‘Canada is watching’: New northern Alberta police service trying to lead by example

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. — On the second floor of a building where most offices are without doors, the ceilings hang low and the carpets don’t match, the chief of Grande Prairie’s new police force gets down to work.

“Don’t focus on the building,” Dwayne Lakusta said in a recent interview.

The 51-year-old was picked over a year ago to head up a new municipal police service in this city of 60,000 in Alberta’s northwest, replacing the RCMP. It’s to be the first new force in Alberta in more than 60 years.

With three decades of experience, Lakusta has overseen the deployment of a small group of officers working with local RCMP.

The Mounties remain in charge until the local force takes over primary jurisdiction on April 1, 2026.

Lakusta said it will take a new approach based on surveys and research done in other jurisdictions calling for police to be more responsive, particularly to youth.

The result, he said, is a “non-traditional” policing model that will deploy mobile outreach workers alongside enforcement officers.

“It’s a holistic approach toward community safety and well-being,” Lakusta said.

“If it’s a call for a suicide, we’ll send a mental health worker instead of an officer with a gun.”

Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton said the stakes are high.

“It’s an opportunity for us to do something unique,” Clayton said in an interview at city hall.

“I know a lot of Canada is watching to see how this unfolds … (the service) will build a sort of template for other municipalities that are looking to transition.”

Coun. Dylan Bressey said the idea came about in 2018.

“There were conversations going on in Alberta about a provincial police service,” he said.

Bressey said while debating the idea council became aware the RCMP’s contracts across the country would expire in March 2032.

Clayton said council’s decision in 2023 to cancel the RCMP deal was difficult but necessary.

“There’s an emotional attachment to the RCMP. It’s a symbolic piece of Canada, it’s history and so, change is hard,” said Clayton. But she said the city was ready for a service more tailored to local needs.

Chris Thiessen was the only councillor to turn thumbs down at the vote.

“My first no vote was really just to delay and to give our public the opportunity to be more part of the discussion,” Thiessen said in an interview.

And there’s the money.

“For us to be able to do a cost analysis five years from now, for instance, is tricky. We’re just ballparking numbers.

“We have to do a good job showing that the services have a greater net benefit to the community, and it’s worth the costs.”

A recent cost analysis by the city indicates there will be savings, particularly due to lower administrative charges.

Clayton and Lakusta said a few other communities in Alberta and at least one in Nova Scotia are watching closely as they consider making the transition.

Surrey, B.C., is moving away from the RCMP, but the transition has met resistance as its council attempted to undo a previous decision to create a new service.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke raised concerns about how much the transition was costing taxpayers. In July, a judicial review ruled British Columbia has the authority to complete the transition from the RCMP to the local force.

Lakusta says starting a service from the grassroots in Grande Prairie has so far been beneficial because it comes with “no baggage.”

“(The) only thing we can do is build trust,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

— With files from Dirk Meissner in Victoria

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press