Annual detention statistics: 2012 to 2024

The CBSA may detain permanent residents or foreign nationals, including minors, under certain conditions, or release them using alternatives to detention. This page provides statistics and analysis on those detained, including where, for how long and under what grounds.

Background and methodology

In fiscal year 2019 to 2020, the CBSA started counting minors in detention differently. Some minors in detention facilities are simply housed in the facility in keeping with their parent or legal guardian’s wishes, while others are in fact detained. In our reporting for previous fiscal years, there was no distinction made between those housed and those being formally detained.

For more information, consult these resources:

• Detentions: where people are detained and the detention review process
• National Immigration Detention Framework: an outline of the CBSA's approach to making the Canadian immigration detention system better and fairer
• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations: additional information including the legislative grounds for detention

Grounds for detention

These grounds for detention may apply to a permanent resident or foreign national who may be inadmissible to Canada. Refer to section 55 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. For more, consult Arrests, detentions and removals.

• Examination (If an officer considers it is necessary to get more information from an individual to complete the examination, that individual could be detained to allow the officer to do so. An examination can be as simple as a few questions, but can also include an examination of the person's personal belongings, more intensive questioning, or personal searches.)
• Suspected of serious criminality, criminality or organized criminality
• Suspected inadmissibility on grounds of security
• Suspected inadmissibility on grounds of human/international rights violation
• Identity (If an officer is unable to verify an individual's identity, that person may be detained.)
• Danger to the public (Factors considered when detaining someone as a danger to the public are outlined in section 246 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). Factors may include, but are not limited to, past criminality and criminal associations.)
• Unlikely to appear (A person may be detained if an officer believes the person is unlikely to appear for examination, an admissibility hearing, removal from Canada or at a proceeding that could lead to the making of a removal order.)

General detentions

Table 1.1 Detentions as a percentage of entries, by length of detention and by facility

Fiscal year	Entries by foreign nationals to Canada	Persons detained (total)	Persons in detention / daily average)	Detainees as a percentage of entries by foreign nationals to Canada	Detention days	Average length of detention (days)	Median length of detention (days)	Detentions in IHCs (number and percentage)	Detentions in non-IHCs
									Detentions in provincial facilities (number and percentage)	Detentions in other facilities (number and percentage)
2012 to 2013	27,412,327	8,742	539	0.032%	194,249	22	3	6,128 / 61%	3,070 / 31%	781 / 8%
2013 to 2014	28,371,259	7,720	538	0.027%	194,017	25	3	5,369 / 61%	2,738 / 31%	725 / 8%
2014 to 2015	29,938,646	6,786	497	0.021%	178,498	26	4	4,486 / 57%	2,510 / 32%	828 / 11%
2015 to 2016	31,940,610	6,602	451	0.019%	164,449	25	3	4,385 / 57%	2,361 / 31%	955 / 12%
2016 to 2017	33,873,180	6,268	364	0.023%	130,538	21	3	4,248 / 59%	2,041 / 28%	971 / 13%
2017 to 2018	35,668,185	8,355	333	0.024%	119,712	14	2	6,609 / 71%	1,831 / 20%	831 / 9%
2018 to 2019	36,145,370	8,781	342	0.027%	121,709	14	1	7,212 / 69%	1,679 / 16%	1,622 / 15%
2019 to 2020	33,083,807	8,825	326	0.027%	115,559	14	1	7,064 / 68%	1,932 / 19%	1,359 / 13%
2020 to 2021	2,980,674	1,607	134	0.054%	48,284	30	8	901 / 47%	786 / 40%	245 / 13%
2021 to 2022	7,438,684	3,054	183	0.041%	65,612	22	3	2,254 / 65%	819 / 23%	413 / 12%
2022 to 2023	22,968,934	5,251	237	0.023%	84,258	17	2	4,191 / 72%	930 / 16%	715 / 12%
2023 to 2024	30,712,332	4,929	260	0.016%	93,004	19	3	4,040 /70%	716 /17%	944/13%
Source: CIC DWS - Business Reporting IHDA Datamart

