Grande Prairie swears in new police chief as questions swirl over need for an Alberta force
Grande Prairie has joined a handful of other Alberta municipalities in creating its own police force.
The city of about 70,000 that's 388 kilometres northwest of Edmonton has sworn in Dwayne Lakusta as the first chief of the Grande Prairie Police Service and has terminated its contract with the RCMP effective March 30, 2026.
Lakusta and his ever-growing staff have less than two years to hire, train and deploy 104 officers, and purchase equipment, intervention tools, vehicles, uniforms, "everything you could think of that a police officer needs," the chief told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.
All that said, Lakusta says the 2026 date for full GPPS control is not a hard one and that his team "is going to work closely with RCMP" to ensure proper policing.
"This is all about community safety and well-being in the city of Grand Prairie," said Lakusta, a 27-year Edmonton Police Service veteran and former head of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT).
"When a resident is calling, there's a need for the police to respond. We've got to make sure that we're responding whether it's going to be the RCMP responding or, once I start to deploy my resources, it could be a combination of RCMP and GPPS, eventually leading to a full complement of police service members here."
Friday marked the first time an Alberta city had sworn in its first police chief since Camrose established its own force in 1956.
Grande Prairie joins Camrose, Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Lacombe and Taber in creating a municipally run police service in addition to First Nations police services for the Blood Tribe, Lakeshore Regional and Tsuu T'ina Nation.
The city's transition to governing its own police force comes as Alberta's public safety minister cites concerns with the province's policing contract with the RCMP, which expires in 2032.
"I have been saying for quite some time that the feds have been signal-checking that they may be looking at moving away from contract policing, that is no secret," Mike Ellis said Thursday during question period at the legislature.
But Kara Westerlund, the vice-president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA), says her association understands the federal police service wants to better help with policing.
"Any conversations that we have with the federal government on that side is they are not looking at pulling out," Westerlund, a longtime councillor in Brazeau County, told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.
"Actually, they're looking to try and help us as much as they can."
Westerlund said RMA members have been vocal about their desire not to move away from policing by the RCMP, particularly due to costs.
"While it looks nice and shiny and brand new right away, we are really concerned about the long-term costs on taxpayers and our residents because this is going to directly affect your property taxes," she said.
"That is the only way that we can pull funding from our residents and from our businesses."
A 2022 provincial report looking at the cost of ditching the RCMP entirely found Alberta would lose $170 million in funding from the federal government and be forced to pay $366 million in start-up costs for a provincial police force.
The province is covering the bill for Grande Prairie's transition to a municipally-run police force, costing Alberta taxpayers $19 million.
Westerlund also says the RMA finds the RCMP does an adequate job, adding that some of the criminal problems people in rural areas face have more to do with judicial issues than policing ones.
"We're finding our RCMP members and our police services are doing a fantastic job mitigating the concerns from the public around crime, around stolen goods, break-and-enters," she said.
"The problem is what we're seeing — where things are falling short — is on the court side of things. We often talk about that revolving door. The RCMP do a fantastic job getting these criminals off the road and out of breaking into our homes, but we find out two hours later they're released and then picked up again less than 24 hours doing the same thing and then released again."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Celine Dion delivers stirring comeback performance at Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Against the rainy Paris night sky, Celine Dion staged the comeback of her career with a powerful performance from the Eiffel Tower to open the Olympic Games.
Jasper wildfire: 'Several weeks' before Jasper can return, premier says
Premier Danielle Smith said Friday afternoon in Hinton while weather conditions are cooler, the Jasper fire is still considered out of control and that Jasper residents can expect to be away from their homes "for several weeks."
Driver charged after flashing high beams at approaching police
Orillia OPP arrested and charged a driver with impaired driving after flashing their high beams.
Missing 3-year-old boy found dead in creek in Mississauga: police
A three-year-old boy has been found dead a day after he went missing in a park in Mississauga, Peel police say.
Irish museum pulls Sinead O'Connor waxwork after just one day due to backlash
An Irish museum will withdraw a waxwork of singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor just one day after installing it, following a backlash from her family and the public, it told CNN in a statement on Friday.
Turpel-Lafond won't sue CBC over Cree heritage report that took 'heavy toll': lawyer
The lawyer for a former judge whose claims to be Cree were questioned in a CBC investigation says his client is not considering legal action against the broadcaster after the Law Society of British Columbia this week backed her claims of Indigenous heritage.
Winnipeg senior's account overdrawn for $146,000 water bill
A Winnipeg senior is getting soaked with a six figure water bill.
Health Canada warns some naloxone kits contain false instructions
Health Canada is warning some take-home naloxone kits come with bad instructions that should be ignored in favour of the correct guidance.
Paris dazzles with a rainy Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine River
Celebrating its reputation as a cradle of revolution, Paris kicked off its first Summer Olympics in a century on Friday with a rain-soaked, rule-breaking opening ceremony studded with stars and fantasy along the Seine River.