North-West Mounted Police in popular media

The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), founded in 1873, were initially viewed with scepticism by the press, but soon became portrayed in media and fictional accounts as courageous, disciplined and chivalrous, displaying a sense of fair-play as they brought their suspects to justice.

[1] The initial press response was mixed, particularly among the Liberal media, and featured accounts of what Dawson describes as "inefficiency, irresolution and impropriety" within the new organisation.

[11] He would typically pursue and capture a suspect through a dangerous, hostile environment, often winning bloodlessly, facing a villain who often had a foreign or French-Canadian background.

[12] Andrew Graybill describes how the hero would exhibit "Victorian manliness", with the narrative focusing on "romance, manners and the preservation of justice through fair play.

[18] In contrast, United States authors translated their own frontier to Canada, telling stories in which familiar moral narratives took place using Canadian characters.

[20] The Canadian tradition embraced much of the imperial British narrative, but also depicts the NWMP as a symbol of wider law, moral authority and right, that Harrison calls "an unseen ideal of order".

[31] The popularity of these finally waned in the 1970s, although this image of the NWMP has influenced late 20th century television portrayals of the modern RCMP, such as the Due South series depicted a mounted policeman from the Yukon.