Table 1.2 Persons detained by length of detention

Fiscal year	24 hours or less	25 to 48 hours	3 to 9 days	10 to 39 days	40 to 99 days	Over 99 days
2012 to 2013	2,631	1,159	2,081	2,138	767	620
2013 to 2014	2,425	918	1,711	1,759	769	631
2014 to 2015	1,994	685	1,632	1,543	688	629
2015 to 2016	1,825	844	1,587	1,498	674	547
2016 to 2017	2,042	891	1,376	1,278	594	427
2017 to 2018	4,085	1,138	1,239	1,233	637	326
2018 to 2019	4,279	1,128	1,421	1,379	621	286
2019 to 2020	4,050	1,101	1,562	1,600	621	241
2020 to 2021	328	144	413	422	259	163
2021 to 2022	1,098	335	601	661	309	188
2022 to 2023	2,337	555	867	1,060	422	204
2023 to 2024	1,889	547	853	1,057	518	245

Table 1.3 Persons sorted detained by province

Province	2012 to 2013	2013 to 2014	2014 to 2015	2015 to 2016	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018	2018 to 2019	2019 to 2020	2020 to 2021	2021 to 2022	2022 to 2023	2023 to 2024
Alberta	259	292	270	234	160	170	187	226	111	161	166	164
British Columbia	1,663	1,399	1,282	1,482	1,801	2,215	1,818	1,470	310	680	1,061	1,036
Manitoba	133	127	165	62	70	104	61	72	23	23	28	31
New Brunswick	14	11	11	19	18	10	15	28	10	18	20	16
Newfoundland and Labrador	10	4	5	2	1	10	5	10	13	6	6	1
Northwest Territories	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
Nova Scotia	11	14	10	9	14	12	10	14	14	10	7	7
Ontario	5,380	4,578	3,881	3,533	3,159	4,040	4,755	5,265	872	1,477	2,422	2,418
Prince Edward Island	0	0	2	2	1	4	0	2	1	1	0	1
Quebec	1,270	1,287	1,161	1,246	1,034	1,803	1,949	1,755	252	680	1,656	1,376
Saskatchewan	50	41	35	38	30	14	15	26	18	17	22	25
Yukon	7	5	3	4	3	2	2	0	0	2	1	0
Note: The sum of the provincial data is greater than the total number of detainees due to transfers between provinces.

Table 1.4 Persons detained by grounds for detention

Grounds for detention	2012 to 2013	2013 to 2014	2014 to 2015	2015 to 2016	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018	2018 to 2019	2019 to 2020	2020 to 2021	2021 to 2022	2022 to 2023	2023 to 2024
Danger to the public	45	31	36	47	47	67	70	65	38	29	33	60
Examination	240	287	214	276	194	777	394	266	31	64	424	159
Identity	488	354	302	334	290	392	439	564	46	116	372	312
Security certificate	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Suspected inadmissibility on grounds of human/international rights violation	4	0	2	1	0	2	4	4	1	1	1	7
Suspected Inadmissibility on grounds of security	10	6	5	5	2	1	8	7	2	2	9	9
Suspected inadmissibility on grounds of serious criminality/ criminality/organized criminality	61	238	187	167	139	122	47	50	13	57	118	101
Unlikely to appear/danger to the public	831	831	512	394	318	368	493	525	250	322	394	428
Unlikely to appear	7,287	6,187	5,668	5,514	5,402	6,737	7,476	7,509	1,288	2,514	3,958	3,928

Minors

Context

Best interests of the child:

an international principle to ensure children enjoy the full and effective benefit of all their rights recognized in Canadian law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is also a rule of procedure that includes an assessment of the possible impact (positive or negative) of a decision on the child or children concerned.

Minor:

A person under the age of 18.

Accompanied minor:

A foreign national or permanent resident who arrives to Canada accompanied by a responsible adult (parent, guardian).

Detained minor:

A foreign national or permanent resident who is deemed to be inadmissible and is subject to an Order for Detention under section 55 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Housed minor:

A foreign national, permanent resident or Canadian citizen who, after the completion of a best interest of the child assessment, is kept with their detained parent/legal guardian at an IHC at the latter's request. A housed minor is not subject to an Order for Detention and is free to remain and re to enter the CBSA IHC subject to the parent/legal guardian's consent.

Unaccompanied minor:

A foreign national or permanent resident who arrives to Canada unaccompanied by a responsible adult (parent, guardian) and is not effectively taken into the care of such a person.

Separated minor:

All events where a minor is separated from an accompanying parent(s) / legal guardian(s), and are:

• placed with a family member in the community (other than a parent or legal guardian);
• placed under the care of a child welfare agency; or
• placed under the care of a non-governmental organization, etc.

