The Age of Consent in Canada: Section 150.1 Explained
The age of consent in Canada is 16, but two close-in-age exceptions change that in practice, and both of them disappear entirely where the older person is in a position of trust or authority.
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.
What Is the Age of Consent in Canada?
Sixteen. Section 150.1(1) provides that where an accused is charged under section 151 or 152, or under subsection 153(1), 160(3) or 173(2), or under section 271, 272 or 273 in respect of a complainant under 16, it is not a defence that the complainant consented.
The age was raised from 14 to 16 in 2008. Material written before then, and a good deal written since, still refers to 14.
A separate and higher threshold of 18 applies where the other person is in a position of trust or authority, where the young person is in a relationship of dependency, or where the relationship is exploitative — and for certain other offences. Sixteen is the general rule, not a universal one.
What Are the Close-in-Age Exceptions?
| Complainant's age | Consent may be a defence if the accused is | Additional conditions |
|---|---|---|
| 12 or 13 | Less than 2 years older | Not in a position of trust or authority, not a person the complainant depends on, and the relationship is not exploitative |
| 14 or 15 | Less than 5 years older | The same three conditions |
Section 150.1(2) provides the first exception and section 150.1(2.1) the second. Under 12, there is no exception at all.
Both exceptions fail entirely if any one of the three additional conditions is not met. A five-year gap between a 15-year-old and a 19-year-old may fall within section 150.1(2.1), but not if the older person is their coach, teacher, employer or someone they depend on.
Does It Matter If You Did Not Know Their Age?
Only if you took all reasonable steps to find out. A belief about age, however honest, is not enough on its own — the Code requires that the accused took all reasonable steps to ascertain the complainant's age.
What counts as reasonable steps depends on the circumstances, and the standard is not satisfied by being told an age, or by where you met, or by how someone appeared.
This is the single most common misunderstanding in this area, and it is the reason 'they told me they were 18' is rarely an answer by itself.
What Charges Does This Affect?
- Sexual interference (s. 151) — touching for a sexual purpose of a person under 16.
- Invitation to sexual touching (s. 152).
- Sexual exploitation (s. 153) — which raises the threshold to 18 where there is a relationship of trust, authority, dependency or exploitation.
- Exposure to a person under 16 (s. 173(2)).
- Sexual assault (s. 271) and its aggravated forms, where the complainant is under 16.
Several of these carry mandatory minimum sentences, and section 151 carries one on both elections. Where a complainant is under 16, the available outcomes narrow sharply.
See our page on sexual interference for how those charges are defended.
Frequently asked questions
Browse every answer on this siteSixteen. It was raised from 14 in 2008. A higher threshold of 18 applies where the other person is in a position of trust or authority, where there is a relationship of dependency, or where the relationship is exploitative.
Section 150.1(2) allows consent as a defence where the complainant is 12 or 13 and the accused is less than two years older. Section 150.1(2.1) allows it where the complainant is 14 or 15 and the accused is less than five years older.
No. Both fail if the accused was in a position of trust or authority, if the complainant was in a relationship of dependency, or if the relationship was exploitative.
Only if you took all reasonable steps to ascertain it. An honest belief alone is not enough, and being told an age does not by itself satisfy the standard.
No. The close-in-age exceptions begin at 12. There is no exception where the complainant is under 12.
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Other Parts of the Law Explained
This page is general information about Canadian law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Statutes are amended; provisions are described as at the consolidation reviewed when this page was written.
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