The General Rule: 16 Years Old
Under section 150.1(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada, a person must be at least 16 years old to legally consent to sexual activity. This applies across Canada — the age of consent is a federal criminal law provision, not a provincial one. The age of consent in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and every other province and territory is 16.
The age of consent was raised from 14 to 16 in 2008 through the Tackling Violent Crime Act (S.C. 2008, c. 6). Before that amendment, the age of consent had been 14 since the original Criminal Code of 1892.
If a person engages in sexual activity with someone under 16 and does not fall within a close-in-age exception, the older person can be charged with a criminal offence regardless of whether the younger person appeared to agree. Consent is not a defence — the law treats a person under 16 as legally incapable of consenting to sexual activity with an older person outside the peer-group exceptions.
Close-in-Age Exceptions
The Criminal Code recognizes that criminalizing all sexual activity involving persons under 16 would be overbroad. Section 150.1(2) provides two close-in-age (or “peer group”) exceptions:
| Age of younger person | Maximum age gap permitted | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| 12 or 13 | Less than 2 years older | No position of trust, authority, or dependency; relationship not exploitative |
| 14 or 15 | Less than 5 years older | No position of trust, authority, or dependency; relationship not exploitative |
| Under 12 | No exception | No person can consent to sexual activity with a child under 12 |
These exceptions allow, for example, a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old to engage in sexual activity without either party committing an offence. But a 14-year-old and a 20-year-old would not fall within the exception — the age gap exceeds 5 years. And the exception never applies where the older person is in a position of trust or authority over the younger person, or where the relationship is exploitative.
For children under 12, there is no close-in-age exception. No person of any age can legally consent to sexual activity with a child under 12.
Positions of Trust and Authority: The Age Rises to 18
Even though the general age of consent is 16, section 153 of the Criminal Code effectively raises it to 18 where the older person is in a position of trust or authority over the younger person, or where the younger person is in a relationship of dependency.
A 16 or 17-year-old cannot legally consent to sexual activity with someone who holds power over them. The Criminal Code does not provide an exhaustive list of who qualifies, but courts have found the following relationships to constitute positions of trust or authority:
- Teachers and professors in relation to their students
- Coaches and trainers in relation to athletes they supervise
- Employers in relation to young employees
- Counsellors and therapists in relation to clients
- Religious leaders in relation to congregants
- Foster parents and guardians in relation to youth in their care
- Family members such as step-parents or others in a caregiving role
Sexual activity with a 16 or 17-year-old by a person in a position of trust is sexual exploitation under section 153, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 1 year on indictment (maximum 14 years) and 90 days on summary conviction (maximum 2 years less a day).
Criminal Charges for Violating Age of Consent Laws
Sexual activity with a person below the age of consent can result in several criminal charges, depending on the nature of the conduct and the ages of the parties:
Sexual Interference (Section 151)
Sexual interference is the offence of touching, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of a person under 16 for a sexual purpose. Consent is not a defence. The offence carries a mandatory minimum of 1 year on indictment (maximum 14 years) and 90 days on summary conviction (maximum 2 years less a day).
Invitation to Sexual Touching (Section 152)
Invitation to sexual touching is the offence of inviting, counselling, or inciting a person under 16 to touch, directly or indirectly, the body of any person for a sexual purpose. The penalties mirror sexual interference: mandatory minimum of 1 year on indictment, maximum 14 years.
Sexual Exploitation (Section 153)
Sexual exploitation applies where a person in a position of trust or authority engages in sexual activity with a 16 or 17-year-old. The same mandatory minimum and maximum sentences apply as for sexual interference: 1 year on indictment, 90 days on summary conviction.
