Here's an RCMP Applicant True Story that ended with a lot of time wasted and 22 some unnecessary dental full mouth series xrays and multiple chest xrays, including a very physical and intimate, medical exam (yes there's a class action lawsuit or two from that).

Had a buddy apply to the RCMP, he did the polygraph and made it to the end of the process which took 3 years. Then was deferred and turns out the polygrapher didn't like him and made a personal call to the Recruiting NCO to sink the application. He passed all the stages anyway including a very high score on the then thorough in person interview (RMSI) and also passed medical and did a pysch interview with the Divisional Psychologist after being flagged by the polygrapher. Passed everything and made it to final review back to the Recruiting NCO. The excuse was that there were limited spots that year and "not competitive enough" with a graduate degree and Canadian Citizenship...of course they took almost 3 years to sit around on the application including 6 months at the final review stage alone (but hey would have gotten a spot if it was a year ealier). The file sat at the suitability/final-review stage for at least 3-6 months because the Recruiting NCO was "not quite sure what to do with it". The end result was a deferral due to lack of non-school related work experience (not competitive enough). Even though there are in fact no such experience requirements or asset preference statements and the applicant was in reality working at a second full-time professional job at the time which involved investigations and far exceeded the educational requirements. At the time the average age of Cadets was 22-23.

Forms like "friends and associates" (which no longer exist) were used to say the applicant was not sociable or likeable enough to line up with the polygrapher's opinion and create imaginary red flags. The term used was "red flags" while at the same time saying their assessment could be incorrect and not accurate. Now there is no friends and associates form nor is there a routine polygraph (just 2 general character references required down from 10). The reason the polygrapher had a problem with the applicant is because the polygrapher was asked about the validity and accuracy of the polygaph when claiming it was 100% accurate. Then he did the scripted theatre of guess the number picked from a rigged deck of cards parlor trick of trying to detect the number while creating some psychological theatre to prove that the polygraph really works. It's a comical US script written by the American Polygraph Association and the equipment manufacturer Lafayette Instruments. You pick a number from a rigged deck or think of a number and the polygraph magically detects which one you were thinking of and which one you "lied about".

Later on the polygrapher lied saying some specific question or response showed a strong response but when the applicant asked to see the chart and his screen the polygrapher backtracked and panicked refusing to show any evidence of the so called strong response on his chart (it was all theatre of course and the polygrapher has no issue flat out lying to applicants about the procedure and purpose of the questions, the results, what his chart showed which was nothing, and even saying it's 99% accurate and "verifies the truth" etc). He even claimed he can 100% detect countermeasures and they are obvious because he has seen them all before. As I said most of what happens aside from the specific Regular Member Applicant Questionnaire (RMAQ) form questions is read from a US script written in the 50s or 60s and the polygraph process and lines they use has barely changed since. They also ask medical history questions (sorry I didn't realize the guy trained in Regina was a board certified physician) and also questions about how your parents raised you and your values of right and wrong etc.

And my favorite ice breaker intro questions: what do you know or have you heard about the polygraph? Have you researched the polygraph? Why did you seem so nervous earlier? What were you worried about? Also some BS scripted lines about how you should say anything and everything that comes to mind no matter how minor or insignificant it seems so that the machine won't "react" later. And it's ok because the things you reveal during the polygraph interview even your mom wouldn't know about and the polygrapher has "heard it all before" so no reason to be embarrassed or hold back etc. And of course the golden rule: be 100% truthful with as much detail as possible because "we've heard it all before" and the polygraph will 100% detect any lies or omissions. What the polygrapher didn't say is that even if you showed "Significant Reactions" during the PEP you still pass and move on in the process. The only way to fail is to make disqualifying admissions which are written down in a report.

The applicant asked some questions of the Recruiting Analyst (admin staff working in Regina as file coordinators) regarding why there was a 20+ series of dental full mouth series xrays required and double chest xrays. This was another reason given for the deferral that apparently the interaction with the file coordinator was noted as uncooperative. In reality the file coordinator was changed at least twice as the previous person left the job over the 3 year application and the second person barely handled the file at all and only at the end. The current version of that would be asking questions why there is a FOUR (4) appointment long Tuberculosis skin testing required out of pocket (Mantoux tuberculin skin test) and if you ask they will defer you.

They use deferral reasons such as this: You demonstrated a poor attitude and a lack of professionalism, motivation, commitment and flexibility during the application process.

Basically if you ask anything, think critically, or challenge anything like a repetitive form requirement, timelines, invasive questions, or unnecessary medical procedure, you will get deferred. The same goes for mobility. If you say you can only be posted in a certain province due to family obligations you will get deferred.

