Parliament Hill police unit fully staffed by end of 2026

A new unit of Ottawa police officers patrolling Parliament Hill is set to be fully staffed by the end of next year. 

A federal funding boost of $50 million over five years is supporting the creation of 40 sworn positions and nine civilian positions at the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) to allow the service to create a Parliamentary District.  

A new Police Liaison Team will operate around Parliament, focusing on engagement with community organizations. It is meant to build community trust while mitigating the impacts of protests. The move follows calls for heightened security around Parliament. 

"Certainly it is growth for our organization," said OPS Chief Eric Stubbs during a Monday news conference ahead of a police services board meeting where details of the new unit were released. 

The initiative aligns with recommendations from the Public Order Emergency Commission in response to the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to end the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests. 

Stubbs said police already change their security levels when Members of Parliament are in the city for House sittings, but the new unit will help create "more of a presence." 

As part of the Parliamentary District's creation, funding will be used to hire four full-time civilian positions dedicated to open-source intelligence monitoring and analysis.

Three full-time civilian positions and one sworn position are being added to an event management section to assist with federal events, such as Canada Day, Remembrance Day, and ongoing protests related to the federal government.

Staffing increases will be phased in over the next year, with the Parliamentary District expected to be fully operational by the end of 2026, allowing police to focus on other priority areas like improving safety in the ByWard Market and reducing intimate partner violence. 

"There's so many different areas that we're trying to stabilize and grow to really deliver for the community," said Stubbs. 

Security in the Parliamentary Precinct involves multiple agencies.

The Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) is responsible for security on Parliament Hill but does not have peace officer status, relying on OPS for law enforcement.

The RCMP provides protection for Canadian dignitaries, including the prime minister and Governor General.

The number of MPs requesting security has doubled in the past five years, according to the RCMP.