Stripping away the myth of the RCMP, historian Greg Marquis offers an account of 150 years of a state police force acting on behalf of the wealthy and powerful.

From its start policing Indigenous people in western Canada, the RCMP has gone on to surveil, harass and seek to jail labour organizers, leftist idealists, Quebec sovereigntists and now environmental activists. The RCMP has often made itself judge, jury, and executioner of who can live unmolested in Canada.

Drawing upon all the available literature on the organization's history, historian Greg Marquis lays bare 150 years of state police action. He highlights the force’s racism, sexism, misogyny, and internal dysfunctions. An invaluable resource, this book challenges the carefully constructed myths about the RCMP’s role in Canadian life.

GREG MARQUIS is a Professor in the Department of History and Politics at University of New Brunswick at Saint John (UBNSJ), specializing in Canadian history and criminal justice history. Professor Marquis has developed a number of courses in the area of law and society, and is on the editorial board of Acadiensis and the Social History of Alcohol and Drugs. In addition to criminal justice history, his research interests include urban history and urban policy, the history of popular culture and the history of alcohol and drugs. Greg Marquis lives in Quispamsis, New Brunswick.

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