Calgary's police chief has declared that the most significant hurdles facing the city's police service in the coming year are internal, with maintaining a stable and healthy workforce topping the list.
Internal Wellness and Staffing Take Precedence
In a year-end interview, Chief Katie McLellan reflected on her first seven months leading Canada's third-largest municipal police force. She stated that a substantial portion of her tenure has been dedicated to engaging with the more than 3,200 employees of the Calgary Police Service (CPS), focusing on their health and wellness. This internal focus comes as the service prepares for what McLellan anticipates will be an unprecedented budget request in the near future.
While issues like traffic safety and social disorder remain important, McLellan emphasized that a stable workforce is the essential foundation for keeping Calgarians safe in the long term, especially as the city continues to expand. "If we don’t have a healthy membership, we don’t have healthy deployment models and healthy investigators," she explained.
Addressing Morale and Operational Strain
McLellan stepped into the role in 2025 following the abrupt resignation of former chief Mark Neufeld. She inherits a service that has faced well-documented internal challenges, including low morale highlighted in employee surveys over several years. The Calgary Police Commission has even hired a consultant to review the CPS workplace culture.
A September report from the commission revealed a critical staffing issue: approximately 19 per cent of CPS officers were either on leave or removed from their regular duties, many due to mental or physical injury. The report also warned that recruitment for 2026 was constrained by limited training staff and physical space.
"Our members on the front line are really, truly just going call to call," McLellan said, describing how thinly spread teams lead to burnout and exacerbate poor morale.
New Recruitment Initiative Launched Amid National Competition
To combat these pressures, bolstering recruitment is now a key priority. However, attracting new officers presents its own major challenge as police services across Canada compete for a shrinking pool of applicants.
McLellan confirmed the launch of a comprehensive new recruitment strategy, acknowledging the intense national competition for qualified candidates. "It’s a competition right across the country, and we’re doing what we can to make sure we get the best applicants," she stated. This initiative is positioned as a critical step in ensuring the service has the personnel needed to address both internal wellness and external public safety demands effectively.
