Winnipeg woman in RCMP’s first all-female cadet class looks back 50 years later

Posted on September 9, 2024 by Peggy

Carol Briggs is reserved about the role she played in Canadian history, being the first woman to graduate as an RCMP cadet half a century ago.

“A lot of people refer to us as trailblazers,” she said. “I guess we were, but I don’t really see myself that way.”

Briggs was among 32 women who enrolled in RCMP training in 1974. Troop 17 broke the glass ceiling by being the first group of female cadets to be sworn in at the police force. A reunion will take place in Regina this weekend.

“I’m very grateful to have worked with all the women that I did in training, I’m very proud of them all,” Briggs told CBC News in an interview Monday.

Briggs, who was in between jobs and looking for a career in the early 1970s, had thought about joining a police force. A friend’s suggestion to apply to the RCMP, led her to sign up, and in September 1974 she began training at its training depot in Regina.

“It was a male-dominated area, but I just thought it might be really interesting work,” she said.

Briggs joined the first RCMP class with women enrolled — 32 from across the country.

“We kind of gelled together and made good friends. We got along really well in helping each other out,” she said. “It was kind of neat.”

Briggs opted out of the regular training routine, instead taking an abridged course on airport policing to speed up her return to Winnipeg. She finished her time at the academy two months before the rest of her class — becoming the first woman to graduate as an RCMP cadet.

RCMP unprepared for the change

Up until that point, there were no women working on the front line, and Briggs says the force wasn’t fully ready for the change.

While undergoing her training at depot, Briggs said the women were dressed in one-piece coveralls, similar to a mechanic’s suit, that others would often poke fun at. Out of the academy, the women had to wear men’s pants and carry purses instead of a holster and a belt to put their pistols in.

“They hadn’t quite got prepared for that first class,” she said.

Her first stint with the RCMP lasted two and a half years, patrolling the terminal and grounds of Winnipeg’s airport. She was then offered a position in the force’s intelligence unit as a surveillance expert, monitoring motorcycle gangs.

Briggs’s accomplishments — including a cross pistol award badge in recognition of accuracy — often flew under the radar, kept secret by someone who did not openly celebrate her own achievements, according to her wife.

Two women stand side by side looking at the camera — Gale M’Lot, right, says her wife, Carol Briggs, left, was “uniquely qualified” to be the first woman to serve among men on the RCMP’s front line. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)

“Most of our friends are completely surprised by the fact she was in the RCMP,” Gale M’Lot said. “They very rarely find out unless I happen to mention something.”

M’Lot says Briggs’s dexterity and character made her “uniquely qualified” to be the first woman to serve among men on the RCMP’s front line.

“I’m just very proud of her,” she said.

Long hours and continuous requests to work overtime eventually took a toll on Briggs, leading her to leave the RCMP five years after joining the force.

History of gender-based violence

During her time with the police service, Briggs said she was “lucky enough” to work with “all good guys” who seemed to accept her.

“There was a little bit of teasing that went on from time to time, but I just gave it right back,” she said, but she added that wasn’t the case for all the women who were first enlisted in the RCMP.

“Some women were unfortunate enough to work with men who weren’t too accepting of females in the force.”

A scathing report prepared as part of a class-action lawsuit against the RCMP said sexual harassment, racial slurs and grooming were some of the abuses suffered by women who worked and volunteered for the police force, going as far back as 1974 — when the first all-women cadet class had enrolled.

The report assessors found a “shocking” level of violence and sexual assaults, many of which took place at RCMP detachments.

“The culture within RCMP workplaces tolerated misogyny, homophobia and a range of other prejudices and deeply objectionable misconduct within its ranks and leadership,” wrote retired justice Pamela Kirkpatrick.

In 2016, the federal government set aside $100 million to cover the claims of former members who worked from 1974 to 2019.

Newspaper and pictures lay on a table — Briggs says the RCMP has come a long way since she first joined the force, with just over 21 per cent of current front-line positions being filled by women. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)

RCMP has come a long way: Briggs

Half a century after Briggs graduated from the RCMP, the latest data shows that just over 21 per cent of the police’s active front-line force consists of women — roughly one in five officers.

Training at the RCMP Academy is also no longer segregated between men and women, which Briggs said helps with the force’s efforts to be more inclusive.

“I think they’ve come a long way and are gearing towards the women,” she said.

For the next generation of women thinking of joining the RCMP, like she did 50 years ago, Briggs said her best advice is to “just go for it.”

“Women are just as capable and able to perform the duties as the men are.”