Table 2.1: National overview of housed minors

Fiscal year	Minors accompanied by parent/guardian	Average length of time in a facility (days)	Median length of time in a facility (days)
2018 to 2019	103	21	10
2019 to 2020	136	17	12
2020 to 2021	4	4	5
2021 to 2022	4	4	4
2022 to 2023	30	16	6
2023 to 2024	13	13	2
Notes: For more information on the detention of minors see sections 6.11 and 6.12 of the Detention Manual The total number of minors in a facility accounts for all minors (foreign national, permanent residents and Canadian citizens). A Canadian citizen cannot be detained but in rare and exceptional circumstances may be housed with a parent/guardian in a facility if it is in the best interests of the child.

Table 2.2: Housed minors by age, gender and status

Fiscal year	Status		Gender		Age
	Foreign national	Canadian	Male	Female	0 to 5 years	6 to 11 years	12 to 17 years
2018 to 2019	94	9	46	57	53	35	15
2019 to 2020	135	1	63	73	73	41	25
2020 to 2021	4	0	3	1	1	1	2
2021 to 2022	3	1	1	3	2	0	2
2022 to 2023	30	0	15	15	10	11	9
2023 to 2024	13	0	10	3	4	3	6

Table 2.3: Housed minors by length of housing and facility type

Fiscal year	Length of housing						Facility type
	Under 48 hours	3 to 9 days	10 to 39 days	40 to 90 days	91 to 180 days	Over 181 days	IHC	Youth centre	Other
2018 to 2019	21	28	40	10	4	0	102	1	0
2019 to 2020	17	32	78	9	0	0	136	0	0
2020 to 2021	0	3	1	0	0	0	3	0	1
2021 to 2022	0	4	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
2022 to 2023	12	5	9	4	0	0	30	0	0
2023 to 2024	7	4	2	0	0	0	13	0	0
Note: Housing in other facilities includes CBSA ports of entry (POE) and inland enforcement (IE) cells, hospital, etc. Note that POE and IE cells are only used for very short periods of time.

Table 2.4: Housed minors by detention grounds (of parent/guardian) and region

Fiscal year	Region	Parent/guardian grounds				Total
		Exam	Suspected of serious criminality, criminality, organized crime	Unlikely to appear	Identity
2018 to 2019	Quebec	1	1	33	68	97
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	3	3	6
	Summary	1	1	33	68	103
2019 to 2020	Quebec	1	2	24	103	130
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	5	1	6
	Summary	1	2	29	104	136
2020 to 2021	Quebec	0	0	1	0	1
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	3	0	3
	Summary	0	0	4	0	0
2021 to 2022	Quebec	0	1	1	1	3
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	1	0	1
	Summary	0	1	2	1	4
2022 to 2023	Quebec	1	3	10	10	24
	GTA	0	0	6	0	6
	Pacific	0	0	0	0	0
	Summary	1	3	16	10	30
2023 to 2024	Quebec	1	0	2	5	8
	GTA	0	0	1	2	3
	Pacific	0	0	1	1	2
	Summary	1	0	4	8	13

Table 2.5: National overview of detained minors

Fiscal year	Total number of minors detained in a facility	Accompanied minors (by parent/guardian	Unaccompanied minors	Average length of time in a facility (days)	Median length of time in a facility (days)
2018 to 2019	15	11	4	4	3
2019 to 2020	2	0	2	2.5	2.5
2020 to 2021	0	0	0	0	0
2021 to 2022	4	0	4	3	1
2022 to 2023	3	0	3	8	1
2023 to 2024	6	0	6	3	2
Notes: For more information on the detention of minors see section 5.10 of the Detention Manual The total number of minors in a facility accounts for all minors (foreign national, permanent residents and Canadian citizens). A Canadian citizen cannot be detained but in rare and exceptional circumstances may be housed with a parent/guardian in a facility if it is in the best interests of the child.

