Editorial explainer — prepared by the Crime Watch Canada editorial desk from the Criminal Code and Statistics Canada material referenced below. It is general information, not legal advice.
How many charges?
Statistics Canada’s annual police-reported crime tables count impaired-driving incidents — alcohol- and drug-impaired operation together — in the tens of thousands each year, generally between roughly 70,000 and 85,000 nationally over the last decade. Not every incident becomes a charge, and one incident can involve several charges, so the number of people convicted is lower. Even so, impaired driving remains one of the most frequently laid Criminal Code charges in the country and the leading criminal cause of death and injury on Canadian roads.
What the law says
Since December 2018 the offences live in Part VIII.1 of the Criminal Code. Section 320.14 makes it an offence to operate a vehicle while your ability is impaired to any degree by alcohol or a drug, or to have a blood-alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more per 100 mL of blood within two hours of driving. For cannabis, 2 nanograms of THC per mL of blood is a straight summary offence, 5 ng or more is the more serious hybrid offence, and 2.5 ng of THC combined with 50 mg of alcohol is also an offence. Refusing to provide a breath or blood sample (s. 320.15) is a separate crime with the same minimum penalties as a conviction.
How it is measured
Police may demand a preliminary breath sample from any lawfully stopped driver — mandatory alcohol screening no longer requires a reasonable suspicion. A failed roadside screen leads to an evidentiary breath test at the detachment on an approved instrument, or a blood sample. Drug impairment is assessed with approved oral-fluid screening devices and by trained Drug Recognition Experts, whose 12-step evaluation is the forensic backbone of most drug-impaired cases.
What a conviction costs
- First offence: a mandatory minimum $1,000 fine (higher when the reading is 120 mg or more), a driving prohibition, and a criminal record. Maximum penalties rise to 10 years’ imprisonment when the Crown proceeds by indictment.
- Second offence: at least 30 days in jail. Third and later: at least 120 days.
- Causing bodily harm: up to 14 years. Causing death: up to life imprisonment.
On top of the criminal case, every province runs its own administrative program — immediate roadside licence suspensions, vehicle seizure, ignition interlock and remedial courses — many of which begin at a “warn” range of 50 mg (0.05) that is well below the criminal limit.
If you see a driver you believe is impaired, do not follow them. Pull over safely and call 9-1-1 with the plate, vehicle description and direction of travel.
