OTTAWA – Veteran Mountie Bob Paulson will be the next commissioner of the RCMP, opening a new chapter for the storied police force following a difficult and turbulent stretch.

There was “a lot of action” around headquarters Tuesday and formal appointment of the new RCMP boss is likely to come Wednesday, a source told The Canadian Press.

Paulson is currently the deputy commissioner who heads up federal policing for the force, overseeing everything from protection of key officials to investigation of organized crime.

Another insider said the choice for top job at the force came down to Paulson and Peter German, the force’s commissioner for Western Canada.

But it became clear Wednesday the 52-year-old Paulson, a bilingual native of Lachute, Que., had won out.

A member of the Canadian Forces prior to joining the Mounties 25 years ago, he spent most of his policing career in British Columbia before moving to Ottawa in 2005.

He has a son and two daughters.

Paulson replaces William Elliott, who announced his decision to step down earlier this year, after an often stormy four-year tenure. It was marked by shakeups within the iconic police force and a revolt last summer by senior officers.

Long-serving Mounties bristled at Elliott’s brash management style, complaining of abusive temper tantrums. He is to begin a new job as Interpol’s representative at the United Nations in coming days.

Paulson has led several high-profile investigations and oversaw a major reorganization of national security operations in recent years.

He gained his deputy post when Raf Souccar, one Elliott’s fiercest critics, was bumped from his post in a shakeup.

Paulson will be tasked with trying to complete the force’s transformation from a rigid paramilitary-style organization into a modern organization that puts more emphasis on the well-being of its members.

Elliott, a lawyer, former political aide and former national security adviser to the prime minister, was appointed to help overhaul a national institution in crisis.

In 2005, the Mounties were rocked when four of their members were gunned down on a farm near Mayerthorpe, Alta.

A 2006 commission of inquiry said information the RCMP passed to the United States was likely responsible for Maher Arar being shipped to Syria, where the Ottawa man was tortured into false terrorism confessions.

Elliott had been on the job for only three months when a bewildered Polish visitor died after being Tasered by Mounties at the Vancouver airport. That led to an inquiry and sparked concerns about how RCMP stun gun use.

His domineering approach and the slow pace of reforms did little to bolster morale within the RCMP.

A number of recommended moves intended to modernize the force _ such as appointment of an outside management board _ have yet to take place.