The Crown attorney — formally the Assistant Crown Attorney or Crown counsel — is the prosecutor in criminal cases. Crown attorneys are lawyers employed by the provincial or federal government who represent the public interest in criminal proceedings. They do not represent the complainant (the alleged victim); their client is the state.
Crown attorneys exercise prosecutorial discretion at every stage of a criminal case. They decide whether to proceed with charges, what charges to lay, whether to proceed by summary conviction or indictment for hybrid offences, what position to take on bail, whether to offer a resolution (plea deal), and what sentence to seek upon conviction. This discretion is guided by the Crown Prosecution Manual and the standard of whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and whether prosecution is in the public interest.
Defence lawyers interact with Crown attorneys throughout the case — requesting disclosure, negotiating resolutions, arguing bail, and contesting the case at trial. Understanding what motivates the Crown's position on a particular file is essential to effective defence advocacy.