In 2021, Ontario and British Columbia were the provinces that had the largest number of alcohol-related federal impaired driving charges in Canada, at approximately 12.3 and 11.1 thousand respectively. They were followed by Québec and Alberta, both of which had more than seven thousand federal impaired driving charges.

In 2021, 391 Canadians were killed in a road crash that involved a drunk driver, the lowest number in the provided time interval. The number of people killed in road crashes due to drunk driving has, in general, declined from 1996 to 2021. This statistic illustrates the number of people killed in road crashes that involved drunk driving in Canada from 1996 to 2021.

In 2021, there were approximately 47 thousand alcohol-related federal impaired driving charges in Canada. Overall, this was the year with the least number of alcohol-related charges over the past ten years. In 2011, the number of charges resulting from drunk driving was approximately 72 thousand, however, it decreased steadily since then.

Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) became law in Canada on December 18, 2018. This amendment to the Criminal Code allowed police to demand a breath test of any driver even in the absence of suspicion or cause. MAS introduced a fundamental change in the approach used by police officers to enforce alcohol-impaired driving laws in Canada. Prior to the introduction of MAS, a police officer could demand that a driver provide a breath sample only if they had reasonable grounds to suspect that the driver had alcohol in their body. Although the threshold for suspicion is not high (the odour of alcohol on a driver’s breath or an admission of drinking is usually sufficient), these are not necessarily the most reliable clues. Police officers vary considerably in their ability to detect the signs and symptoms of alcohol use. Several studies have demonstrated that using typical clues to identify potential drinking drivers (such as the odour of alcohol, bloodshot and/or glassy eyes) can be challenging and can result in many drinking drivers going undetected (Compton, 1985; Wells et al., 1995). The switch from the use of sensory and observational techniques to detect the use of alcohol to a technological approach (i.e., the use of an Approved Screening Device or ASD) to screen drivers for the presence of alcohol was intended to enhance the probability that drinking drivers would be detected and serve to reduce alcohol-related crashes. Research in other countries has demonstrated that when used as part of a comprehensive program that includes intensive and highly visible alcohol checkpoints along with public awareness, MAS serves to enhance general deterrence. It does so by increasing both the perceived and actual probability that drinking drivers will be detected, and by reducing alcohol-involved road crashes (Henstridge et al., 1997; Homel et al., 1995; Ross, 1984). The objective of this project was to provide an indication of the initial impact of MAS by examining data on alcohol-involved driver fatalities, along with other key indicators of impaired driving before and after the introduction of MAS in Canada. It is expected that a reduction in the indicators of impaired driving would be consistent with a general deterrent impact of MAS.

In 2021, more than one out of four Canadians killed in a road accident were involved in a crash with a drunk driver, a significant decrease from the previous year. This statistic illustrates the share of people killed in road crashes that involved drinking drivers in Canada from 1996 to 2021.

How drugs and alcohol reduce your ability to drive, the risks and consequences of impaired driving, advice for parents.

How drugs and alcohol reduce your ability to drive, the risks and consequences of impaired driving, advice for parents.

This data set is no longer compiled by the Ministry of the Solicitor General. Traffic-related offences under the Criminal Code include: * impaired driving * dangerous driving * failure to provide blood sample * fail to stop or remain The data can be accessed from Statistics Canada.

In 2021, Saskatchewan and British Columbia were the provinces that had the largest rate of provincial short-term alcohol-related license suspensions and federal impaired driving charges in Canada, at 345 and 332 per 100 thousand residents respectively. Meanwhile, Québec had the lowest rate, at 93 per 100,000.

This dataset is a customization of Statistics Canada data to present information on the number of cases and charges of impaired driving by type of decision and trial indicator for Canada, provinces and territories for 2001-2002 to 2009-2010.

This data set applies to the Total Number of Criminal Code of Canada Convictions for Impaired Driving, Failing the Breathalyzer & Refusal of the Breathalyzer.

