Consent

Consent is when a person communicates that they agree to take part in a specific sexual activity. Consent is an ongoing conversation and includes giving and receiving permission. It is always required for any type of sexual activity, including sexual activity that takes place online.

Consent should be:

Voluntary
Given willingly
A full body experience
For a specific sexual act at a specific time
Expressed verbally and or non/verbally

The law says that you must always have affirmative consent to each sexual activity as it is happening. Affirmative consent means the person is saying or doing something to show they agree with what is happening. Just because a person is not saying “no” does not mean consent is given. Silence or inaction is not giving consent. The law requires that a person take reasonable steps to find out whether the other person is consenting.

It is against the law to engage in sexual activity with someone if there is no consent. If there is no consent, it is sexual assault.

There are some situations where the law says a person cannot consent to sexual activity. This includes when:

The person is asleep or unconscious.
The person has been forced, coerced, or threatened to say “yes”, or is otherwise afraid to say no.
If someone has abused their position of trust, power, or authority to convince you to say yes to sexual activity (for example, a coach, spiritual leader, elder, teacher, boss, tutor). This is called sexual exploitation.
The person is too young to give consent.
The person is affected by drugs or alcohol so much that they can’t give legal consent. Drugs and alcohol can affect decision-making, the ability to control your body, and the ability to communicate.

Age of Consent to Sexual Activity

The law says how old you must be to consent to sexual activity. It also says how much of an age gap there can be between two young people to legally consent to sexual activity.

Children under age 12 cannot consent to any form of sexual activity.

The age of consent to sexual activity in Canada is 16. This means that once you have turned 16, you are legally old enough to make decisions about sexual activity. There are some exceptions to this law.

Close in Age Exceptions

12 and 13

If the age gap is less than two calendar years older than you, you can consent to sexual activity. The age gap is measured from birthday to birthday. There must also be no relationship of trust, authority, or dependence between the two people. This might include someone in a position of power over you, like a coach, teacher, elder, tutor, etc.

14 and 15

If the age gap is less than five calendar years older than you, you can consent to sexual activity. The age gap is measured from birthday to birthday. There must also be no relationship of trust, authority, or dependence between the two people. This might include someone in a position of power over you, like a coach, teacher, elder, tutor, etc.

Under 18

It is not legal to have sexual contact with someone under the age of 18 if there is a relationship of trust, authority, or dependence. This might include someone in a position of power over you like a coach, teacher, elder, tutor, etc.