Up until 1995, Quebec and Ontario have generally had the highest number of police officers per capita. Over the last few years, these provinces have experienced sharp declines while Saskatchewan and Manitoba have had minor increases.

Between 1995 and 1996, the number of police officers per 100,000 population declined in four jurisdictions: Yukon (-3.4%), Newfoundland (-3.8%), Ontario (-3.1%), and Quebec (-2.7%). Two of the jurisdictions remained relatively stable: New Brunswick (-0.3%) and Alberta (0.2%). Increases in the remaining jurisdictions ranged from 1.3% to 7.3%.

In 1996, there were 159 police officers per 100,000 population in Alberta, 12.8% below the national average of 181. Alberta had the fewest officers per 100,000 population of any of the western provinces and was the third lowest in the country behind Newfoundland (146) and Prince Edward Island (149).