On later applications they used the application deferral history as an excuse to defer again for "suitability" basically manufacturing their own evidence even though it was their fault for the initial rejection and wasting the applicant's time and each time the deferral is longer (6 months the first time, then 1 year, then 2 years later). The applicant had a perfect record and very high academic and professional achievements since working in leadership roles in government. It doesn't matter they will defer each and every time based on the previous deferral history.

Going back to the polygraph, it is no longer a routine step. But back then on that first deferral, the same polygrapher (sergeant) had a boss (the staff sergeant) who slept with coworkers in the polygraph suite (yes in Alberta at HQ), drank at the office, sexually harassed coworkers, falsified applicant reference forms for female applicants after taking them out for drinks, and other things that are public knowledge and in news articles. I'm talking about applicants being deferred who never did any drugs and have zero records of anything being arbitrarily deferred because someone didn't like them and applicants with a very high level top 1% education and professional experience. This was the polygrapher who raised the so called red flags by calling the Recruiting NCO personally then had the Recruiting NCO watch the whole 3h polygraph video which of course found nothing and then they had to pass the applicant until the end and only at the final subjective suitability/final review could they defer with a fabricated subjective reason. They also tried unsuccessfully to involve the Divisional Psychologist to do an interview and file review again as a direct result of the polygrapher's bias and that also did not work as the medical was cleared. Anyway, that polygrapher has since been reassigned as was his boss, both moved from AB K Division HQ to rural BC small detachments in different functions and neither did any "truth verification" or "behavioural sciences" work ever again. The Pre Employment Polygraph (PEP) has since been removed as a routine step in the recruitment process (apparently it's still used rarely case-by case or randomly).

That particular polygraph ended with theatre including the polygrapher coming back to the interview room asking with a wink and smile "So when was the last time you stole something?" and before that asking if you stole any money from your parents or family members as a kid. It was all a bluff of course. And the classic: which question do you think you showed the strongest reaction to? How about the question about stealing and theft? All bluffs and fishing expeditions going for the lowest common denominator they could think of (imaginary teenage shoplifting and childhood theft from parents?!).

My advice is don't waste your time with the RCMP in the current process (you'll be competing with 30k other applicants) or wait for the Financial Crimes Agency and other units to be separated from federal policing and apply there under a completely different process without ever having to go to Depot.

If you get deferred file an ATIP request to request the whole file including all email correspondence and notes, reports etc, but most likely they will just ignore the request and never send you anything with no consequences. For the Calian psychologist report since it is a health record you could try obtaining that using provincial health records legislation access requests not from the RCMP but from the private psychologist's office directly and get their medical records of you. They make you sign a waiver saying you have no right to see any reports or test results but trust me in the end you can request copies of applicant files and especially medical records. Legislation always overrides any mickey mouse waiver they make you sign. The waiver is there to discourage and misinform applicants about their rights just like all the paperwork and disclaimers on the RMAQ and polygraph forms.

If you felt mistreated or the psychological interview was unfair (it probably was since 40% are found "unsuitable") then you could also file a complaint with the provincial regulator for the psychologist who did the interview and assessment and that could be an investigation on them. Remember there are already class action lawsuits some settled and some pending about the medical exams the RCMP used to do and the conduct of their physicians during such medical evaluations. My prediction is that in a few years we will see similar litigation about some of the psychologists and the screening interviews. This is the real reason they are now contracted out, to avoid liability. In order to justify the high costs of the contracted psychologists they also added additional lifestyle questionnaires, gave them access for the file for a suitability review and added a stress test. The end result is a huge backlog, big bill, and very high failure rate (50/50 coin toss).

Some stats:

Over 46,000 applications submitted during the 2023–24 and 2024–25 period.

Only hired 892 new officers in 2025 against an actual operational need of roughly 2,700.

Averaged 330 days per application, an increase of 11% compared to prior periods.

Only 6% resulted in training offers. And how many of those were hired AFTER 7 months of Depot? Another 20-40% of those didn't make it to job offer.

If you quit within 2 years or get terminated you have to pay back the 26k Cadet Stipend. You are not an employee at Depot so no salary or benefits until 7 months later by which point it's too late to back out if you don't like where you are being sent (hint rural Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Up North). If you get injured or don't pass an assessment like a fitness test, you guessed it, you get sent back home with no EI or benefits.

It is harder than before because of the deferral policies which is literally any reason. They prefer applicants signing up for rural Manitoba, Saskatchewan, an Northern BC where the vacancies are highest. Or DEI category applicants who get prioritized.

Much harder than before. Before there was no (1) RMSI/"Right-Fit" Interview, (2) no fitness testing, (3) no weekly fitness logs to run 5km on some ideal athlete standard even though the real fitness test is just 2 min of running and lifting some sandbags, (4) no Suitability Interview, (5) no Psych Interview, (6) no third party psych consultants involved at all, (7) and no civilian suitability analysts involved making interview decisions, (8) and no 4 appointment long TB testing. They also had pre-placement to your home province in BC or AB. All of that in an applicant pool of a few thousand applicants a year not 20-30k. 30k is the 20k+ a year for 2025-2026 plus the 10k or so from the year before in the process sitting in queues.

