<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> While a federal agency, the RCMP also provides direct policing to dependent territories . </Td> </Tr> <P> The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; French: Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC), "Royal Gendarmerie of Canada"; colloquially known as the Mounties, and internally as "the Force") is both a federal and a national police force of Canada . The RCMP provides law enforcement at the federal level . It also provides policing on a contract basis to the three territories (Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon), and to eight of Canada's provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan), as well as to more than 150 municipalities, 600 aboriginal communities, and three international airports . The RCMP does not provide provincial or municipal policing in either Ontario or Quebec . </P> <P> The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was formed in 1920 by the merger of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP), founded in 1873, with the Dominion Police founded in 1868 . The former was originally named the North - West Mounted Police (NWMP), and was given the Royal prefix by King Edward VII in 1904 . Much of the present day organization's symbolism has been inherited from its days as the NWMP and RNWMP, including the distinctive Red Serge uniform, paramilitary heritage, and mythos as a frontier force . The RCMP - GRC wording is protected under the Trade - marks Act . </P> <P> Despite its name, the RCMP is not an actual mounted police force, with horses only being used at ceremonial events . The predecessor NWMP and RNWMP had relied on horses for transport for most of their history, though the RNWMP was switching to automobiles at the time of the merger . </P>

When did the northwest mounted police become the rcmp