For Immediate Release: May 23, 2014
RCMP Heritage Centre launches “most significant” summer season
Season includes new driving tours, feature exhibit, audio tours, and live events
REGINA – Regina’s RCMP Heritage Centre today kicked off what CEO Al Nicholson calls
“the most significant season opener announcement since the Heritage Centre opened its
doors on this same date in 2007.”
Today, the Centre’s seventh birthday and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP)
141st birthday, the Centre launched its programming for the summer season, which
includes:
• New driving tours of “Depot” Division RCMP Academy (“Depot”) begin May
23, 2014 and will be in full swing by July 1, 2014. The tours are made possible
thanks to new people movers sponsored by the Regina Hotel Association (RHA);
• A new feature exhibit, Women in Scarlet: 40 Years of Women in the RCMP,
which runs from May 23, 2014 until September 4, 2014;
• New daily audio tours of the Centre’s exhibits starting July 1, 2014
narrated from the perspective of Canada’s most famous Mountie, Sam
Steele. The audio tours are made possible thanks to a portion of a recent gift of
$1 million from the Mosaic Company.
• Sunset-Retreat Ceremonies on the Parade Square of “Depot” Division. This
live Canadian Tourism Commission Signature Experience kicks off on Tuesday,
July 1, and runs every Tuesday until August 12, 2014. There is a pre-show at the
Centre at 5:45 p.m. and the ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. weekly.
• Sergeant Major’s Parade daily from Monday to Friday at 12:45 p.m. on the
Parade Square at “Depot” Division from May 23, 2014 to September 1, 2014.
“The new guided driving tours will give Regina’s residents and visitors the opportunity to
see beyond the public areas of the Parade Square, RCMP Cenotaph and Chapel, and
introduce them to many of our venues that support the success of the Cadet Training
Program,” Assistant Commissioner and Commanding Officer of “Depot” Division Louise
Lafrance said.
Nicholson notes, “Stability funding from the federal, provincial and municipal governments
has made it possible for us to attract significant community partners who are interested in
helping us ‘grow the experience,’ and, in the case of our new people movers, ‘drive the
experience’.”
The RHA has contributed $95,900 from its Destination Marketing Fund to support the
purchase and promotion of the new electric tram system tour.
“We are delighted to sponsor the launch of this exciting new asset and to support the
RCMP Heritage Centre’s efforts to strengthen Regina as a tourism destination,” Chair of
the RHA Board of Directors Cari Lemieux said. “This tour offers a unique experience of the
RCMP that no other city can provide, further diversifying and sharing our proud Canadian
heritage with the world.”
Each unit consists of one motorized vehicle pulling another non-motorized trolley and is
equipped to hold 27-28 passengers. One unit has been retrofitted for wheelchair
accessibility. Starting July 1, 2014, tours will run seven days a week and will be included
with regular admission. Schedules will be posted on the Centre website as well as on the
Centre’s internal digital monitor(s). Seats are available on a first come, first served basis,
however special tour times can be arranged for groups of 10 or more.
Visitors to the Centre this summer will also be able to take in a new feature exhibit:
Women in Scarlet: 40 Years of Women in the RCMP, which launches May 23, 2014. On
September 16, 1974, thirty-two women were all sworn into the RCMP at exactly the same
moment and became the first women engaged by the Force as regular members. The
exhibit invites visitors to explore the history of the Force’s female members and to walk in
the pumps and the Strathcona boots of these history-making women.
Bev Busson, a cadet with Troop 17, the first female troop at “Depot” Division in 1974, was
the first woman appointed as Commissioner of the RCMP in 2006.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since women were first sworn in as regular members
of the Force, as it seems like it was just yesterday. This new exhibit celebrates the many
firsts of women in the Force over the last four decades,” Busson said. “I’ve had a great
career with the RCMP and it has been a true privilege and an honour to serve Canadians,
as members continue to do today, in communities across this nation.”
Nicholson says visitors to the Centre this summer will experience the story and traditions of
the Force unlike any other summer since the Centre opened its doors seven years ago.
“By continuing to enhance the visitor experience at the RCMP Heritage Centre, we ensure
we are constantly adjusting to a changing society while remaining true to our traditions,”
Nicholson said.
For more information:
Jess Paul
For the RCMP Heritage Centre
cell: 306.529.0566, email: jess@blossomcomm.ca
