Brenda Butterworth-Carr named head of B.C. RCMP

The RCMPin British Columbia have named Assistant Commissioner Brenda Butterworth-Carr as the division's new commanding officer.

Butterworth-Carr, from the Tr'ondk Hwch'in Hn Nation in Yukon, will be the first Indigenous woman to hold the top RCMP job in the province, according to a spokesperson.

British Columbia's E Division is the largest of the RCMP's 15 divisions in Canada.

Butterworth-Carr, a Mountie since 1987, has been the officer in charge of criminal operations core policing in B.C. since August 2016, police said in a statement.

She also served as the commanding officer of Saskatchewan RCMP for five years. When she took the job in 2013, she became the first Indigenous woman to command an RCMP division.

She has also held a wide range of positions in police organizations at the provincial, federal and international level.

Butterworth-Carr takes over the position from deputy commissioner Craig Callens, who is retiring after holding the commanding officer position for five years.