Crime Canada
Criminal law guides
What happens after an arrest, how sentences work, how to clear a record and how to get protection, explained from the Criminal Code and official sources.
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Arrested or charged
Arrested or chargedYour rights if you are arrested in CanadaThe right to a lawyer, the right to stay silent and how release works.Read the guide →Arrested or chargedBail hearings and sureties in CanadaThe 24-hour rule, the three grounds, sureties and conditions.Read the guide →Arrested or chargedLegal aid for criminal charges in CanadaWho qualifies, duty counsel, and every legal aid office in Canada.Read the guide →
Sentences explained
Sentences explainedProbation in Canada: conditions, length and breachesConditions, the 3-year maximum, and what a breach means.Read the guide →Sentences explainedAbsolute and conditional discharges in CanadaGuilty but not convicted, and off CPIC after 1 or 3 years.Read the guide →Sentences explainedConditional sentences (house arrest) in CanadaA jail sentence of under 2 years served at home.Read the guide →
Your criminal record
If someone threatens you
Famous Canadian cases
How well-known cases went through the courts: the investigation, the trial, the sentence and what changed afterwards. Only cases that ended in a conviction.
- Mayerthorpe RCMP killings: the case, the convictions and sentencesMayerthorpe, Alberta
- Allan Legere: the case, the conviction and the sentence
- Dellen Millard: the case, the conviction and the sentence
- Quebec City mosque shooting: Bissonnette's conviction and sentenceQuebec City, Quebec
- Toronto van attack (Alek Minassian): conviction and sentenceToronto, Ontario
- Bruce McArthur: the case, the conviction and the sentenceToronto, Ontario
Charged or under investigation?
Talk to a criminal defence lawyer before you speak to police. Tell us what happened and an independent lawyer will contact you. The first consultation is free and confidential.
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Crime Canada is not a law firm. We pass your request to an independent criminal defence lawyer, who contacts you directly. General information, not legal advice. How this works