The objective of this survey was to collect attitudinal, cognitive and behavioral information regarding drinking and driving

In 2021, there were 171 short-term alcohol-related license suspensions and federal impaired driving charges per 100 thousand residents in Canada. Together with 2020, this was one of the years with the lowest rate of alcohol-related suspensions and charges over the past ten years. In 2011, the rate of license suspensions and federal impaired charges resulting from drunk driving was 316 per 100,000.

People impaired by a drug are not safe drivers because of the effects of drugs on the body. Impaired drivers put everyone at risk including others on the road, pedestrians and their own passengers.

In 2021, there were more than seven thousand drug-related federal impaired driving charges in Canada. Overall, this was the year with the highest number of alcohol-related charges over the past ten years. Starting around 900 charges in 2010, the number of drug-related charges kept increasing steadily since then.

In 2018, Parliament enacted former Bill C-46, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (offences relating to conveyances) and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, S.C. 2018, c. 21 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) to create new and stronger laws to combat impaired driving. The Act introduced a robust drug-impaired driving regime to coincide with the legalization of cannabis, as well as reformed the Criminal Code alcohol-impaired driving regime to create a new, modern, simplified and more coherent system to better deter, detect, and prosecute impaired drivers. The Act was introduced with an ultimate objective of reducing deaths and injuries caused by impaired drivers on Canadian roads. The Act came into force in two stages: the drug-impaired driving amendments came into force on Royal Assent on June 21, 2018 and the more comprehensive reform which was a complete repeal and replacement of the transportation regime came into force on December 18, 2018. The Act requires the Minister of Justice to undertake a comprehensive review of the implementation and operation of the provisions enacted and table a report in both Houses of Parliament. The review must also include an evaluation of whether the implementation and operation of the Act has resulted in differential treatment of any particular group based on a prohibited ground of discrimination. In support of the legislative changes, in 2017 the Government also announced $161 million in federal funding to support the new drug-impaired driving regime (the funding initiative). The funding initiative was targeted towards training for frontline officers to detect drug-impaired drivers, building law enforcement capacity, providing access to the newly approved drug screening equipment (ADSE), as well as policy, research, and public awareness activities around drug-impaired driving. This report draws from multiple existing data sources, which provides national coverage of the extent of alcohol and drug-impaired driving. The report also includes findings from research projects commissioned by the Department of Justice in 2020 to support the legislative review. Data presented in this report cover both the period prior to the coming into force of the Act (2016-2018), as well as post coming into force (2019-2021). The report uses all available data, although the data does not assess every individual amendment. Therefore, the data presented in this report serve as a baseline for some aspects of the Act, as well as a preliminary assessment of other elements of the impaired driving regime introduced under the Act. To gain a broader understanding of the implementation and impact of the Act, further research and data collection would be required over a longer timeframe.

This data set applies to the Total Number of Criminal Code of Canada Convictions for Impaired Driving, Failing the Breathalyzer & Refusal of the Breathalyzer.

The dataset includes incident-based crime statistics at the provincial and police service level. Statistics include the number of incidents of offences and rates per 100,000 population for the following offences: Homicide, Attempted murder , Sexual assault (Levels 1, 2 and 3), Total sexual violations against children, Assault (Levels 1, 2 and 3), Total robbery, Total breaking and entering, Total theft of motor vehicle, Total impaired driving, Total drug violations, Possession (cannabis), Possession, (cocaine), Possession (other Controlled Drugs and Substances Act drugs), Cannabis (trafficking, production or distribution), Cocaine (trafficking, production or distribution), Other Controlled Drugs and Substances Act drugs (trafficking, production or distribution). Data source: Statistics Canada.

This fact sheet presents information on criminal court cases where the most serious offence in the case is an impaired driving-related offence subject to a mandatory minimum penalty (MMP).1 Data were obtained through a request to the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics (CCJCSS) and cover the period from 2014/2015 to 2019/2020

In 2021, Ontario and Québec were the provinces that had the largest number of drug-related federal impaired driving charges in Canada, at approximately 3.4 and 1.8 thousand respectively. They were followed by British Columbia, having more than seven hundred drug-related federal impaired driving charges.