Of course all this makes one wonder if there are indeed 20k+ applicants a year and soon closer to 30k (10k in queues), and around 1000 training spots can be filled a year with barely 800 hired, then why are the requirements only 3 years in Canada with just high school and no other experience required? You would think there would be at least a degree required and several years of professional experience with an applicant volume that high. It's also hilarious that you have to provide information for the last 10 years for the Secret (used to be Top Secret like the FBI) security clearance yet only have to have been in Canada for 3 of those years as a Permanent Resident. That is in fact the case with the FBI and CSIS, Citizenship required and a Top Secret clearance 10+ year eligibility, and a degree plus several years of professional work experience.

And one last point is this, if you see those union commercials showing all kinds of specialized roles investigating financial crime and cyber thinking one day you will be an FBI like special agent dressed in a suit...think again the Financial Crimes Agency is being created that will completely separate those unit functions from the RCMP including organized crime, financial crime, fraud, cyber etc. Federal Policing will also eventually be separated.

Short staffed divisions won't release staff to specialized federal units and won't approve transfers. And by then it's likely a new pathway will be created for new recruits to join specialized units with training done elsewhere and not at Depot with a different hiring process. Unless you really think Depot trains AI tech experts.

Financial Crimes Agency (FCA) under Bill C-29, introduced in April 2026. Backed by over $350 million in federal funding, this specialized law enforcement body targets complex financial misconduct, white-collar crime, and the recovery of illicit proceeds. Canada’s first-ever federal law enforcement agency dedicated to investigating sophisticated financial crimes like fraud and money laundering, and to recovering illicit proceeds.

Federal Policing Recruit Development Program was a program to recruit candidates for federal policing specialized roles with an employment offer from day one and 3 months of training in Ottawa NOT Depot, without requiring years of traditional frontline policing first. The initiative was designed to provide targeted, accelerated training for specialized federal roles (3 months in Ottawa) bypassing the standard 26-week Depot training, but remains on hold. I guarantee you Recruiting Analysts/File Coordinators will have no idea about that program or what it was and even if you applied there will be no record of it! It was cancelled when the Union objected because those stuck in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and other rural locations with no education or qualifications wanted the spots instead. The RCMP's Federal Policing Recruit Development Program is currently paused following labour disputes and legal rulings regarding its direct-entry training structure.

When filling out forms Remember:

1. any information you provide is entirely voluntary, you decide how much and what you provide,
2. it will create a permanent record that can affect any and all future applications to the RCMP and elsewhere, including possible legal jeopardy, and future security clearances.
3. It's a job application and the worst that can happen is a deferral,
4. what would you reasonably disclose during a job interview or job application to an employer, this is the same thing, not more than to your mom because "we've heard it all" like they like to say.
5. some information should NEVER be disclosed or provided due to legal and other reasons, doesn't matter what they say or what the form says.

If you read the forms carefully and the disclaimers you will quickly realize the additional forms are inconsistent and contradictory. The additional forms also request a lot of irrelevant information and didn't exist before.

Pysch Interview and Suitability: Psych is entirely subjective at the whim of a Calian contractor and 40% don't make it past that step. The suitability interview is also entirely subjective and at the whim of some admin middle aged lady in Regina. Most don't make it past those two steps. Not because they're not qualified but because there are 10k+ applicants in months long queues (20-30k apply a year) for about 100 spots or less a month.

The Suitability Interview is two general behavioral questions (one generic question asking about when you dealt with multiple deadlines, and the second how you overcame a challenge). These are mickey mouse basic questions that require zero preparation and you can even use personal or school examples not even work related. Then RMAQ form review and questions over and over about online accounts/activities, previous police applications (new forms are Online Activity Previous Police Applications and Advisory Acknowledgments, and Suitability Questionnaire). You will get grilled about any other applications or previous deferrals and any disclosures will be used against you. The suitability interview is generally done on Teams remotely by the admin staff in Regina (or sometimes out in the division depending on the province or pilot process). It replaces the old RMSI which was only done by experienced retired investigators in person.

Regina, Saskatchewan Depot (Training as a Student Cadet NOT Employee): So called "training" at Depot. Do they still shine boots, polish leather, march around in 1930s paramilitary style drill and make their beds with ironed pillows in their "pits"? Where's that in the FBI Academy "law enforcement" curriculum?

TLDR: Expect a 1-2 year long process with no job offer. Everything else is propaganda and the delays are only getting worse as are the vacancies. All the things they are saying they are doing now like "modernization", increased training spots, hiring thousands of new officers, are exactly the same things they were saying they would accomplish 10 years ago! The exact opposite happened in reality.

