Amber Alert in Canada and BC: How It Works (2025 Data)
What an Amber Alert is, when police issue one, how it reaches your phone through Alert Ready, and what Statistics Canada data shows about child abductions in 2025.
Crime Canada newsroomPublished
An Amber Alert is an urgent public warning that police issue when they believe a child has been abducted and is in danger of serious harm or death. In Canada, including British Columbia and Ontario, the alert goes out on TV, radio and compatible cellphones through the national Alert Ready system. Abductions are rare: police reported 372 abduction incidents in Canada in 2025, a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 people. British Columbia had 33 incidents (0.58 per 100,000) and Ontario had 83 (0.51 per 100,000).
The 2025 figures are the latest police-reported data from Statistics Canada, released in summer 2026. Very few of these incidents lead to an Amber Alert. Most do not meet the strict criteria police use.
What is an Amber Alert?
An Amber Alert is a partnership between police, broadcasters, emergency management officials and wireless providers. Its purpose is simple: put a description of an abducted child, the suspected abductor and any vehicle in front of as many people as possible, as fast as possible, so someone who sees them can tell police.
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The program began in the United States in 1996, named in memory of a young girl abducted in Texas. "AMBER" is also read as "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response." Canadian provinces set up their own programs in the early 2000s.
There is no single national Amber Alert program in Canada. Each province runs its own, led by police in that province. The criteria are similar across the country, but the exact wording and procedures can differ from province to province.
What are the criteria for an Amber Alert in Canada?
Police issue an Amber Alert only when a case meets a set of conditions. In general, the criteria Canadian programs use are:
- A child is involved. Programs generally cover children under 18.
- Police believe the child has been abducted. A missing child is not enough on its own.
- Police believe the child is in danger of serious physical harm or death.
- There is enough descriptive information about the child, the suspect and/or a vehicle (such as a licence plate) for the public to help.
- The alert can be issued quickly enough to be useful. Police stress that the first hours after an abduction are critical.
All of these conditions usually have to be met. The decision to issue an alert is made by police, not by broadcasters or phone companies.
When police do not issue an Amber Alert
Many cases involving missing children do not lead to an Amber Alert. For example:
- Runaways, where there is no sign of abduction.
- Custody disputes between parents, unless police believe the child is in danger.
- Cases where there is too little information (no description of a suspect or vehicle) for the public to act on.
In these situations police may still ask for help through a missing person release, news media and social media. The criteria are strict on purpose: if alerts went out too often, people would start to ignore them. You can learn more about how missing person cases are handled on our missing persons page.
How do Amber Alerts reach your phone? (Alert Ready)
Amber Alerts in Canada are sent through Alert Ready, the national public alerting system. Alert Ready is used for emergencies such as severe weather, wildfires, floods and Amber Alerts. It sends the same message to:
- television and radio stations, which interrupt programming;
- cable and satellite services; and
- compatible wireless devices, a service that began in Canada in 2018.
Phone alerts are sent by cell broadcast. The message goes to every compatible phone connected to cell towers in the area police choose. It is not a text message: the system does not use your phone number and does not track who received it.
Police decide the alert area. It can cover a region or a whole province, depending on where they think the child and suspect could be. That is why people far from where the abduction happened can still receive the alert.
Wireless alerts have a distinct sound and vibration, designed to get your attention. They can arrive at any time of day or night, because police want the information out while it can still help.
Can you turn off Amber Alerts in Canada?
Alert Ready says wireless emergency alerts in Canada, including Amber Alerts, are not optional and you generally cannot opt out of them. Settings menus vary by phone and operating system, but the system is built so that urgent alerts reach everyone in the area.
Why did my phone not get the Amber Alert?
To receive a wireless alert, a phone generally needs to be:
- compatible with wireless public alerting;
- connected to an LTE or 5G network (not just Wi-Fi);
- running up-to-date software; and
- inside the alert area when the alert is sent.
Phones that are switched off, in airplane mode, or on an older network may not receive the alert. Test alerts are sent periodically so people can check that their phone works.
