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Incarceration in Canada is one of the main forms ofpunishment,rehabilitation, or both, for the commission of anindictable offense and otheroffenses.
According toStatistics Canada, as of 2018/2019 there were a total of 37,854 adult offenders incarcerated inCanadian federal and provincial prisons on an average day for an incarceration rate of 127 per 100,000 population. Of these, 23,783 were in provincial/territorial custody and 14,071 were in federal custody.[1]
Young offenders are covered by theYouth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), which was enacted in 2003. In 2018/2019, an average of 716 youth between the ages of 12 and 17 were incarcerated in Canada, for a rate of 4 per 10,000 population. This number represents a 10% decrease from the previous year and a 32% decrease from 2014-2015.[1]
Indigenous people are vastly over-represented and make up a rising share in the Canadian prison system, making up 30.04% of the offender population in 2020, compared to 4.9% of the total population.[2] In 2018-2019, the offender population includedCaucasians at 54.2% andBlack people at 7.2%; meanwhile,Asian people made up only 10.3%, thereby being vastly underrepresented compared to their share of the overall population at 25.3%.[3]
The correction system in Canada dates to French and British colonial settlement, when all crimes were deemed deserving of punishment. Such was often meted out in public, as physical pain and humiliation were the preferred forms of punishment, includingwhipping,branding, andpillorying. In other cases, offenders were transported to other countries and abandoned to their fate.Execution was also used as punishment for serious crimes.[4]
In 1789, PhiladelphianQuakers in the United States introduced thepenitentiary as an alternative to such harsh punishment. The concept of long-term imprisonment eventually spread to England as an alternative toexiling offenders to thepenal colonies, including Canada.[4] The first penitentiary inUpper Canada (present-dayOntario) was opened in 1835 as theKingston Penitentiary. This facility was built by thecolonial government and, at the time ofConfederation in 1867, it was under provincial jurisdiction (of the Province of Ontario). It came under federal responsibility with the passage of thePenitentiary Act in 1868.[4]
In 1859, the offencespunishable by death in Canada includedmurder,rape,treason,poisoning, or injuring a person with the intent to commit murder, mistreatment of a girl under 10 years of age, arson, among other things. As of 1869, only three offences were punishable by death: murder, rape, and treason.[4]
The federal government opened additional penitentiaries in other parts of Canada in decades following Confederation. An increase in crime during theGreat Depression saw a rapid increase in Canada's incarceration rate. ThePrison for Women opened in 1934. TheArchambault Commission (officially the Royal Commission to Investigate the Penal System in Canada) was established that year in response to riots, overcrowding, and strikes in Canadian prisons. The final report was published in 1938 and was the first comprehensive report in Canada to emphasize crime prevention and offender rehabilitation.[4]
In the 1960s, new approaches to rehabilitation and reintegration were adopted. The first 'gradual release' program was introduced atCollins Bay Institution, wherein inmates were allowed to work outside the institution during the day and return in the evening. In 1969, an experimental living unit was opened atmedium-securitySpringhill Institution inNova Scotia, as part of a community pilot program to aid inmates in preparing themselves for "outside" life.[4]
Capital punishment was abolished in Canada in 1976. Also in the 1960s and 1970s, varioushalfway houses were opened, as well as governments and community groups taking on the essential needs of ex-inmates by providing them with room and board, and often helping them find work, enroll in school, and obtain counselling services.[4]
InCanada, all offenders who receive a sentence of 24 months or greater must serve their sentence in a federalcorrectional facility administered by theCorrectional Service of Canada (CSC). Any offender who receives a sentence less than 24 months, or who is incarcerated while awaiting trial or sentencing, must serve their sentence in aprovincial/territorial correctional facility.
