1,026 flights and 127 SAR missions across a province-wide drone program

The challenge

Saskatchewan covers over 651,000 square kilometres of terrain — from dense boreal forest in the north to open prairie in the south — with a population spread thinly across rural communities. When someone goes missing, ground search teams face punishing distances, extreme cold, deep snow, and limited daylight in winter months. Traditional SAR operations relied on foot patrols, ATVs, and helicopter support — expensive, slow to mobilize, and often unable to operate in darkness or poor visibility.

The capabilities

The program

Saskatchewan RCMP placed a drone in every detachment across the province — making it the only province in Canada with full coverage. Each aircraft is equipped with thermal imaging cameras, high-intensity spotlights, loudspeakers for two-way communication, and red/blue emergency lights. Officers are trained to deploy within minutes of a call, providing immediate aerial coverage while ground teams mobilize.

The results

In 2025, the program logged 1,026 drone flights province-wide. Of those, 127 were dedicated search-and-rescue missions — locating missing persons in remote bush, frozen lakes, and snow-covered terrain where ground search would have taken hours or days. An additional 38 vulnerable persons — including individuals with dementia, children, and those in mental health crisis — were located and safely recovered using thermal imaging.

The drones also supported law enforcement operations, safely locating and tracking 57 suspects who had fled into wooded or rural areas — reducing foot-pursuit risk to officers. Thermal imaging proved particularly effective in Saskatchewan’s extreme winter conditions, where sub-zero temperatures make body heat signatures stand out sharply against the frozen landscape.