Amber Alert BC: how it works in British Columbia
British Columbia has its own Amber Alert program, run by police in the province, including the RCMP and municipal police services, in partnership with broadcasters and emergency management officials. The criteria follow the same general model used across Canada: a child believed to be abducted, a belief that the child is in danger, and enough detail for the public to help.
When a BC alert is issued, it goes out through Alert Ready to TV, radio and compatible phones in the area police choose, which can be a region or the whole province.
In 2025, police in British Columbia reported 33 abduction incidents, a rate of 0.58 per 100,000 people. The rate was 23.7% lower than in 2024, and below the national rate of 0.89. For more on missing person cases in the province, see our BC missing persons page.
Amber Alert Ontario
Ontario also runs a provincial Amber Alert program led by police, using the same general criteria. Ontario alerts reach phones, TV and radio through Alert Ready.
In 2025, police in Ontario reported 83 abduction incidents, a rate of 0.51 per 100,000 people. That was 15.9% higher than in 2024, but still among the lowest rates in Canada. See our Ontario missing persons page for more.
What to do when you get an Amber Alert
An Amber Alert only works if people read it and watch for the details. Here is what police generally ask:
- Read the whole alert. Note the child's description, the suspect's description and any vehicle details, especially the licence plate.
- If you are driving, pull over safely first before reading the alert.
- Look around you. Watch for the child, the suspect or the vehicle where you are.
- If you see them, contact police right away through your local emergency line. Say where you are, what you saw and which direction they went.
- Do not approach or try to stop the suspect. Leave that to police.
- Do not call emergency lines to ask about the alert or to complain about it. That ties up lines needed for real sightings.
- Share only official information. Use updates from police or trusted news media, and watch for when the alert is cancelled.
How many child abductions are reported in Canada?
Statistics Canada counts abduction as a violent Criminal Code violation. The table below shows police-reported abduction incidents and rates in Canada from 2015 to 2025. Rates are per 100,000 people.
| Year | Abduction incidents | Rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 384 | 1.08 |
| 2016 | 368 | 1.02 |
| 2017 | 321 | 0.88 |
| 2018 | 358 | 0.97 |
| 2019 | 431 | 1.15 |
| 2020 | 375 | 0.99 |
| 2021 | 350 | 0.92 |
| 2022 | 370 | 0.95 |
| 2023 | 398 | 0.99 |
| 2024 | 405 | 0.98 |
| 2025 | 372 | 0.89 |
A few points stand out:
- In 2025, the rate fell to 0.89 per 100,000, from 0.98 in 2024. Incidents fell from 405 to 372.
- Over the past decade, the rate has stayed in a narrow range, from a low of 0.88 in 2017 to a high of 1.15 in 2019.
- The 2025 rate is lower than in 2015 (1.08).
To put this in context, police reported 601,139 violent Criminal Code incidents in Canada in 2025 (1,443.25 per 100,000). Abductions made up fewer than 1 in every 1,000 of them. Across all police-reported crime, there were 2,525,970 incidents in 2025.
Which province has the highest abduction rate?
The table below ranks provinces and territories by their police-reported abduction rate in 2025, per 100,000 people, with the change in rate from 2024.
| Rank | Province or territory | Rate per 100,000 (2025) | Incidents (2025) | Change in rate from 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwest Territories | 2.18 | 1 | -50.7% |
| 2 | New Brunswick | 2.18 | 19 | +17.2% |
| 3 | Quebec | 1.78 | 161 | -5.8% |
| 4 | Manitoba | 1.52 | 23 | -1.3% |
| 5 | Alberta | 0.72 | 36 | -21.7% |
| 6 | Saskatchewan | 0.63 | 8 | -53.7% |
| 7 | British Columbia | 0.58 | 33 | -23.7% |
| 8 | Nova Scotia | 0.55 | 6 | -50.5% |
| 9 | Ontario | 0.51 | 83 | +15.9% |
| 10 | Newfoundland and Labrador | 0.36 | 2 | -60.4% |
| 11 | Prince Edward Island | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 12 | Nunavut | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| 13 | Yukon | 0 | 0 | n/a |
New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories had the highest rates in 2025, both 2.18 per 100,000. But the Northwest Territories figure comes from a single incident. With such small populations, one case can move the rate sharply, which is why its rate fell by half from 2024.
