RCMP Commissioner Rejects Conservative Accusation of Political Interference

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme waits to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct 9, 2025. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says the force operates independently of politicians, rejecting Conservative accusations that RCMP management acted under Liberal government pressure during the SNC-Lavalin scandal.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney in Toronto on Oct. 16, Duheme also responded to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s characterization of RCMP leadership as “despicable” by inviting him to meet the leaders who run the agency.

Poilievre said in a recent media interview that many scandals during the Trudeau administration “should have involved jail time.” He told the Northern Perspective YouTube channel he believes former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s actions in the SNC-Lavalin affair were “probably” a criminal offence. The RCMP determined there was insufficient evidence to launch a criminal probe.

Poilievre also alleged in the interview that Trudeau likely broke the law by accepting “a free vacation from someone with whom he had government business,” referring to Trudeau’s 2016 trip to the Aga Khan’s private island.

Trudeau and his family took an all-expenses-paid vacation at the private Caribbean island owned by the Aga Khan, whose foundation was receiving funding from the federal government. The federal ethics commissioner later ruled that Trudeau had violated the Conflict of Interest Act in accepting the vacation.

The SNC-Lavalin scandal occurred in 2018, after then-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned, alleging pressure from Trudeau to prevent the criminal prosecution of the engineering company, which had been hit with corruption and fraud charges in 2015 related to business dealings in Libya. The Liberal government at the time introduced legislation to allow companies to avoid trial through Deferred Prosecution Agreements if they admitted wrongdoing and paid financial penalties.

In an August 2019 report, the ethics commissioner said Trudeau had violated the Conflict of Interest Act by urging his attorney general not to prosecute SNC-Lavalin. That December, the firm pleaded guilty to fraud and paid a $280 million fine.

The RCMP said its investigation into the matter found “insufficient evidence to substantiate a criminal offence” on the part of Trudeau or his administration.

“As part of that review the RCMP spoke with and collected information from a variety of sources, and examined the matter in the most thorough, objective and professional manner,” the force said in a June 20, 2023, statement. “After a comprehensive and impartial assessment of all available information, the RCMP determined that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate a criminal offence and the file was concluded.”

Trudeau said in reaction to the ethics commissioner’s finding that he took responsibility for the incident, but “can’t apologize for standing up for Canadian jobs.”

“What happened over the past year shouldn’t have happened,” Trudeau said in 2019. “I take responsibility for the mistakes that I made. At the same time, we learned many lessons.”

Poilievre said the incidents should have led to criminal charges but alleged the RCMP “covered it all up” for Trudeau.

Duheme rejected the allegation.

“I think we’ve talked about SNC-Lavalin quite a lot under the previous government, and I think it was clear that there’s no interference,” he said. “I don’t take any orders from any political individual. And as far as his comment, with regards to senior management, I would invite Mr. Poilievre to meet with us and to meet with the people who run this great organization, 32,000 strong.”

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, whose ministry oversees the RCMP, called Poilievre’s comments “deeply irresponsible” and said Canadians can be confident that the RCMP is free from political interference.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.