Impaired Driving Arrests and Case Outcomes — DUI Statistics in Canada
In 2021, Statistics Canada released a comprehensive report — “ Impaired driving in Canada, 2019 " — filled with interesting DUI stats. For example, consider this 2019 DUI data:
- “Ontario had the lowest rate of police-reported impaired driving incidents among the provinces."
- “[t]he rate of police-reported incidents of impaired driving (228 per 100,000 population) was up 19% from the previous year."
- “Just over half (56%) of impaired driving incidents reported by police were cleared by charge."
- “Police reported 66 incidents of impaired driving causing death," the lowest number of such incidents since comparable data were first collected in 1986.
Given their legal interest in all things related to DUI, the criminal defence lawyers of TorontoDUI decided it was time to see if anything has changed since 2019. For example, does Ontario still have the lowest rate of reported DUI incidents? Has that 2019 national spike in police-reported impaired driving incidents continued to climb, or has it moderated? What is the clearance rate — how many DUI cases go to trial, and what percentage of DUI cases are dismissed? In looking at the worst DUI cases, has the number of impaired driving causing death incidents stayed low or climbed back up?
“To the best of our knowledge and apparent confirmation by a Google search, Statistics Canada has not yet released an updated comprehensive DUI statistical report," says TorontoDUI criminal defence lawyer Jeff Mass . “Fortunately, Stats Can has a couple of online statistical databases that may help us answer these questions and provide other perspectives on DUI arrests and case outcomes. Let's see what this official government DUI data tells us."
Does Ontario Still Have the Lowest Ratio of Reported DUI Incidents?
To answer this question, we turned to StatCan's “ Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, Canada, provinces, territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Canadian Forces Military Police ." That was a mouthful to say, but this statistical resource is chock-a-block full of police-reported criminal incidents and their clearance rate by charges.
And when it comes to reported DUIs, Ontario still rocks! As of the latest data, in 2023, the rate of Ontario police-investigated DUI incidents was 102.62 per 100,000 population. Quebec came in at a close second with a rate of 152.24, while the highest among provinces was Prince Edward Island with a rate of 515. That said, Northwest Territories was far higher, with a rate of 3,219.78.
Did the 2019 National Spike in Reported DUIs Keep Climbing?
Following up on the previous answer, excepting Northwest Territories, all provinces and territories experienced declines — some significant — in their police-reported DUI incident rates between 2019 and 2023. So, of course, the 2019 national 228 per 100,000 rate also declined, falling to 178.57 in 2023. At this juncture, we should note that the 2019 spike was likely due largely to the enactment of the 2018 Bill C-46 Criminal Code revisions that stiffened penalties and enhanced police enforcement tools.
“What's interesting in this data," says TorontoDUI defence lawyer Robbie Tsang , “is that the rate of persons charged with DUI in 2019 did not spike in concert with the police-reported DUI incident rate. While the rate of reported incidents spiked by more than 100 and even 200 points in many provinces between 2018 and 2019, the rate of those charged changed by less than 30 points. In B.C., the reported incident rate jumped over 100 points, but resultant charges declined by a point."
What of the Clearance by DUI Charges?
Canadian police investigated 85,804 DUI incidents in 2019 (a 15,000 jump from 2018), of which 57,507, or 56%, resulted in criminal DUI charges. The respective figures were 71,602, 39,005, and 54% in 2023. So, no, the clearance by DUI charges percentages have not shifted much either way.
Given TorontoDUI's role in the legal outcomes of DUI charges, we're far more interested in what happened in court to those arrested for DUI. For that information, we turn to StatsCan's “ Adult criminal courts, number of cases, and charges by type of decision ." Note that this data does not exactly correspond with the agency's “incident-based" data tool because it uses different time-period reporting, and court decision timeframes may not correspond with arrest ones. Nevertheless, let's look at the numbers.
In the 2022/2023 reporting period, Canadian courts rendered 41,873 decisions in impaired driving cases, a two-decade low far below the two-decade high of 115,046 recorded decisions in 2009/2010. Of those decisions, 39% resulted in a conviction, also a two-decade low. Of special interest to us, 24,861 of the charges were stayed, withdrawn, dismissed, discharged, or referred to alternative or extrajudicial measures and restorative justice programs. Only 538 of the decisions concluded the case with an acquittal.
Ontario courts rendered 27,519 decisions in DUI cases during the 2022/2023 reporting period. Of those, only 36% resulted in a guilty verdict, while about 62% (17,177) resulted in withdrawals, dismissals, and other favourable outcomes. Only 289 defendants successfully resolved their cases with an acquittal.
“This data highlights the importance of securing expert legal counsel from a criminal defence DUI lawyer, notes Jeff Mass . “Few of those 17,000-plus Ontario DUI defendants who escaped conviction did so on their own. Most of them navigated their way to a successful outcome with the help of a defence lawyer."
Robbie Tsang adds, “And we'd bet that a significant proportion of the nearly 10,000 Ontario defendants who were convicted of DUI did not have a lawyer."
Court Outcomes in DUI Cases (2022/2023)
| Outcome | Canada (Total) | Ontario |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions | 16380 | 9931 |
| Withdrawn/Dismissed/etc. | 24861 | 17177 |
| Acquittals | 538 | 289 |
DUI Clearance Rates (2019 vs. 2023)
| Year | Total DUI Incidents | Total Charges Laid | Clearance Rate (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 85804 | 57507 | 56 |
| 2023 | 71602 | 39005 | 54 |
What of Impaired Driving Causing Death?
We are pleased to report that the police-reported incidents of impaired driving causing death remain low. Statistics Canada reported that Canadian police investigated 48 of these incidents in 2023, two above the all-time low recorded in 2019. Police cleared these investigations by charging 46 people with DUI causing death. Ontario police cleared all 11 of their 2023 investigations of the offence by arresting the suspected offenders.
Don't Become a DUI Statistic or Consult with TorontoDUI
Jeff and Robbie advise their readers to avoid becoming one of the above statistics by refraining from driving after consuming alcohol or drugs. Should you fail to heed their advice, they strongly encourage you to secure expert legal representation so that at least you might be able to become a statistic with a favourable outcome. With a stellar 15-plus-year record of successfully defending thousands of Toronto-area clients charged with impaired driving, contact TorontoDUI for a free consultation.
