On May 15, 2023, there were 71,472 police officers across all Canadian police services, 892 more than on the same date in 2022. Despite this increase in police strength in 2023, the rate of police strength in Canada continued the downward trend that started more than 10 years earlier. This was largely attributable to the increase of the Canadian population in 2023, when the growth of the population outpaced that of the number of police officers. The rate of police strength measures the number of police officers per 100,000 population, taking into account the overall Canadian population. The rate of police strength was 178 officers per 100,000 population, down almost 2% from 2022 and the lowest rate since 1970. In 2023, five provinces and territories presented a rate of police strength higher than the national level: Quebec, Saskatchewan and the three territories (Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut).
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