Impaired Driving in Canada
Criminal Offence - Blood Alcohol Level (Federal)
"Warn Zone" - Blood Alcohol Content Level (Provincial)
Criminal Offence - Blood Alcohol Level (Federal)
In Canada it is a criminal offence to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08, or 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Drinking drivers at lower BAC are dealt with under provincial and territorial traffic acts.
“Warn Zone” – Blood Alcohol Content Level (Provincial)
Roadside Licence Suspension - You don't have to be over the Criminal Code blood alcohol limit of 0.08 to face serious consequences. As of May 1, 2009, Ontario has taken measures to help take more drinking drivers off the roads. Drivers who register a BAC from 0.05 to 0.08 (known as the "warn range") lose their licence at roadside for 3, 7 or 30 days. Consequences also get tougher for repeat occurrences.
Fully-licensed drivers will face immediate roadside licence suspension for:
- refusing a breath test.
- registering a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 or more (this means there is 50 milligrams of alcohol in every 100 millilitres of blood).
As of August 1, 2010, if you are a fully licensed driver who is 21 and under or a novice driver and are caught with any alcohol in your blood, you will receive an immediate 24-hour roadside driver licence suspension and, if convicted, you will face a fine of $60-$500 and a 30-day licence suspension.
Novice drivers of all ages in the Graduated Licensing System (GLS) must also maintain a zero BAC while driving. As of August 1, 2010, if you are a novice driver and are caught with any amount of alcohol in your blood, you will receive an immediate 24-hour roadside driver licence suspension, and if convicted, will face a fine of $60-$500 and will receive a suspension period as per the Novice Driver Escalating Sanction scheme, up to and including cancellation of the novice licence. You will also have to return to the start of GLS.
Consequences for impaired driving are serious: you can lose your licence, be fined, or spend time in jail. Fact Sheet >> Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) from
The amount of alcohol in a person’s body is measured by the amount of the alcohol in blood. This is called the blood alcohol concentration, or BAC. For the purposes of law enforcement, BAC is used to define intoxication and provides a measure of impairment. In Ontario and the rest of Canada, the maximum legal BAC for fully licensed drivers is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood (0.08). Driving with BAC in excess of 0.08 is a criminal offence. BAC levels are affected by many factors, including:
- How fast you drink. Alcohol consumed quickly will result in a higher BAC than when consumed over a long period of time.
- Gender. Women generally have less water and more body fat per pound of body weight than men. Alcohol does not go into fat cells as easily as other cells, so more alcohol remains in the blood of women.
- Body weight. The more you weigh, the more water is present in your body. This water dilutes the alcohol and lowers the BAC.
- Amount of food in your stomach. Absorption is slowed if you’ve had something to eat.
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