Becoming a Canadian National Museum
The Heritage Centre has been investing in and working to become a National Museum since 2020. We’ve heard from Canadians; they want a National RCMP Museum that is reflective of our history and our voices.
In fact, 91% of 6,400 Canadians surveyed say it’s important or very important for there to be a National RCMP Museum that honours and celebrates the courageous contributions of the RCMP while also telling even the most difficult stories with dignity and compassion.
From this engagement with Canadians, and hundreds of hours of stakeholder engagement, we have now implemented and been living our vision of being a place of discovery, exploration, reflection, and reconciliation. These uniquely Canadian stories not only deserve to be told, they must be told—inspiring, difficult, and everything in between.
In 2024-25 the project reached another important milestone. The December 16, 2024 Fall Economic Statement outlined an allocation of $12M over four years, and a reaffirmation of the Government of Canada’s commitment to making the Heritage Centre a National Museum.
Read more about this commitment here
Coast to Coast to Coast Engagement
As we advance plans to become Canada’s newest National Museum, the Heritage Centre launched a Canada-wide engagement, asking for the opinions and thoughts of Canadians on how to tell the inspiring and the complex stories of the RCMP.
People across Canada shared their views through an online survey, direct email correspondence, self-hosted community conversations, and one on one interviews. The results are overwhelmingly positive, and confirm the need for a place to explore different perspectives, pay tribute to the extraordinary dedication, duty, and service of generations of Canadian Mounties and civilian employees, and serve as a trusted and safe place of fact and context, recognizing that there are different truths for different people based on lived experiences.
A place for all people, this museum will be a site of social impact—one that embraces a diversity of experiences and perspectives in everything we do.
HIGHLIGHTS:
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89% of survey respondents say that it is important for Canadians to have access to a national museum that honours the courageous contributions of the RCMP, while telling even the most difficult stories with dignity and compassion.
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Nine in ten survey respondents agreed (somewhat or strongly) that the Museum should “Pay tribute to the extraordinary dedication, duty, and service of generations of Canadian Mounties and civilian employees, both past and present.”
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A sizeable majority of survey respondents also agreed (somewhat or strongly) that the Museum should “Reflect a broad and diverse set of perspectives” (84%) and “Support efforts aimed at reconciliation between the RCMP and Canada’s Indigenous Peoples” (76%).
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More than 7 in 10 somewhat or strongly agreed that the Museum should “Explore the historical and present-day relationships between the RCMP and marginalized communities and equity-seeking groups including, but not limited to, Indigenous People, women, racialized groups, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
*The original report appears as a combined English/French version but is saved here in two files due to size limits.
Click the PDFs to read more about “What We Heard” through our nation-wide engagement.
What We Heard Report – English [need to send PDF]
What We Heard Report – French [need to send PDF]