Inuk RCMP officer returns to his roots

Formerly of Apex, 48-year-old Cpl. Stephan Kilabuk graduated from the RCMP Academy in Regina in 2003. He went on to protect prime ministers, take part in a nationwide manhunt and help develop technology that keeps the police — and the public — safer. 

He asked for a redeployment to Nunavut RCMP’s relief unit last year to “help people face to face,” he said in an interview Friday.

In December, he returned home.

“The message I want to get out to any young person that’s considering a career in anything, not just policing: go ahead and chase your dreams,” Kilabuk said. “I chased mine.”

His advice to them?

“Hard work, education, and a willingness to learn that never stops,” he said. “I’m always learning from others. No matter what age, there’s always something to pick up and learn.”

Kilabuk served as a sniper for the Ottawa RCMP’s Emergency Response Team from 2016 to 2025, providing security for former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Mark Carney. 

Before that, he served in Rankin Inlet, Naujaat, Clyde River, Kinngait, Igloolik, Iqaluit and Winnipeg.

“I’ve done a lot of protective detail — following motorcades and being on rooftops — keeping an eye out for danger,” Kilabuk said. “But nothing compares to an actual manhunt.”

In the summer of 2019, Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky murdered three people along remote highways in northern British Columbia, then were found dead on Aug. 7, in northern Manitoba. Kilabuk participated in the high-profile search for them, which spanned four provinces.

“Nothing tests the skills that you’ve worked so hard and trained so hard to perfect better than those situations,” he said.

Kilabuk also helped the RCMP deploy technology for police safety after the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history.

On April 18 and 19, 2020, a man in a replica RCMP cruiser killed 22 people across several Nova Scotia communities. Nova Scotia RCMP were criticized for their response, including for an incident where officers shot at a colleague, who they mistook for the perpetrator, at a fire hall in Lower Onslow.

In 2023, Kilabuk was promoted to the Operational Systems Services Centre in Ottawa. He helped study, test and train teams on Blue Force Tracking, which shows every officer’s location via their cellphone to provide situational awareness in the field.

Now based in Iqaluit, Kilabuk has been travelling across Nunavut, including stops in Rankin Inlet, Naujaat, Clyde River, Kinngait and Igloolik.

“The big goal was to come back to my roots, to be able to strengthen my language, and to get the pulse of how things are going in the communities, so that I can better understand,” he said. “If I understand better, I can figure out how best to apply the skills that I’ve learned along the way.”

Kilabuk is promoting the use of a Nunavut-based app called Miinga, or Mental Health Resource Mobile App.

“What it provides is a list of the services for anything related to the North, whether it’s family services, child welfare, search and rescue, or local hamlet services — it’s all in there,” he said.