which only does policing for the larger population centers... leaving the lesser pop {rural} areas to the RCMP
as well as Atlantic provinces (save the partial policing done within Nfld-Lab)... to a degree, federal transfer payments help offset contractual arrangements made with the RCMP. The RCMP is a lower cost than provincial/local police forces, in part due to the traditionally lower wages paid by the RCMP to its members - those overall lower costs results in significant tax savings for citizens policed by the RCMP. Studies show the 'downside' is a resultant higher case load for the RCMP, with a lower closure rate.
The RCMP get
lower wages compared to local police in those provinces? Wow. That surprises me. Maybe that is part of the problem?
May I assume, from what you have told me, that the voters of the western provinces are more fiscally conservative types than their counterparts in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland? Because that, to me, would certainly explain it. (But I don't live in Canada so I could likely be wrong about that.)