Good morning! Hopefully this answer is clear, as I was up all night (and outside) so I am tired today.
The French title, Gendarmerie, does indeed refer to military police, but that's because the current R.C.M.P. is a merger of two prior police forces. Previously eastern Canada (including Quebec) was policed by the Dominion Police (founded 1868), who also served as the civilian arm of the Canadian Military Police Corps, and were only "mounted" when necessary, not a mounted force per se. The R.C.M.P. were originally the North-West Mounted Police (founded 1873), and only policed *western* Canada. The Dominion Police and North-West Mounted Police were merged in 1920 to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, so the French name hearkens back to the origin of institution in their part of the world. It's got nothing really to do with including or not including "mounted", but does show the history as proper gendarmerie.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-12-22 03:42 pm (UTC)The French title, Gendarmerie, does indeed refer to military police, but that's because the current R.C.M.P. is a merger of two prior police forces. Previously eastern Canada (including Quebec) was policed by the Dominion Police (founded 1868), who also served as the civilian arm of the Canadian Military Police Corps, and were only "mounted" when necessary, not a mounted force per se. The R.C.M.P. were originally the North-West Mounted Police (founded 1873), and only policed *western* Canada. The Dominion Police and North-West Mounted Police were merged in 1920 to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, so the French name hearkens back to the origin of institution in their part of the world. It's got nothing really to do with including or not including "mounted", but does show the history as proper gendarmerie.
Edited again to add that I should have spared you my inane babble and just linked you to an authoratative source.