Table 2.6: Detained minors by status, gender and age

Fiscal year	Status		Gender		Age
	Foreign national	Canadian	Male	Female	0 to 5 years	6 to 11 years	12 to 17 years
2018 to 2019	15	0	10	5	3	2	10
2019 to 2020	2	0	2	0	0	0	2
2020 to 2021	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021 to 2022	4	0	2	2	0	0	4
2022 to 2023	3	0	1	2	0	0	3
2023 to 2024	6	0	4	2	0	0	6

Table 2.7: Detained minors by length of detention and facility type

Fiscal year	Length of detention						Facility type
	Under 48 hours	3 to 9 days	10 to 39 days	40 to 90 days	91 to 180 days	Over 181 days	IHC	Youth centre	Other
2018 to 2019	6	8	1	0	0	0	13	0	2
2019 to 2020	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
2020 to 2021	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021 to 2022	3	0	1	0	0	0	4	0	0
2022 to 2023	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
2023 to 2024	4	2	0	0	0	0	4	0	2
Note: Housing in other facilities includes CBSA ports of entry (POE) and inland enforcement (IE) cells, hospital, etc. Note that POE and IE cells are only used for very short periods of time.

Table 2.8: Detained minors by detention grounds

Fiscal year	Region	Parent/guardian grounds				Total
		Exam	Suspected of serious criminality, criminality, organized crime	Unlikely to appear	Identity
2018 to 2019	Quebec	0	0	5	5	10
	GTA	0	0	3	0	3
	Pacific	0	0	0	0	0
	PRA	1	0	0	0	1
	SOR	0	0	1	0	1
	Summary	1	0	9	5	15
2019 to 2020	Quebec	0	0	0	0	0
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	2	0	2
	Summary	0	0	2	0	2
2020 to 2021	Quebec	0	0	0	0	0
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	0	0	0
	Summary	0	0	0	0	0
2021 to 2022	Quebec	0	0	0	1	1
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	3	0	3
	Summary	0	0	3	1	4
2022 to 2023	Quebec	0	0	1	1	2
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	1	0	1
	Summary	0	0	2	1	3
2023 to 2024	Quebec	0	0	2	0	2
	GTA	0	0	1	0	1
	NOR	0	0	1	0	1
	Pacific	0	0	1	0	1
	PRA	0	0	0	1	1
	Summary	0	0	5	1	6

Table 2.9: National overview of separated minors

Fiscal year	Total number of separated minors	Average length of time separated (days)	Median length of time separated (days)
2022 to 2023	8	7	1
2023 to 2024	0	0	0

Table 2.10: Separated minors by status, gender and age

Fiscal year	Status		Gender		Age
	Foreign national	Canadian	Male	Female	0 to 5 years	6 to 11 years	12 to 17 years
2022 to 2023	8	0	2	6	3	2	3
2023 to 2024	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Alternative to detention

Definitions

Community supervision

A program that allows individuals to live in the community and be supported by family, or by a third party service provider that specializes in community service. Community supervision consists of three programs:

1. Release on a deposit or guarantee to a bondsperson.
2. Release on reporting conditions.
3. Release on a Community Case Management & Supervision program.

Deposit:

the person is only released from detention once funds are deposited.

Guarantee:

the bondsperson will need to pay the money that is promised if the person in detention does not respect the conditions of their release.

Conditions:

the CBSA and/or the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will put in place conditions when a person is released, based on their risk level. See section 4.1 of Enforcement Manual 34: Alternatives to Detention for more information.

Community case management and supervision:

for people who need support and a bondsperson to lower their level of risk when released into the community. The CBSA has contracts with the John Howard Society of Canada, the Toronto Bail Program and the Salvation Army.

Electronic supervision

Electronic supervision provides more options for a person to communicate with the CBSA. It also allows the CBSA to better identify and investigate those who fail to comply.

Voice reporting:

uses biometric voiceprint technology to monitor and confirm that people are following their reporting conditions. Unlike in-person reporting, voice reporting allows people to use cell phones or landlines to report.

Electronic monitoring:

a limited number of people are chosen based on the level of risk they present and are monitored through a GPS and/or Radio Frequency system. The CBSA has partnered with Correctional Service Canada to deliver this technology. Electronic monitoring is meant to be used with community supervision.

Active alternative to detention participants

Active alternative to detention participants are the number of people who are on an active alternative to detention program at some point during the selected period. This number of active participants can include:

• A person whose alternative to detention program began before the selected period and/or ended during (or after) the reporting period
• A person enrolled before the official launch of the expanded alternative to detention program on June 22, 2018, but who remains an active participant to the program during the selected period
• A person who avoided detention and was placed in an alternative to detention program

Counting the number of participants

The number of active alternative to detention participants at a specific time is not the same as the number of new enrollments. A person can be active in more than one alternative to detention program. This can create times where the person is counted once for each program they were active in. For this reason, it is not possible to add up the number of participants for each program to get the total number of individuals on an alternative to detention program.

