the mechanism that provides for the intent, responsibilities, priorities, resources, reporting and accountabilities of policing services in the Yukon.
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As per the Territorial Police Services Agreement, the RCMP manages capital assets through an Accommodations Program Charge arrangement dealing with construction, renovation, maintenance and upgrades as needed on RCMP detachments and living quarters.
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The Accommodation Program Charge is structured on a five-year cycle and billed accordingly.
Laura Seeley
Cabinet Communications
867-334-9194
[email protected]
Cecily Dawson
Communications, Justice
867-471-0263
[email protected]