‘Botched’: RCMP, Surrey Police Service can’t agree on when transition will be completed

When will the RCMP be gone? The RCMP says it will be pulling out of Surrey by November 2026, but in an announcement about officially taking over South Surrey this month the Surrey Police Service says it could actually be 2027 before it has enough officers to make the transition complete.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald issued a statement marking the one-year anniversary of the Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit that was formed as the SPS worked through its transition.

McDonald said the RCMP would be leaving Surrey after 74 years next November, remaining in the Cloverdale and Guildford neighbourhoods until that time.

At the same time, the SPS issued an announcement that it has now taken over South Surrey from the RCMP. In its link to a transition timeline, however, its “estimated” timeline is listed as 2026-27.

“The timeline for this will depend on the pace of SPS hiring, infrastructure development, and file transfer,” the SPS said.

MLA wants answers: Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko is demanding clarity about the discrepancy.

“This discrepancy in timeline raises significant questions about the transition,” Sturko said. “If the RCMP are required to stay in Surrey beyond their negotiated agreement which ends in November 2026, this could have serious cost implications for taxpayers.”

Not enough cops: As of Sept. 30, SPS says it has 583 sworn officers towards its goal of 860 officers by the end of the transition, so it needs 277 new officers to be recruited and integrated in less than a year. For a comparison, the SPS has hired just 160 officers in 11 months in 2025.

No HR plan: The NDP government has “botched” this transition from the start, Sturko said.

“The NDP’s failure has resulted in a recruitment, retention, and training crisis. The Surrey Police Service appears to be challenged to meet the timelines for the final phase of transition. This will have cost implications and increases uncertainty for frontline officers – all while our city is combatting an extortion crisis.”

Will funding continue? Under the terms of their current agreement, Sturko said, the City of Surrey receives RCMP support with a 30 per cent subsidy from the federal government. If an agreement to extend the RCMP can be reached and services extend beyond the contract, the subsidy may no longer apply, and RCMP services may be charged at full cost, Sturko said.

Taking over South Surrey: The SPS has now taken over District Five, which runs from 48 Avenue to 0 Avenue (excluding White Rock, but including Semiahmoo First Nation), and from Mud Bay/Crescent Beach to the Langley border (196^th Street). The SPS already polices Whalley/City Centre and Newton.

Although South Surrey residents will be seeing more SPS officers in their community, there is no change to how they access police services – police office locations and phone numbers remain the same (604-599-0502 for non-emergencies or 9-1-1 for emergencies).