Among the large provinces, Quebec had the highest rate (1.78) and the most incidents: 161 of Canada's 372. Ontario (0.51) and British Columbia (0.58) had some of the lowest rates in the country.
Prince Edward Island, Nunavut and Yukon reported no abductions in 2025. Big percentage swings in places like Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador reflect small counts, not necessarily real trends. Compare places by rate, and look at several years before drawing conclusions.
What police-reported abduction numbers do and do not show
The abduction numbers are not a count of Amber Alerts, and they are not a count of stranger kidnappings. Keep these points in mind:
- Abduction is a specific legal category. It covers abduction offences in sections 280 to 283 of the Criminal Code, which mainly concern children under 14 or 16. The category includes cases where a parent or guardian takes a child in breach of custody arrangements.
- Kidnapping and forcible confinement are counted separately and are not in these figures.
- Incidents, not victims. The figures count incidents. One incident can involve more than one child.
- Most serious violation. When an incident involves several offences, Statistics Canada's main counts classify it by the most serious one. An abduction that is part of a more serious crime may be counted under that crime instead.
- Police-reported only. Cases never reported to police are not included.
- Few incidents lead to an alert. Most abduction incidents do not meet Amber Alert criteria, for example because police do not believe the child is in danger.
About the data
The abduction and crime figures in this article come from Statistics Canada's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey, which collects crimes reported to and substantiated by police services across Canada. We used Statistics Canada table 35-10-0177 (incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations), for the violation "Total abduction" and for total violent and total crime.
Rates are per 100,000 people, so places with different populations can be compared fairly. The latest year is 2025, the most recent police-reported data from Statistics Canada, released in summer 2026. Figures for provinces cover all police services in the province. Changes in rate from 2024 are as published in the data.
Information on how Amber Alerts and Alert Ready work describes the general approach used in Canada. Criteria and procedures are set by each provincial program and can change, so the official program in your province has the final word.
To see abduction, violent crime and other numbers for your own province, city or police service, visit statistics.crimecanada.ca.
Frequently asked questions
What are the criteria for an Amber Alert in Canada?
In general, police must believe a child, usually under 18, has been abducted and is in danger of serious harm or death. There must also be enough description of the child, suspect or vehicle for the public to help, and the alert must go out quickly enough to be useful. Each province runs its own program, so exact criteria can differ slightly.
How do Amber Alerts get sent to phones in BC and Ontario?
Amber Alerts are sent through Alert Ready, Canada's national public alerting system. It reaches TV, radio and compatible phones connected to LTE or 5G networks in the area police choose. Phone alerts use cell broadcast, so they do not use your phone number or track who received them. Wireless alerts began in Canada in 2018.
Can I turn off Amber Alerts on my phone in Canada?
Alert Ready says wireless emergency alerts in Canada, including Amber Alerts, are not optional and you generally cannot opt out. The system is designed so urgent alerts reach every compatible phone in the alert area. If your phone did not get an alert, it may be incompatible, on Wi-Fi only, out of date, switched off or outside the alert area.
What should I do if I get an Amber Alert?
Read the whole alert, pulling over safely first if you are driving. Note the child's and suspect's descriptions and any licence plate, and look around you. If you see them, contact police right away and say where you are. Do not approach the suspect, and do not call emergency lines to ask about or complain about the alert.
How many child abductions happen in Canada each year?
Police reported 372 abduction incidents in Canada in 2025, a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 people, down from 405 incidents (0.98) in 2024. Since 2015 the rate has ranged from 0.88 to 1.15. This category includes abductions by parents or guardians in breach of custody arrangements; kidnapping is counted separately, and most cases never lead to an Amber Alert.
How many abductions were reported in British Columbia in 2025?
Police in British Columbia reported 33 abduction incidents in 2025, a rate of 0.58 per 100,000 people. That rate was 23.7% lower than in 2024 and below the national rate of 0.89. Ontario's rate was 0.51 (83 incidents), while New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories had the highest rates, at 2.18 per 100,000.