A person will be added to the alternative to detention totals in every quarter where they are enrolled in an alternative to detention program. For this reason, the quarters cannot be added together for the total number of active alternative to detention participants in the year to date.

Table 3.1: Total active alternative to detention participants during the selected period

Fiscal year	Community case management and supervision (with mandatory residency)	Electronic monitoring	Community case management and supervision (excludes mandatory residency)	Voice reporting	In-person reporting	Total active alternative to detention participants
2022 to 2023	53	62	496	3,039	13,767	15,887
2023 to 2024	60	59	459	1,646	15,743	16,320

Table 3.2: Overview of persons released from detention on an alternative to detention condition

Fiscal year	Persons detained	Persons released on an alternative to detention	Persons released on an alternatives to detention as a percentage of all persons detained (%)	Average number of days in detention prior to release	Number of persons released from an immigration holding center	Number of persons released from a provincial facility	Number of persons released from another facility
2022 to 2023	5,248	1,813	35	25	1,390	356	82
2023 to 2024	4,929	1,843	37	29	1,430	285	141
Notes: The number of persons released on an alternative to detention includes Community case management and supervision (with mandatory residency), electronic monitoring, community case management and supervision (excludes mandatory residency), voice reporting, in-person reporting, deposit, guarantee, and other immigration conditions. Another facility includes other law enforcement agencies like the RCMP and provincial police cells. The CBSA ports of entry cells, the CBSA inland enforcement cells, and the other law enforcement agencies' cells are only used for short periods of time.

Table 3.3: Number of persons released from detention on an alternative to detention sorted by province

Province	2022 to 2023	Percentage of persons released on an alternative to detention as a percentage of all persons detained (%)	2023 to 2024	Percentage of persons released on an alternative to detention as a percentage of all persons detained (%)
Alberta	76	46	56	34
British Columbia	208	20	277	27
Manitoba	12	43	14	45
New Brunswick	9	20	3	19
Newfoundland and Labrador	4	50	1	100
Northwest Territories	0	0	0	0
Nova Scotia	4	57	4	57
Ontario	1,010	42	1,051	43
Prince Edward Island	0	0	0	0
Quebec	577	35	437	32
Saskatchewan	8	32	8	32
Yukon	1	100	0	0
Notes: Does not include persons who were enrolled directly in an alternative to detention program without detention. Zero percent means that there were detainees during this period, but no releases on an alternative to detention. If no percentage is provided, this means there were no detainees during this period.

Table 3.4: Number of persons released from detention by alternative to detention and by level of intervention

Fiscal year	Community case management and supervision (with mandatory residency)	Electronic monitoring	Community case management and supervision (excludes mandatory residency)	Voice reporting	In-person reporting	Deposit or guarantee	Other immigration condition
2022 to 2023	26	23	115	33	1,352	13	251
2023 to 2024	43	24	129	26	1,371	23	227
Notes: The alternative to detention programs are listed from left to right from requiring the most intervention to the least intervention. People can be released on many alternative to detention programs but have only been counted once in this table according to the alternative to detention program that they're enrolled in that requires the most intervention. For example, if a person is enrolled in community case management and supervision and voice reporting, they will only appear under the community case management and supervision option.

Table 3.5: Number of new enrollments on alternative to detention by program type

Fiscal year	Community case management and supervision (with mandatory residency)	Electronic monitoring	Community case management and supervision (excludes mandatory residency)	Voice reporting	In-person reporting	Total
2022 to 2023	30	23	123	483	6,071	6,730
2023 to 2024	43	32	138	244	6,445	6,537

Table 3.6: Rate of non-compliance by alternative to detention and overall

Fiscal year	Community case management and supervision (with mandatory residency) (%)	Electronic monitoring (%)	Community case management and supervision (excludes mandatory residency) (%)	Voice reporting (%)	In-person reporting (%)
2022 to 2023	42	26	24	5	10
2023 to 2024	73	34	44	9	10
Notes: The rate of non-compliance is calculated by dividing the number of warrants issued and the number of arrests without warrant executed by the number of active alternative to detention participants during the selected period. Non-compliance does not include all possible violations. This graph only shows the more extreme cases where an active alternative to detention participant fails to comply with one or more of their conditions.