Members of theCanadian Armed Forces who are sentenced undermilitary law serve their sentences atdetention barracks designated by theDepartment of National Defence. For inmates with seriousmental health conditions, CSC has 5 regional treatment centres.[5]
Additionally, CSC also provideshealing lodges specifically forIndigenous offenders, designed with the intention "to address factors that led to their incarceration and prepare them for reintegration into society."[6] CSC currently funds and/or operates 10 healing lodges across Canada, while others are operated by local Indigenous communities or partner organizations.[6]
Canada's correctional system designates facilities under various security levels. Mostprovincial/territorial correctional facilities where offenders serve sentences of less than 24 months, or are held inpre-trial and pre-sentence custody, have cells at different security levels within the same facility.[4][7]
The majority of in-custody offenders are classified as "medium security" risk.[8]
| Security level | Characteristics[4][7] |
|---|---|
| Main security levels | |
| Minimum Security |
|
| Medium Security |
|
| Maximum Security |
|
| Other security levels and considerations | |
| Multi-Level Security | Offenders with serious mental health issues are accommodated inmulti-level security facilities that combine the features of two or more of the security levels described above. |
| Special Handling Unit |
|
| Women Offenders |
|
| Aboriginal Inmates |
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| Community Correctional Centres | Community correctional centres are federal facilities that house offenders on conditional release. The facility director, parole officers and support staff work as a team, often in co-operation with community partners, to supervise and provide programs for offenders. |
Indigenous people are vastly over-represented and make up a rising share in the Canadian prison system, making up 30.04% of the offender population in 2020, compared to 4.9% of the total population.[2] In 2018-2019, the offender population includedCaucasians at 54.2% andBlack people at 7.2%; meanwhile,Asian people made up only 5.3%, thereby being vastly underrepresented compared to their share of the overall Asian population at 17.7%.[8]
Offenders withlife orindeterminate sentences represents 24% of the total offender population in Canada. 70% of offenders are serving a sentence for aviolent offence.[8]
| Offense/designation | Total offender population | In custody in a CSC facility (Incarcerated) | In community under supervision | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | Day Parole | Full Parole | ||
| Life sentence | |||||
| 1st Degree Murder | 1,270 | 5.4 | 1,002 | 59 | 209 |
| 2nd Degree Murder | 3,571 | 15.2 | 1,932 | 248 | 1,391 |
| Other | 199 | 0.8 | 117 | 7 | 75 |
| Total | 5,040 | 21.5 | 3,051 | 314 | 1,675 |
| Indeterminate sentence | |||||
| Dangerous offender | 635 | 2.7 | 605 | 14 | 16 |
| Dangeroussexual offender | 14 | 0.1 | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| Habitual offender | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 651 | 2.8 | 613 | 15 | 23 |
| Race | 2014-15 | 2018-19 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | ||
| Indigenous[i] | 5,009 | 21.8 | 5,914 | 25.2 | |
| Inuit | 236 | 1.0 | 198 | 0.8 | |
| Métis | 1,381 | 6.0 | 1,723 | 7.3 | |
| North American Indian | 3,392 | 14.8 | 3,993 | 17.0 | |
| Asian | 1,318 | 5.7 | 1,250 | 5.3 | |
| Arab | 155 | 0.7 | 179 | 0.8 | |
| Arab /West Asian | 195 | 0.8 | 176 | 0.8 | |
| Asiatic[ii] | 272 | 1.2 | 377 | 1.6 | |
| Chinese | 134 | 0.6 | 95 | 0.4 | |
| East Indian | 13 | 0.1 | 13 | 0.1 | |
| Filipino | 71 | 0.3 | 85 | 0.4 | |
| Japanese | 5 | 0.0 | 8 | 0.0 | |
| Korean | 21 | 0.1 | 12 | 0.1 | |
| South East Asian | 273 | 1.2 | 184 | 0.8 | |
| South Asian | 179 | 0.8 | 121 | 0.5 | |
| Black | 1,895 | 8.3 | 1,692 | 7.2 | |
| Caucasian | 13,870 | 60.4 | 12,713 | 54.2 | |
| Hispanic[iii] | 250 | 1.1 | 267 | 1.1 | |
| Hispanic | 6 | 0.0 | 7 | 0.0 | |
| Latin American | 244 | 1.1 | 260 | 1.1 | |
| Other/Unknown[iv] | 619 | 2.7 | 1,628 | 6.9 | |
| Total | 22,961 | 100 | 23,464 | 100 | |
| Religion | # | % |
|---|---|---|
| Christian | 11,219 | 47.8 |
| No religion affiliation[v] | 3,695 | 15.7 |
| Unknown | 3,142 | 13.4 |
| Muslim | 1,695 | 7.2 |
| Traditional Aboriginal Spirituality[vi] | 1,591 | 6.8 |
| Other religions[9] | 579 | 2.5 |
| Buddhist | 519 | 2.2 |
| Wicca/Pagan[vii] | 352 | 1.5 |
| Jewish[viii] | 244 | 1.0 |
| Sikh | 183 | 0.8 |
| Rastafarian | 181 | 0.8 |
| Hindu[ix] | 64 | 0.3 |
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