Dale McFee to retire as chief of Edmonton Police Service

Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee plans to retire in February, after spending the past six years in charge of the city's police force, according to the Edmonton police commission.

In a video posted to the Edmonton Police Service's (EPS) X account Wednesday, McFee said he was reflecting on the service's accomplishments through "difficult times." 

Reducing gun violence, how the EPS responds to call, reviewing the service's use-of-force policy and increasing recruitment to the "highest that it's been in many, many years" are among the examples he listed.

"It isn't lost on us how important the commitment and the support from the community is," McFee said in the video.

He was officially named chief on Feb. 1, 2019, taking over from former chief Rod Knecht. His retirement will be effective as of Feb. 21, 2025, the police commission said in a statement Thursday.

McFee is expected to publicly address his retirement on Thursday afternoon.

A hiring process for a new chief will be established in the coming months, the commission said.

The commission credited McFee with work that helped "reimagine" EPS as a service "that balances traditional law enforcement with community safety and well-being" and pursuing community-based policing initiatives.

McFee came to Edmonton after working as Saskatchewan's deputy minister of corrections and policing. He also served as the police chief in Prince Albert, Sask., for nine years.

When he was announced as the new head of EPS, he said diversity would be a priority for the police service "so we actually reflect the population."

WATCH | 'We need to be diverse right across the system': 

'We need to be diverse right across the system'

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Edmonton's new police chief, Dale McFee, calls on his Métis upbringing for inspiration in his role as a community leader.

Three months into his term, McFee publicly delivered a formal apology to Edmonton's 2SLGBTQ+ community for wrongs police committed against them and the force's failure to protect them.

McFee led during the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread protests and demands to divert police funding to community public safety alternatives, after the death of George Floyd in 2020. Floyd, a Black man, died after police in Minneapolis, Minn., handcuffed him and an officer kneeled on his neck for nine and a half minutes.

In Edmonton, tensions rose between city council and EPS. Some council members questioned ongoing increases to the police budget, but McFee pushed back, saying funding cuts would mean cutting officers and undoing progress on community initiatives.

As chief, McFee also faced pressure to address crime and public safety downtown after two men were killed in Edmonton's Chinatown area in 2022. EPS received funding from council to set up, what they called, the Healthy Streets Operations Centre in Chinatown, where police, social agencies and emergency responders worked together on the ground.

Last year, McFee declared that homeless encampments shouldn't be tolerated, pointing to safety concerns.

In the months that followed, police and City of Edmonton teams began regularly clearing and closing outdoor camps, where groups of people lived in tents. The sweeps sparked a legal challenge and sharp community criticism.

The Alberta government established a navigation and support centre where people in encampments can be referred for services, as McFee said police planned to "accelerate" encampment removals.