Manitoba's top Mountie announces her retirement

Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy has announced her plans for retirement from the RCMP after more than 34 years of service, the RCMP said in a news release Thursday.

MacLatchy, who grew up in Nova Scotia, became the commanding officer of the Manitoba RCMP in February 2019. She was the first woman in the Manitoba Mounties' 87-year history to hold the position.

"Over the last three years, I've seen countless examples where the nearly 1,500 employees of this incredible organization have made positive differences in the lives of Manitobans," MacLatchy said in the release. "It has been a privilege to work alongside them and see first-hand their commitment and professionalism."

Born in Halifax, MacLatchy joined the RCMP in 1988 as a general duty police officer in Prince George, B.C.

Her postings have varied widely, from co-ordinating federal security for the Vancouver Olympics and the G8 and G20 meetings in Toronto in 2010, to director of the parliamentary protective service in Ottawa, to first being a member and then an instructor for the RCMP Musical Ride, a 32-member group of riders who do choreographed performances on horseback.

"My career with the RCMP has brought me across Canada, and three years ago, it brought me to Manitoba," MacLatchy said.

She led the Manitoba RCMP during tough times, including the manhunt for B.C. teenaged murder suspects in the summer of 2019, as well as the recent freezing deaths of four Indian nationals at the Canada/U.S. border near Emerson last January.

In a February 2019 interview with CBC's Information Radio, MacLatchy said her rise through the ranks shows there is no glass ceiling in the RCMP, an organization that did not permit women to become officers until 1974 and that has dealt with multiple allegations of sexual harassment in recent years.

She says  she hoped to be a role model for women across the organization and described her appointment as her proudest moment in policing.

"If you'd told me 30 years ago that I would achieve the rank of assistant commissioner and be trusted as the commanding officer of a division, I don't know that I would have believed you," she said.

MacLatchy's last day with the RCMP will be Friday, June 3, according to the news release. The process to select her successor will begin shortly and further details will be available at a later date, the RCMP said.