Former Prince George RCMP superintendent Eric Stubbs will be the next chief of police in Ottawa, the Ottawa Police Services Board announced on Friday.
Stubbs led the Prince George RCMP detachment from 2011 to 2014, when he was promoted to the role of chief superintendent, director general, of national criminal operations at RCMP national headquarters in Ottawa, the Citizen reported in March 2014. Stubbs currently is an RCMP assistant commissioner and Criminal Operations Officer for British Columbia. He will take on the role of Ottawa chief of police on Nov. 17.
“What impressed the Board the most about Chief Select Stubbs, in addition to his knowledge and experience, is his ability to connect with people. We are confident he will earn the trust, confidence, and hearts of the members of the OPS, as well as the Ottawa community,” Ottawa Police Services Board chairperson Eli El-Chantiry said in a statement issued on Friday. “Chief Select Stubbs has a wide breadth and depth of experience in his 30-year long career with the RCMP. He has held key leadership positions both within B.C. and even in Ottawa, where he was chief superintendent for three years. He has successfully managed and overseen substantial budgets at municipal, provincial, and federal levels. He has led teams through states of emergencies and high-profile protests and is well-versed in government relations. He has also been proactively involved with First Nation Leaders and efforts towards reconciliation. Chief Select Stubbs will be an excellent and thoughtful leader for the OPS and the community at large.”
Stubbs replaces interim Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell, who lead the Ottawa Police Service for the past eight months, following the resignation of Chief of Police Peter Sloly. Sloly resigned following criticism of the Ottawa Police Service’s handling of the so-called Freedom Convoy's occupation of Ottawa in January and February.
"It is truly an honour and I am humbled to become the police chief in the capital of Canada,” Stubbs said in a statement issued Friday. “I’m looking forward to working with the great civilian and sworn members of the Ottawa Police Service, as we all work together with the communities we serve.”
Stubbs joined the RCMP in 1993 and served in six B.C. communities, including Prince George and Terrace.
Since July 2017, he has been in charge of core policing functions across B.C. and oversight of the province’s 125 RCMP detachments, including Prince George.
- With files from Mark Nielsen
