Restraining orders and protection orders in Canada

1. No-contact conditions after a charge

If police charge the person, the release order (bail) usually includes a condition not to contact you or go near you. This is the fastest protection: it starts as soon as the person is released. Breaking it is a criminal offence.

2. Peace bond (criminal court)

Against anyone, including a neighbour, ex-partner, co-worker or stranger, when you reasonably fear injury, property damage or the sharing of intimate images. No charge is needed. It lasts up to 12 months. See our peace bond guide.

3. Family court restraining or protection order

Against a spouse, former spouse, partner you lived with, or in some provinces a family member or someone you dated. You apply in family court, often with your family law case. Examples: a restraining order under Ontario’s Family Law Act or Children’s Law Reform Act, a protection order under British Columbia’s Family Law Act. Breaking it can be a criminal offence (s. 127 of the Criminal Code or a provincial offence), and police can enforce it.

4. Emergency protection orders

Several provinces and territories have family violence laws that allow an emergency order within hours, often through police, victim services or a justice of the peace by phone, for example in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. It can give you temporary possession of the home and forbid contact. A judge reviews it soon after.

Which one fits?

• Immediate danger: call 911.
• The person has been charged: ask the police or Crown about no-contact conditions.
• Partner or ex-partner, with children or property issues: family court order, or an emergency order where available.
• Neighbour, acquaintance or anyone else: peace bond.