Criminal sentencing in Canada

Part of a series on
Canadian law
Sources Constitution Federal statutes Provincial statutes
Core areas Constitutional Administrative Criminal Contract Tort Property
Other areas Aboriginal Indigenous Civil and human rights Family Immigration and refugees Intellectual property Copyright Patent Trademark Trade secrets Labour and employment Maritime
Courts Supreme Court Federal Court Appeal Court Tax Court Courts of Appeal Superior Courts Provincial
Education Law schools Law School Admission Test Call to the bar
Canada portal
v t e

Canadian criminal law is governed by the Criminal Code, which includes the principles and powers in relation to criminal sentencing in Canada.

A judge sentences a person after they have been found guilty of a crime. After a determination is made about the facts being relied on for sentencing, and hearing from both the Crown and the defence about what the appropriate sentence should be, the judge must pick from a number of different sentencing options found in the Criminal Code, based on a number of factors. Some offences have a minimum sentence, and there may also be a maximum sentence depending on the nature of the offence.

The maximum determinate sentence is a life sentence with a 25-year parole ineligibility period. For offences committed prior to 2 December 2011 all life sentences and related parole ineligibility periods are served concurrently (at the same time). In cases of multiple murder, where the offence occurred after 2 December 2011 (the date new legislation came into force), a court may, after considering any jury recommendation, order consecutive parole ineligibility periods for each murder. There are also options for an indeterminate sentence. There is no death penalty in Canada, making life imprisonment the most severe punishment to be imposed in the country.^[1]