Robbery Charges Lawyer in Brampton, ON

Section 343 sets out four ways to commit robbery. It is not a single offence but a family of them, and which branch the Crown relies on shapes the whole defence.

Two things follow from that structure. Under section 343(c) no property needs to be taken at all — an assault with intent to steal is complete robbery. And under section 343(d) an imitation weapon is enough; the Crown does not have to prove the weapon was real or functional.

Section 344(1) makes robbery an indictable offence with a maximum of life imprisonment. There is no summary option.

The provision that once imposed a four-year minimum wherever any firearm was used, section 344(1)(a.1), was repealed in 2022. Material published before then will still describe it as being in force.

Section 344(2) governs when a prior conviction counts as a second or subsequent offence, and it excludes convictions more than 10 years old, not counting time in custody.

Theft becomes robbery when violence or the threat of violence is added. Assault becomes robbery when it is committed with intent to steal. The dividing line is therefore not the value of what was taken but the presence of force or the threat of it.

That line is often where the real argument lies. A shoplifting that becomes a struggle at the door may be charged as robbery under section 343(a) on the basis that force was used to overcome resistance, when the realistic characterisation is theft plus a separate assault. The difference in exposure is substantial, because theft under $5,000 is a hybrid offence while robbery carries life.

See our pages on theft and assault for how those offences work on their own.

Because robbery carries life and no summary option, it is almost always a matter for the Superior Court unless resolved. Early and thorough work on disclosure matters more here than on most charges.