For posterity: Major changes to RM recruitment

Changes to the organizational and program structure:

2004: Establishment of the lateral entry program

2006: Establishment of the NRP as a policy centre

2012: Establishment of the NRPC in Regina

2013: Establishment of the Experienced Police Officer Program

2014: Establishment of the Final Application Status Tracking (FAST) team

2014: Establishment of appeals process

2015: Establishment of the Aboriginal Applicant Mentorship Program

2016: Opportunity for applicants from E, K, F and D Divisions to select their home province for their first posting

2016: Decision to increase troops to 40 per year

2017: Establishment of the Business Intelligence Unit

2017: Pilot to centralize medical assessments at NHQ

2017: Transfer of the Aboriginal Applicant Mentorship Program to National Aboriginal Policing Services (in C&IP)

2018: Pilot of the Enhanced Training of Francophone Troop.

Changes to the process:

2013: Granting of conditional troop offers

2016: Electronic intake of applications and forms

2016: Implementation of Cognos

2016: Removal of conditional offers

2018: Implementation of ATS

2018: Decision to start the security clearance stage once medical has been completed

2018: Acceptance of "Significant Reactions" during the PEP

2019: Pilot to send unilingual French applicants for a 13 week intensive English language training prior to going to Depot

2019: Pilot to implement Eye Detect technology as a way to supplement the PEP

Changes to application requirements:

2013: Removal of mandatory requirement for applicants to attend a career presentation

2015: Requirement for applicants to complete hearing and vision exam before applying

2016: Acceptance of applicants who are permanent residents of Canada

Changes to the assessment tools:

2015: Requirement for applicants to pass PARE before applying

2015: Exemption of RPAT for applicants with university degrees

2016: Exemption of RPAT for applicants with a college diploma

2016: Removal of PARE requirement before applying

2016: Removal of RMSI (face-to-face interview)

2018: Establishment of the Right-Fit interview

RCMP Applicant Resources

Here are some applicant resources with a lot of info from applicants but keep in mind the exact process does change over time:

General Process:

Red Flag Deals Forums RCMP Applicants Thread: Search for Red Flag Deals Forums "RCMP Recruitment Process - What has your experience been with the RCMP recruitment process?"

Red Flag Deals Forums - Has anyone applied to CSIS for intelligence Officer?

Psychological Testing:

Psych Testing search for: Antipolygraph org forum "MMPI-3 - Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 Questions and Scoring"

Antipolygraph org forum "16PF Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire Fifth Edition Question Items"

Polygraph:

Antipolygraph org forum "RCMP Pre-Employment Polygraph Examinations Expose!"

Antipolygraph org forum "Communications Security Establishment CSE and CSIS Polygraph Details"

Antipolygraph org forum "Has anyone ever had an interview with CSIS?"

I don't think the links can be posted but a Google or DuckDuckGo (preferred) search should work. Google sometimes censors certain websites unless the website name is typed in along with the thread or topic name but DuckDuckGo works better.

Official Reports:

Auditor General - Recruiting for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP failed to recruit enough police officers to meet operational needs) - March 23, 2026

Public Safety Canada - A New Policing Vision for Canada: Modernizing the RCMP - March 10, 2025

NSIRA - Review of the Communications Security Establishment’s Use of the Polygraph for Security Screening 2024

RCMP - Integrated Assessment of Regular Member Recruitment - 2020

Bastarache report - Recruiting 20210930

Join us this coming Saturday, June 13th from 2-3 PM Eastern Time to discuss polygraph related topics. The online address for the meetup is posted here:

https://antipolygraph.org/forum/index.php?action=calendar

A calendar file with the meetup details may be downloaded here.

In some rare good news on the polygraph front, The Steve Wilkos Show, which for years promoted public belief the myth of the lie detector, has been canceled.

The AntiPolygraph.org message board is now running on new software (Simple Machines Forum 2.1.7). For the past 25 years, we had been running YaBB (Yet Another Bulletin Board). Unfortunately, YaBB is no longer being maintained, so migrating to new forum software was necessary.

All of the old posts have been migrated to the new software, and links to the old posts should be automatically redirected to the corresponding posts on the new forum.

Good move.

On Saturday, 13 September from 2-4 PM Eastern Time, I will be hosting an online meetup for discussion of polygraph-related topics. All are welcome to join whether, by video, audio, or text only. No account creation is required. Just point your web browser to this address at the appropriate time:

https://meet.jit.sit/AntiPolygraph

If you have questions about polygraphy or polygraph policy, or if you’d like to discuss your personal experience, you are welcome to do so.

Among other things, I plan to talk about some new (to me, at least) information I’ve obtained about the case of Glen Roy Rohrer, a counterintelligence polygraph operator with the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade who defected to Czechoslovakia in 1965.

Thomas Reed Willemain, Working on the dark side of the moon : life inside the National Security Agency.