Criminal Charges in Ontario: Directory & What Happens Next

This page is the directory for every criminal charge covered on this site, organized by category, followed by a plain-language explanation of what being charged generally means and how the process tends to unfold. Learning that you have been charged with a criminal offence in Ontario, or that a loved one has been charged, can feel overwhelming. It is general information only, and it is not a substitute for advice from a criminal lawyer about a specific case.

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What Does It Mean to Be "Charged"?

Being charged with a criminal offence means that police, and eventually the Crown, have taken the formal step of alleging that a person committed a specific offence under Canadian law. A charge is not a finding of guilt. It is the start of a legal process in which the Crown must prove the allegation, and the accused person is presumed innocent unless and until they are found guilty, whether by a guilty plea or after a trial.

In Canada, criminal offences are defined mainly by federal law, primarily the Criminal Code of Canada, along with other federal statutes. Ontario's role is to administer the court process, to prosecute most Criminal Code matters within the province, and to operate the courts, court services, and related institutions that carry a case from a charge through to its resolution.

It is also worth understanding that a charge is a snapshot of an allegation at a particular moment, based on the information available to police at the time. As a case develops, through disclosure, further investigation, or legal argument, the picture can change considerably. This is one of the reasons a criminal case is a process rather than a single event, and why decisions made in the first days after a charge are rarely the final word on how a case will unfold.

How a Criminal Charge Begins

A charge generally begins with a police investigation, which can start in many ways: a 911 call, a complaint from a member of the public, evidence found during an unrelated stop, or a longer-term investigation into a suspected pattern of conduct. If police believe there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence occurred and that a particular person committed it, they can lay a charge, which is formally recorded in a court document.

From there, depending on the offence and the circumstances, a person may be released by police with a future court date, or held for a bail hearing, as explained in our guide to what happens if you are arrested in Ontario. Either way, the charge itself sets the criminal court process in motion.

Summary and Indictable Offences

Canadian criminal offences are generally grouped into categories based on how serious they are considered and how they are prosecuted. Some offences are treated as summary conviction matters, others as indictable offences, and many are "hybrid" offences, where the Crown can choose which way to proceed based on the circumstances of the case. This classification can affect things like which court hears the matter and certain procedural rules that apply.

This page does not attempt to explain how any specific charge is classified or what that means for a particular case, since that depends on the exact offence and the Crown's election, and stating it generally risks being inaccurate for a specific charge. A criminal lawyer can explain how a specific charge is classified and what that means procedurally.

What is safe to say in general terms is that this classification is one of several factors that can influence which court hears a matter, certain timelines, and some procedural rights, such as the general availability of a preliminary inquiry in some indictable matters. None of these general observations should be relied on for a specific charge without confirming them with a lawyer, since the rules can be detailed and the consequences of getting them wrong can be significant.

Your First Court Date

Whether released by police or after a bail hearing, a person facing a criminal charge will be given a date for their first court appearance. This appearance is generally administrative in nature. It is often used to confirm that disclosure has been requested or received, to allow time to retain a lawyer, and to schedule next steps, rather than to resolve the substance of the case. Our guide to first court appearances in Ontario explains this stage in more detail.

The Role of the Crown Attorney

The Crown attorney represents the public interest in prosecuting criminal offences in Ontario. The Crown reviews the evidence gathered by police, decides how a charge will proceed, and may at various points be open to discussions about resolving the case, whether through a guilty plea to some or all of the charges, alternative measures where available, or a withdrawal of the charge. The Crown does not represent the accused person, and a person facing a charge generally benefits from having their own lawyer to represent their interests in dealing with the Crown.

Crown attorneys generally conduct an ongoing review of a file as it develops, sometimes called Crown screening, to assess whether the evidence supports the charge as laid and whether the matter should proceed, be modified, or be resolved in another way. This is a continuous process rather than a single decision made at the outset, which is part of why cases can look quite different as they move through the system.

Disclosure: Seeing the Case Against You

One of the most important early steps in a criminal case is disclosure, which refers to the Crown providing the accused person, generally through their lawyer, with the evidence gathered in the investigation. Disclosure can include police notes, witness statements, video or photographic evidence, and other material relevant to the case. Reviewing disclosure carefully is a key part of understanding the strength of the case and considering the available options. Our guide to what criminal disclosure means in Ontario covers this in more detail.

