The Criminal Code Explained
What the law actually says, in plain language, with the section numbers. These pages explain the provisions behind common charges and the concepts that decide how a case runs — separately from the question of who defends you.
Which Section Have You Been Charged Under?
s. 266 — Assault
Section 266 makes assault an offence punishable by up to five years on indictment, or summarily. The conduct itself is defined by section 265: applying force intentionally without consent, or attempting or threatening to apply force with the apparent present ability to do so.
s. 271 — Sexual assault
Section 271 makes sexual assault punishable by up to 10 years on indictment, rising to 14 years with a one-year minimum where the complainant is under 16. Consent is defined by section 273.1 as the voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question.
s. 320.13 — Dangerous operation
Section 320.13(1) makes it an offence to operate a conveyance in a manner that, having regard to all of the circumstances, is dangerous to the public. Subsections (2) and (3) create aggravated versions where the driving causes bodily harm or death.
s. 320.14 — Impaired operation
Section 320.14(1) makes it an offence to operate a conveyance while impaired to any degree by alcohol or a drug, or to have a blood alcohol concentration at or above 80 mg per 100 mL, or a blood drug concentration at or above the prescribed level, within two hours of ceasing to operate.
Age of consent
The age of consent for sexual activity in Canada is 16. Section 150.1 removes consent as a defence to charges involving complainants under 16, subject to two close-in-age exceptions: a two-year gap where the complainant is 12 or 13, and a five-year gap where they are 14 or 15.
Self-defence
Section 34 provides that a person is not guilty of an offence if they believe on reasonable grounds that force or a threat of force is being used against them or another person, the act is committed to defend against it, and the act is reasonable in the circumstances.
How Does the Process Actually Work?
Summary, indictable and hybrid
Canadian offences fall into three categories. Summary conviction offences are the least serious and are tried in the Ontario Court of Justice. Indictable offences are the most serious and carry procedural rights including, for many, a jury. Hybrid offences can be prosecuted either way, and the Crown elects.
Unreasonable search and seizure
Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure. A search is reasonable where it is authorised by law, the law itself is reasonable, and the search was carried out reasonably.
The investigation phase
The investigation phase runs from the moment police begin looking into an allegation until a charge is laid or the file is closed. During it you have the right to silence, and on arrest or detention the right under section 10(b) of the Charter to retain and instruct counsel without delay.
Sentencing explained
Section 718 sets the purpose of sentencing and section 718.1 its fundamental principle: a sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender. The available outcomes run from an absolute discharge through fines and probation to imprisonment.
Warrant for arrest
A warrant authorises police to arrest you and bring you before the court. Turning yourself in with a lawyer, at a time you choose, is almost always a better position than being arrested at a traffic stop, because it allows a bail plan to be prepared in advance.
Being subpoenaed
A subpoena requires a person likely to give material evidence to attend court and testify. Section 698 authorises it, and section 705 allows the court to issue a warrant for the arrest of a person served with a subpoena who does not attend or does not remain in attendance.
Bail reform
Canadian bail law contains both a statutory principle of restraint in section 493.1, requiring release at the earliest reasonable opportunity on the least onerous conditions, and an expanded list of reverse-onus situations in section 515(6) — widened again by the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, which came into force on 15 July 2026.
What Follows a Charge or a Conviction?
What a criminal record is
A criminal record in Canada is a record of convictions held in the RCMP's national repository and searchable through CPIC. What an employer or organisation actually sees depends on which of the three police record checks permitted by Ontario's Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 is requested.
CPIC explained
CPIC — the Canadian Police Information Centre — is the RCMP-operated national system that Canadian police services use to share information about people, vehicles and property. It is an index and a query tool rather than a single record, and access is restricted to accredited agencies.
The sex offender registry
SOIRA is the Sex Offender Information Registration Act. A court sentencing a person for a designated offence makes an order requiring compliance with it. Registration is mandatory in defined categories under s. 490.012(1) and (2), and presumptive but escapable under s. 490.012(3).
The warn range
A driver who registers a blood alcohol concentration of 50 mg or more in 100 mL of blood — the 'warn range' — has their licence suspended immediately under section 48 of Ontario's Highway Traffic Act. The suspension is 7 days for a first, 14 for a second, and 30 for a third or subsequent.
Frequently asked questions
Browse every answer on this siteThe consolidated Criminal Code is published free by the Department of Justice at laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. It is the authoritative text and is updated as amendments come into force. These pages explain provisions in plain language; the Code itself governs.
The section number appears on the paperwork you were given when you were charged or released — the information, undertaking, summons or appearance notice. It is usually written as a number such as 266 or 320.14.
Frequently. Mandatory minimum sentences for several firearms offences were repealed in 2022, the impaired driving provisions were rewritten in 2018, and further amendments were made in 2026. Material written before an amendment can be confidently wrong.
No. Much of Canadian criminal law sits in how courts have interpreted the words, not in the words themselves. The text tells you what the offence is; case law tells you what it means and what the Crown must actually prove.
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