Criminal Code
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Short title
This Act may be cited as the Criminal Code .
Section 2 — Definitions
In this Act, Act includes an Act of Parliament, an Act of the legislature of the former Province of Canada, an Act of the legislature of a province, and an Act or ordinance of the legislature of a…
Section 2.1 — Further definitions — firearms
In this Act, ammunition , antique firearm , automatic firearm , cartridge magazine , cross-bow , firearm part , handgun , imitation firearm , prohibited ammunition , prohibited device , prohibited…
Section 2.2 — Acting on victim’s behalf
For the purposes of sections 606, 672.5, 715.37, 722, 737.1 and 745.63, any of the following individuals may act on the victim’s behalf if the victim is dead or incapable of acting on their own…
Section 2.3 — Concurrent jurisdiction
The proceedings for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition Attorney General in section 2 are proceedings in relation to an offence under subsection 7(2.01), (2.3), (2.31), (2.35) or (2.36)…
Section 3 — Descriptive cross-references
Where, in any provision of this Act, a reference to another provision of this Act or a provision of any other Act is followed by words in parenthesis that are or purport to be descriptive of the…
Section 3.1 — Effect of judicial acts
Unless otherwise provided or ordered, anything done by a court, justice or judge is effective from the moment it is done, whether or not it is reduced to writing. Unless otherwise provided or…
Section 4 — Postcard a chattel, value
For the purposes of this Act, a postal card or stamp referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition property in section 2 shall be deemed to be a chattel and to be equal in value to the amount of the…
Section 5 — Canadian Forces not affected
Nothing in this Act affects any law relating to the government of the Canadian Forces.
Section 6 — Presumption of innocence
Where an enactment creates an offence and authorizes a punishment to be imposed in respect of that offence, a person shall be deemed not to be guilty of the offence until he is convicted or…
Section 7 — Offences committed on aircraft
Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other Act, every one who on or in respect of an aircraft registered in Canada under regulations made under the Aeronautics Act , or leased without crew and…
Section 8 — Application to territories
The provisions of this Act apply throughout Canada except in Yukon, in so far as they are inconsistent with the Yukon Act ; in the Northwest Territories, in so far as they are inconsistent with the…
Section 9 — Criminal offences to be under law of Canada
Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other Act, no person shall be convicted or discharged under section 730 of an offence at common law, of an offence under an Act of the Parliament of…
Section 10 — Appeal
Where a court, judge, justice or provincial court judge summarily convicts a person for a contempt of court committed in the face of the court and imposes punishment in respect thereof, that person…
Section 11 — Civil remedy not suspended
No civil remedy for an act or omission is suspended or affected by reason that the act or omission is a criminal offence.
Section 12 — Offence punishable under more than one Act
Where an act or omission is an offence under more than one Act of Parliament, whether punishable by indictment or on summary conviction, a person who does the act or makes the omission is, unless a…
Section 13 — Child under twelve
No person shall be convicted of an offence in respect of an act or omission on his part while that person was under the age of twelve years.
Section 14 — Consent to death
No person is entitled to consent to have death inflicted on them, and such consent does not affect the criminal responsibility of any person who inflicts death on the person who gave consent.
Section 15 — Obedience to de facto law
No person shall be convicted of an offence in respect of an act or omission in obedience to the laws for the time being made and enforced by persons in de facto possession of the sovereign power in…
Section 16 — Defence of mental disorder
No person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the…
Section 17 — Compulsion by threats
A person who commits an offence under compulsion by threats of immediate death or bodily harm from a person who is present when the offence is committed is excused for committing the offence if the…
Section 18 — Compulsion of spouse
No presumption arises that a married person who commits an offence does so under compulsion by reason only that the offence is committed in the presence of the spouse of that married person.
Section 19 — Ignorance of the law
Ignorance of the law by a person who commits an offence is not an excuse for committing that offence.
Section 20 — Certain acts on holidays valid
A warrant, summons, appearance notice, undertaking, release order or recognizance that is authorized by this Act may be executed, issued, given or entered into, as the case may be, on a holiday.
