Crime Canada
Jails and prisons in Canada
Provinces hold people waiting for trial and people sentenced to less than two years; federal penitentiaries hold everyone sentenced to two years or more. Pick a facility to see who is held there, how to reach someone inside and what a lawyer can do.
Alberta
Provincial
- Edmonton Remand Centre · Edmonton
- Calgary Remand Centre · Calgary
- Calgary Correctional Centre · Calgary
- Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre · Fort Saskatchewan
- Lethbridge Correctional Centre · Lethbridge
- Red Deer Remand Centre · Red Deer
- Medicine Hat Remand Centre · Medicine Hat
- Peace River Correctional Centre · Peace River
Federal
- Edmonton Institution · Edmonton
- Edmonton Institution for Women · Edmonton
- Bowden Institution · Innisfail
- Drumheller Institution · Drumheller
British Columbia
Provincial
- North Fraser Pretrial Centre · Port Coquitlam
- Surrey Pretrial Services Centre · Surrey
- Fraser Regional Correctional Centre · Maple Ridge
- Alouette Correctional Centre for Women · Maple Ridge
- Ford Mountain Correctional Centre · Chilliwack
- Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre · Kamloops
- Okanagan Correctional Centre · Oliver
- Nanaimo Correctional Centre · Nanaimo
- Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre · Victoria
- Prince George Regional Correctional Centre · Prince George
Federal
- Kent Institution · Agassiz
- Mountain Institution · Agassiz
- Matsqui Institution · Abbotsford
- Mission Institution · Mission
- Fraser Valley Institution for Women · Abbotsford
Manitoba
Provincial
- Headingley Correctional Centre · Headingley
- Winnipeg Remand Centre · Winnipeg
- Brandon Correctional Centre · Brandon
- Milner Ridge Correctional Centre · Lac du Bonnet
- The Pas Correctional Centre · The Pas
- Women’s Correctional Centre · Headingley
Federal
- Stony Mountain Institution · Stony Mountain
New Brunswick
Provincial
- Southeast Regional Correctional Centre · Shediac
Federal
- Atlantic Institution · Renous
- Dorchester Penitentiary · Dorchester
Newfoundland and Labrador
Provincial
- Her Majesty’s Penitentiary · St. John’s
- St. John’s Lockup · St. John’s
- West Coast Correctional Centre · Stephenville
- Newfoundland and Labrador Correctional Centre for Women · Clarenville
- Bishop’s Falls Correctional Centre · Bishop’s Falls
- Corner Brook Lockup · Corner Brook
- Labrador Correctional Centre · Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Nova Scotia
Provincial
- Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility · Dartmouth
Federal
- Springhill Institution · Springhill
- Nova Institution for Women · Truro
Ontario
Provincial
- Maplehurst Correctional Complex · Milton
- Vanier Centre for Women · Milton
- Toronto South Detention Centre · Toronto
- Toronto Intermittent Centre · Toronto
- Toronto East Detention Centre · Toronto
- Central East Correctional Centre · Lindsay
- Central North Correctional Centre · Penetanguishene
- Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre · Ottawa
- Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre · Hamilton
- Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre · London
- Niagara Detention Centre · Thorold
- South West Detention Centre · Windsor
- Quinte Detention Centre · Napanee
- Thunder Bay Correctional Centre · Thunder Bay
- Thunder Bay Jail · Thunder Bay
- Monteith Correctional Complex · Monteith
- Sudbury Jail · Sudbury
- Kenora Jail · Kenora
- Brockville Jail · Brockville
- Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre · Sault Ste. Marie
- St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre · Brockville
Federal
- Collins Bay Institution · Kingston
- Millhaven Institution · Bath
- Joyceville Institution · Kingston
- Bath Institution · Bath
- Warkworth Institution · Campbellford
- Beaver Creek Institution · Gravenhurst
- Grand Valley Institution for Women · Kitchener
Quebec
Provincial
- Montreal Detention Centre (Bordeaux Prison) · Montreal
Federal
- Archambault Institution · Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines
- Donnacona Institution · Donnacona
- Port-Cartier Institution · Port-Cartier
- Cowansville Institution · Cowansville
Saskatchewan
Provincial
- Regina Correctional Centre · Regina
- Saskatoon Correctional Centre · Saskatoon
- Prince Albert Correctional Centre · Prince Albert
- Pine Grove Correctional Centre · Prince Albert
Federal
- Saskatchewan Penitentiary · Prince Albert
- Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge · Maple Creek
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a jail and a prison in Canada?
Provinces run jails and detention centres for people on remand and people serving sentences of less than two years. Correctional Service Canada runs federal penitentiaries (prisons) for sentences of two years or more.
What does “on remand” mean?
It means a person charged with a crime is held in custody while waiting for trial, because they were not released on bail. They are presumed innocent. Most people in provincial detention centres are on remand.
What is an intermittent sentence?
A judge can order a jail sentence of 90 days or less to be served intermittently, for example on weekends, with a probation order the rest of the time.
How do I find out if someone is in jail, and where?
Ask their lawyer, or call the facility nearest to where they were arrested. Staff share information only within privacy rules. For a federal sentence, contact Correctional Service Canada.
Someone close to me was just arrested. What should I do?
They have the right to speak to a lawyer without delay and must be brought before a judge or justice of the peace, as a rule within 24 hours, for a bail hearing. A criminal defence lawyer can prepare that hearing and propose a surety.
Someone you know in custody?
A criminal defence lawyer can seek bail or a bail review and prepare the defence. 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