Jean P. A. J. Tardif

Divisions Served: “A,” “NHQ”

Medals & Honours: Long Service Medal

Pillar Location: Pillar VI, Row 2, Column D

Story: 

Jean Tardif was 20 years old in 1964 when he left the family farm in Ste Rose du Lac, Manitoba, to attend RCMP training school in Regina, Saskatchewan. It was the first time he’d ever been away from home.

“I joined the RCMP to get off the farm,” he says. “In my family, the eldest always left.”

After graduating later that year, Jean’s first posting was working patrol on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. He’d never been to a city before, and the shock of it was so great Jean nearly packed his bags and headed back Manitoba the first week. Over time, however, the place grew on him, and he began to put down roots.

Jean’s next posting came in 1968, when he was the first RCMP officer assigned to protect recently-elected Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Jean enjoyed being part of Trudeau’s detail, and remembers the late Prime Minister as a quiet man who treated his officers well.

“He didn’t talk much, but when he did he spoke to you as an equal.”

Jean’s favourite job during his years with the RCMP was working traffic, because he enjoyed dealing with the public. Looking back, he says the biggest reward he gained from being in the Force was that it allowed him to serve Canadians.

After retiring as a Sergeant in 1996, Jean continued to work with the public first as a transport trucker, then as a coach bus driver. Although his days on the Force are long behind him, Jean values the many great memories he has, and would recommend a career in the RCMP to young people today.