RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki to retire next month

The top cop in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is leaving her post next month.

In a statement on the RCMP website, Commissioner Brenda Lucki announced Wednesday she intends to retire. Her last day is to be March 17.

“I am so incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to lead this historic organization and witness first hand the tremendous work being done each and every day by all employees from coast to coast to coast and internationally,” she wrote.

“Since my swearing-in on April 16, 2018, we’ve made some great progress to meet the expectations of Canadians, our communities and our contract partners and I know that will continue after my last day.”

Lucki thanked the RCMP’s employees for helping her address what she called the force’s “internal challenges” during her tenure.

“I’m so proud of the steps we’ve taken to modernize — to increase accountability, address systemic racism, ensure a safe and equitable workplace and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples …,” Lucki wrote. “I leave knowing I did my best and take comfort that the RCMP is well placed to shine in its 150th year.”

When she was appointed as commissioner, Lucki became the first woman to hold the RCMP’s top job on a permanent basis.

She has faced scrutiny in recent years stemming from the Mounties’ reaction to the Nova Scotia mass shooting in 2020 and to the so-called “freedom convoy” that descended on Ottawa in 2022.

Born in Edmonton, Lucki joined the federal police service in 1986.

–With files from The Canadian Press