Meet Saskatoon’s new Chief of Police
The Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners announced Deputy Chief Cameron McBride as the new Chief of Police for the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS).
Chief McBride will begin his five-year term on May 16, the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners said in a release.
“Incoming Chief McBride, both through his achievements in his 27-year policing career and through this recruitment process, demonstrated to the Board his exceptional leadership skills, an ability to think strategically, and an absolute commitment to upholding the principles of justice and public service in our community,” Chair of the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners Shirley Greyeyes said.
The Board says since joining the SPS in 1997, incoming Chief McBride has been a key figure in the force's growth, particularly in diversity and equity initiatives
Following former Chief Troy Cooper's retirement earlier this year, the Board began the planning process for the recruitment of a new Chief. Leaders International was brought in February to assist in recruiting a new leader by spring.
“Our recruitment process was robust, and included a national search for candidates, consultation with external policing and community partners as well as Saskatoon Police Service staff,” said Greyeyes.
“We were fortunate to receive interest from several internal candidates and numerous external candidates from across Canada, some of whom participated in a series of interviews and presentations to the Board. We believe the interest we received is a testament to the reputation our Police Service has of being a forward-thinking and innovative organization and we thank all those who applied and participated in the process with us.”
In December last year, the board brought acting Deputy Chief Dave Haye as interim chief.
McBride says he never imagined he would become police chief when he was hired 27 years ago.
In recent years he's taken on more responsibility ahead of becoming Deputy Chief late last year.
He says he became even more confident in his ability to lead when Cooper took a step back because of his health.
"I know that we have room to improve. We have room to do things that are that are out of the box that are cutting edge that will become best practices for other police organizations. I know we can do that and we will do that," he said.
"We will do great things together."
McBride says he is taking plenty of lessons learned from Cooper and former police chief Clive Weighill, who McBride says really adopted the idea of partnerships and forming relationships before Cooper took it a step further.
"Build that trust, which can lead to create an environment where it's us together and not the police and the community with a division in between. It's us together," he said.
Mayor Charlie Clark has seen the police service undergo plenty of change in recent years, and he feels McBride is the right person to continue to lead it for years to come.
"You need this unicorn that can both be strategic and strong and thinking operationally about what's needed and be very aware of the needs of diverse membership within the police service and also be an incredible community builder and relationship builder," Clark said.
"And that's not an easy thing to do. And I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Cam McBride as the chief."
-With files from Keenan Sorokan
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air travel is expensive. WestJet wants the government to do more to change that
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
Dangerous brew: Ocean heat and La Nina combo likely mean more Atlantic hurricanes this summer
Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving “corrective action” for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Potential tornado 'surreal' for residents who witnessed damaging storm in southern Ontario
Witnessing a potential tornado was 'surreal' for residents who caught a glimpse of the damaging storm in southern Ontario on Wednesday night.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
Jennifer Lopez's response to question about Ben Affleck is a reminder of their decades of love in the spotlight
Plenty of people are wondering if Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are having problems in their marriage, but one person had the nerve to ask in a public forum.
Was this the bug that stung you? Wasp sightings revive murder-hornet concerns; no detections confirmed
As temperatures rise out of a mild El Nino winter, Canada's buggy season is already upon us again, and this year, the bugs are looking especially big.