Disclosure is not always provided all at once. It can arrive in stages as an investigation continues or as further materials are located, and a lawyer will generally review each new batch of disclosure as it comes in. Understanding what has, and has not, been disclosed yet is an important part of assessing a case at any given point in time.

Getting Legal Advice Early

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Getting legal advice as early as possible after being charged is generally important, even if a person is unsure whether they can afford a private lawyer. Duty counsel can often provide preliminary advice, and Legal Aid Ontario may be available to help cover the cost of a lawyer for people who qualify. Early legal advice can help someone understand the general nature of the allegation, what to expect at the first appearance, and how to avoid common missteps in the early stages of a case.

Possible Paths a Case Can Take

Criminal cases can resolve in a number of different ways, and it is generally not possible to predict at the outset which path a specific case will take. In broad terms, a charge may be withdrawn or stayed by the Crown, resolved through a guilty plea, sometimes as part of a broader discussion between Crown and defence, or proceed to a trial where a judge, or a judge and jury, decides the outcome based on the evidence presented. Our guides to guilty pleas and how criminal trials work in Ontario explain these paths in more detail. If a case results in a finding of guilt, it then proceeds to a sentencing stage, covered in our overview of criminal sentencing in Ontario.

Some cases also involve pretrial steps such as judicial pretrials, where a judge meets informally with the Crown and defence to discuss the state of the case, or applications and motions dealing with specific legal issues before a trial begins. Not every case involves every one of these steps, and which ones apply depends on the charge, the evidence, and decisions made by the parties along the way.

Facing Multiple Charges

It is common for a single incident to result in more than one charge. For example, an alleged incident might lead to charges relating to the underlying conduct itself, along with separate charges connected to how a person responded to police, such as an allegation of failing to comply with an earlier release condition. It is also possible to face multiple charges arising from entirely separate incidents at the same time, which can affect release conditions and how the case as a whole is managed. A lawyer reviewing multiple charges will generally look at how they relate to one another and whether resolving them together makes sense.

Charges Against Young People

When a young person is charged with an offence in Ontario, the case generally proceeds through the youth criminal justice system rather than the adult court system. This system operates under its own legislation and includes different considerations around court process, records, and sentencing, reflecting the recognition that young people are held to a different standard of accountability than adults. If a young person has been charged, parents and guardians are generally encouraged to seek legal advice promptly. Our overview of youth criminal justice in Ontario explains some of these general differences.

How Long Does a Criminal Case Take?

There is no single, fixed timeline for how long a criminal case takes in Ontario. Some matters resolve within a few months, particularly less complex cases where an early resolution is reached, while others, especially more serious or heavily contested matters, can take considerably longer. Factors that can affect timing include the complexity of the evidence, the court's schedule, and decisions made by the Crown and defence about how to proceed. Canadian law also recognizes a general right to be tried within a reasonable time, though how that principle applies to a specific case is a legal question for a lawyer to assess.

The Practical Impact of Being Charged

Being charged with an offence can affect daily life well before any case is resolved, including potential release conditions, the stress of upcoming court dates, and, in some situations, implications for employment, immigration status, or family matters. These impacts are real and can be significant, even though a charge is not the same as a conviction. Speaking with a lawyer about the specific, practical implications of a charge, beyond the criminal case itself, is generally a good idea where those issues arise.

Family and friends often want to help but are unsure how. Practical support, such as helping someone get to court dates, keeping track of paperwork, or simply being available to talk, can matter a great deal. It is generally important, though, for supportive family and friends to avoid contacting a complainant or witness on the accused person's behalf, since this can create serious legal problems of its own, even when well intentioned.

What Not to Do After Being Charged

Certain choices in the early stages of a case can make things more difficult later. It is generally advisable to avoid:

• Contacting a complainant or witness directly, even to apologize or "clear the air"
• Discussing the details of the case on social media or in group chats
• Breaching release conditions, even if they seem inconvenient or unnecessary
• Ignoring a scheduled court date
• Making decisions about a plea before reviewing disclosure with a lawyer
• Destroying or altering anything that could later be considered evidence

Frequently Asked Questions

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