Section 21 — Parties to offence
Every one is a party to an offence who actually commits it; does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding any person to commit it; or abets any person in committing it. Where two or more…
Section 22 — Person counselling offence
Where a person counsels another person to be a party to an offence and that other person is afterwards a party to that offence, the person who counselled is a party to that offence, notwithstanding…
Section 22.1 — Offences of negligence — organizations
In respect of an offence that requires the prosecution to prove negligence, an organization is a party to the offence if acting within the scope of their authority one of its representatives is a…
Section 22.2 — Other offences — organizations
In respect of an offence that requires the prosecution to prove fault — other than negligence — an organization is a party to the offence if, with the intent at least in part to benefit the…
Section 23 — Accessory after the fact
An accessory after the fact to an offence is one who, knowing that a person has been a party to the offence, receives, comforts or assists that person for the purpose of enabling that person to…
Section 23.1 — Where one party cannot be convicted
For greater certainty, sections 21 to 23 apply in respect of an accused notwithstanding the fact that the person whom the accused aids or abets, counsels or procures or receives, comforts or assists…
Section 24 — Attempts
Every one who, having an intent to commit an offence, does or omits to do anything for the purpose of carrying out the intention is guilty of an attempt to commit the offence whether or not it was…
Section 25 — Protection of persons acting under authority
Every one who is required or authorized by law to do anything in the administration or enforcement of the law as a private person, as a peace officer or public officer, in aid of a peace officer or…
Section 25.1 — Definitions
The following definitions apply in this section and sections 25.2 to 25.4. competent authority means, with respect to a public officer or a senior official, in the case of a member of the Royal…
Section 25.2 — Public officer to file report
Every public officer who commits an act or omission — or directs the commission by another person of an act or omission — under paragraph 25.1(9)(a) or (b) shall, as soon as is feasible after the…
Section 25.3 — Annual report
Every competent authority shall publish or otherwise make available to the public an annual report for the previous year that includes, in respect of public officers and senior officials designated…
Section 25.4 — Written notification to be given
When a public officer commits an act or omission — or directs the commission by another person of an act or omission — under paragraph 25.1(9)(a) or (b), the senior official with whom the public…
Section 26 — Excessive force
Every one who is authorized by law to use force is criminally responsible for any excess thereof according to the nature and quality of the act that constitutes the excess.
Section 27 — Use of force to prevent commission of offence
Every one is justified in using as much force as is reasonably necessary to prevent the commission of an offence for which, if it were committed, the person who committed it might be arrested without…
Section 27.1 — Use of force on board an aircraft
Every person on an aircraft in flight is justified in using as much force as is reasonably necessary to prevent the commission of an offence against this Act or another Act of Parliament that the…
Section 28 — Arrest of wrong person
Where a person who is authorized to execute a warrant to arrest believes, in good faith and on reasonable grounds, that the person whom he arrests is the person named in the warrant, he is protected…
Section 29 — Duty of person arresting
It is the duty of every one who executes a process or warrant to have it with him, where it is feasible to do so, and to produce it when requested to do so. It is the duty of every one who arrests a…
Section 30 — Preventing breach of peace
Every one who witnesses a breach of the peace is justified in interfering to prevent the continuance or renewal thereof and may detain any person who commits or is about to join in or to renew the…
Section 31 — Arrest for breach of peace
Every peace officer who witnesses a breach of the peace and every one who lawfully assists the peace officer is justified in arresting any person whom he finds committing the breach of the peace or…
Section 32 — Use of force to suppress riot
Every peace officer is justified in using or in ordering the use of as much force as the peace officer believes, in good faith and on reasonable grounds, is necessary to suppress a riot; and is not…
Section 33 — Duty of officers if rioters do not disperse
Where the proclamation referred to in section 67 has been made or an offence against paragraph 68(a) or (b) has been committed, it is the duty of a peace officer and of a person who is lawfully…
Section 33.1 — Offences of violence by negligence
A person who, by reason of self-induced extreme intoxication, lacks the general intent or voluntariness ordinarily required to commit an offence referred to in subsection (3), nonetheless commits the…
Section 34 — Defence — use or threat of force
A person is not guilty of an offence if they believe on reasonable grounds that force is being used against them or another person or that a threat of force is being made against them or another…
Section 35 — Defence — property
A person is not guilty of an offence if they either believe on reasonable grounds that they are in peaceable possession of property or are acting under the authority of, or lawfully assisting, a…
Section 36
[Repealed, 2012, c. 9, s. 2]
Section 37
[Repealed, 2012, c. 9, s. 2]