ASAgent Santé#hospital ADSQAgent de sécurité QuébecThe security guard's notebook AAAgent Ambulancier#paramedic APOAgent Pompier#firefighter
Sûreté du Québec constable: $57,222 to $96,901 a yearSPVM: $51,610 to $97,377 a yearSPVM, specialist constable: $102,246RCMP constable: $71,191 to $115,350 a yearRCMP corporal: up to $126,311RCMP sergeant: up to $137,677RCMP staff sergeant: up to $150,073RCMP cadet: $1,000 a weekHighway safety officer: $59,506 to $81,651 a yearMilitary police corporal: $7,606 to $8,071 a monthMilitary police captain: $8,861 to $11,712 a monthPolice officer in Quebec, median wage: $45.08 an hourSûreté du Québec constable: $57,222 to $96,901 a yearSPVM: $51,610 to $97,377 a yearSPVM, specialist constable: $102,246RCMP constable: $71,191 to $115,350 a yearRCMP corporal: up to $126,311RCMP sergeant: up to $137,677RCMP staff sergeant: up to $150,073RCMP cadet: $1,000 a weekHighway safety officer: $59,506 to $81,651 a yearMilitary police corporal: $7,606 to $8,071 a monthMilitary police captain: $8,861 to $11,712 a monthPolice officer in Quebec, median wage: $45.08 an hour
Workplaces

UPAC: working as a police officer at Quebec's anti-corruption unit

What UPAC is under the law, who works there, how a police officer becomes an investigator there, where jobs are posted and how to make a report.

Full guide: Police jobs in Quebec

· Lire en français

UPAC, or Unité permanente anticorruption (Quebec's anti-corruption unit), brings together a specialized police force and audit and investigation teams from other public bodies. A police officer works there as an investigator for the Anti-Corruption Commissioner. This text applies to women and men police officers alike.

What the law says

The Loi concernant la lutte contre la corruption (chapter L-6.1), up to date as of August 12, 2026 on LégisQuébec, establishes the office of Anti-Corruption Commissioner. Its section 4 gives the commissioner the mission of coordinating, for the State, actions to prevent and fight corruption in the public sector, particularly in contractual matters.

Section 8.4 forms a police force specialized in fighting corruption. Section 8.6 specifies that this police force and the teams designated by the government form the Unité permanente anticorruption.

According to the UPAC website, the unit was created on February 18, 2011 and the Commissioner became a specialized police force on February 14, 2018.

The commissioner

The commissioner is appointed by the National Assembly, on a motion of the Premier and with the approval of two thirds of its members (section 5). The term lasts seven years and cannot be renewed (section 5.2). The commissioner is a peace officer throughout Quebec (section 7) and director of the police force (section 9).

An associate commissioner for investigations, also a peace officer (section 8.1), and associate commissioners for audits (section 8) support the commissioner.

Who works there

Section 8.4 of the Act lists the people who make up the police force.

  • The commissioner and the associate commissioner for investigations
  • The other peace officers: chief inspectors, inspectors, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, corporals and constables
  • The associate commissioners for audits
  • The commissioner's staff members, appointed under the Public Service Act

A police officer from another police force may also act as a member, when their services are loaned to the commissioner by agreement (section 14). The UPAC website names three sources of these loans of service: the Sûreté du Québec (Quebec's provincial police), the Service de police de la Ville de Québec and the Régie intermunicipale de police Thérèse-De Blainville.

The teams designated by the government remain attached to their own body (sections 15 and 16). The UPAC website places them at the Commission de la construction du Québec, the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, Revenu Québec and the Sûreté du Québec.

Staffing

The Commissioner's Rapport annuel de gestion 2024-2025 gives a staff of 157 people as of March 31, 2025. This number excludes students, interns and loaned staff, whom the report does not count.

Area of activityAppointed under the Public Service ActAppointed by the commissionerTotal
Management and administration (CLCC)53154
Prevention617
Audit12012
Investigation236184
Total9463157

Source: Commissaire à la lutte contre la corruption, Rapport annuel de gestion 2024-2025, table 26, staff as of March 31, 2025.

The UPAC website publishes three undated orders of magnitude. Its careers page speaks of nearly 200 employees at the Commissioner, including police officers on loan. For the whole unit, the "Équipe et organigramme" page writes about 220 people and the "Qu'est-ce que l'UPAC?" page about 240 employees. The offices are in Montreal and Quebec City.

How to get in

Since 2021-2022, the Commissioner can hire its own police officers, according to its annual report. The site's "Recrutement policier" page presents three profiles for the investigator position.

  • Active police officers, hired permanently or loaned by their police force
  • Recently retired police officers
  • Professionals holding a university degree, with or without police training

An active police officer who has not completed the initial police investigation training program must take an additional 9 weeks of on-the-job training, according to the site. Candidates on the university path take the Commissioner's program, given mostly at the École nationale de police du Québec (Quebec's police academy).

Where jobs are posted

Positions are posted in the "Emplois disponibles" section of the Careers page of upac.gouv.qc.ca. On October 10, 2026, this section stated that no position was being recruited. The pages for the active police officer and retired police officer profiles specified that the Commissioner keeps a bank of applications. The Careers page also offers an unsolicited application form. No pay scale appears there.

Making a report

The law speaks of disclosure. Any person may communicate to the commissioner information that, in their view, may show that a wrongdoing has been committed or is about to be (section 26). The official channel is the disclosure form on the UPAC website or the line 1 844 541-8722.

Section 31 requires the commissioner to preserve the person's anonymity. Section 32 prohibits reprisals.

This text summarizes public documents. It is neither legal advice nor union advice.

Further reading

Did you like this article?

Share this article

Facebook LinkedIn Reddit X Email

Frequently asked questions

What is UPAC?

It is the Unité permanente anticorruption, Quebec's permanent anti-corruption unit. Under section 8.6 of the Act, it is made up of the police force specialized in fighting corruption and the teams designated by the government.

What does UPAC stand for?

UPAC is the acronym of Unité permanente anticorruption. The acronym CLCC designates the Commissaire à la lutte contre la corruption, the police force that employs the investigators.

What is UPAC's role?

The UPAC website describes three fronts: prevent, audit and investigate. Section 9 of the Act makes the commissioner responsible for receiving disclosures, requesting investigations and doing prevention. Charges are the responsibility of the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales, the UPAC FAQ specifies.

Who is the UPAC commissioner?

The Anti-Corruption Commissioner is appointed by the National Assembly with the approval of two thirds of its members, for a non-renewable seven-year term. The name of the office holder appears on the "Équipe et organigramme" page of the UPAC website.

Is it possible to become an investigator without being a police officer?

Yes, at the Commissioner. Its recruitment page welcomes candidates with or without police training who have completed university studies in a relevant field. They then take the Commissioner's training program.

How do you become a police investigator?

At the Commissioner, three profiles lead to the investigator position: active police officer, recently retired police officer or university-educated professional. This article does not cover the investigator path in other police forces.

Did you like this article?

Share this article

Facebook LinkedIn Reddit X Email

Sources

Read also