Sexual Assault (Section 271)
Sexual assault can be charged alongside any of the above offences. Where the complainant is under 16, the Crown frequently lays both sexual interference and sexual assault charges arising from the same conduct. Sexual assault under section 271 carries a maximum of 10 years on indictment and has no mandatory minimum sentence for a first offence.
| Offence | Section | Applies when | Min (indictment) | Max (indictment) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sexual interference | s. 151 | Complainant under 16 | 1 year | 14 years |
| Invitation to sexual touching | s. 152 | Complainant under 16 | 1 year | 14 years |
| Sexual exploitation | s. 153 | Complainant 16–17 + trust/authority | 1 year | 14 years |
| Sexual assault | s. 271 | Non-consensual sexual touching | None | 10 years |
Ontario-Specific Enforcement
While the age of consent is the same across Canada, enforcement is carried out by provincial and municipal police forces. In Ontario, sexual offences involving minors are typically investigated by specialized units within local police services — the Toronto Police Service’s Sex Crimes Unit, the OPP’s Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, and similar units in regional police services.
Ontario courts apply the same Criminal Code provisions as courts in every other province. There is no separate “age of consent Ontario” law. However, Ontario’s Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 imposes reporting obligations on professionals and members of the public who have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child under 16 is or may be in need of protection, including situations involving sexual abuse or exploitation. A report to a Children’s Aid Society can trigger a parallel child protection investigation alongside the criminal investigation.
Sentencing in Ontario follows the same Criminal Code framework as elsewhere in Canada. Ontario courts have interpreted mandatory minimums for sexual offences involving minors consistently with Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence, including R v. Morrison, 2019 SCC 15, which upheld the mandatory minimum for sexual interference on indictment.
The Consent Defence and Mistaken Belief in Age
Consent is not a defence to sexual offences involving a person under the age of consent. Section 150.1 removes consent as a defence where the complainant is under 16 (subject to the close-in-age exceptions) or where the complainant is 16 or 17 and the accused is in a position of trust.
The only exception is the defence of honest but mistaken belief in age under section 150.1(4). An accused can argue they honestly believed the complainant was 16 or older (or 18 or older, for sexual exploitation charges) and took “all reasonable steps” to ascertain the complainant’s age. This is a demanding standard:
- Simply believing the complainant looked old enough is insufficient
- Accepting the complainant’s claim about their age without further verification is unlikely to suffice
- The accused must show affirmative steps — asking for identification, verifying through a reliable source, or other concrete measures
- Courts assess the reasonableness of the steps in light of all the circumstances known to the accused
Collateral Consequences
A conviction for any sexual offence involving a minor triggers severe consequences beyond the sentence itself:
- Sex Offender Registry (SOIRA): Mandatory registration for 20 years for offences with a 14-year maximum (sections 151, 152, 153). Registration requires the offender to report annually and notify police of any change of address, name, or travel plans.
- DNA order: Mandatory under section 487.051 of the Criminal Code.
- Section 161 orders: Courts can prohibit contact with persons under 16, attendance at parks, schools, daycares, and community centres, and restrict internet use.
- Weapons prohibition: Mandatory under section 109.
- Immigration consequences: Serious criminality under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act — the 14-year maximum for sections 151, 152, and 153 means automatic serious criminality for permanent residents, with no right of appeal from a removal order.
- Employment and professional consequences: A criminal record for a sexual offence against a minor will appear on vulnerable sector checks, effectively barring employment in education, healthcare, childcare, and many other fields.
What to Do If You Are Charged
If you are facing charges related to the age of consent — whether sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, sexual exploitation, or sexual assault involving a minor — the stakes are severe. Mandatory minimums, sex offender registration, and collateral consequences make early legal representation essential.
- Exercise your right to silence. Do not give a statement to the police without speaking to a lawyer first.
- Preserve all communications. Text messages, social media messages, dating app conversations, and other digital evidence may be critical to establishing a defence of mistaken belief in age or other defences.
- Do not contact the complainant or their family. Bail conditions will prohibit contact. Any communication is a separate criminal offence.
- Retain a criminal defence lawyer. The mandatory minimums, the evidentiary complexities involving young witnesses, and the severe collateral consequences make experienced legal representation essential.