Prostitution laws in Canada
Criminal law is federal, so one regime applies across Canada. After the Supreme Court struck down the bawdy-house, living-on-the-avails and public-communication offences in Bedford (2013), Parliament enacted PCEPA in 2014. It criminalises obtaining sexual services for consideration, receiving a material benefit from someone else's sexual services, procuring, and knowingly advertising an offer of sexual services, but gives sellers immunity for their own services and their own advertising. The courts have upheld every challenged provision so far: R. v. N.S. (Ontario Court of Appeal, 2022), Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v. AG (Ontario Superior Court, 2023) and R. v. Kloubakov (Supreme Court of Canada, 2025). The Alliance's appeal, which also challenges the purchase and advertising offences, is still pending before the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
Legal model
Buying criminalised (Nordic model). Buying sex is an offence; selling it is not (the "Nordic" or "Equality" model).
Since 6 December 2014 the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) makes buying sexual services an offence (s. 286.1 Criminal Code), along with receiving a material benefit, procuring and advertising other people's services. Selling is not an offence and sellers are immune for their own services (s. 286.5). It is a variant of the Nordic model: two seller-side offences survive in s. 213 (stopping or impeding traffic, and communicating next to school grounds, playgrounds or daycare centres).[1][2][3][4][5]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Selling one's own sexual services is not an offence, and s. 286.5 bars prosecuting a seller as a party to the buyer's offence. Two narrow summary offences in s. 213 still apply to sellers: stopping or impeding traffic in a public place, and communicating to offer sexual services in a public place next to a school ground, playground or daycare centre.[2][3][6][7] |
| Buying sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Obtaining, or communicating in any place to obtain, the sexual services of a person for consideration is a hybrid offence: up to 5 years on indictment, or up to two years less a day and a fine of up to CAD 5,000 on summary conviction. Mandatory minimum fines start at CAD 500 and double near parks, schools, religious institutions or places where minors are expected to be. From under-18s: up to 14 years, minimum 6 months.[1][6][8] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | The bawdy-house offences were repealed in 2019, so there is no brothel offence as such. Running a venue that sells other people's sexual services is still caught by the material-benefit offence, whose exceptions do not cover a "commercial enterprise that offers sexual services for consideration", and by procuring. A landlord who only rents premises to an independent sex worker commits neither offence.[5][7][9][10][11] |
| Sex workers sharing premises | Legal | Sex workers may work together from the same indoor premises. The Supreme Court held in 2025 that people selling their own services, "whether independently or cooperatively with others", are outside the "commercial enterprise" exclusion, and that the immunity covers each seller's own services. The purchase by their clients remains an offence.[5][9][12][13] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Procuring a person to offer or provide sexual services for consideration, or recruiting, holding, concealing or harbouring them or controlling their movements in order to facilitate a purchase, carries up to 14 years. Knowingly receiving a material benefit derived from a purchase carries up to 10 years, subject to exceptions for non-exploitative relationships.[2][5][9][10][13] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Knowingly advertising an offer to provide sexual services for consideration is a hybrid offence, punishable by up to 5 years on indictment. A person cannot be prosecuted for advertising their own sexual services, but anyone who advertises someone else's, or helps place such an ad, can be. Courts have found that the offence limits freedom of expression but is justified under s. 1 of the Charter.[2][6][13][14][15][16] |
| Online platforms and ad sites | Illegal Criminal offence | A website or publisher that knowingly carries ads for other people's sexual services can be liable as a party to the s. 286.4 offence; the seller's own immunity does not cover them. A judge can also order the custodian of a computer system in Canada to delete such ads and identify who posted them. Evidence before the courts and Parliament is that advertising moved to sites hosted outside Canada.[5][6][12][13][14][16][17][18] |
| Street-based sex work and soliciting | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Communicating in public to sell sexual services is lawful except in or next to school grounds, playgrounds and daycare centres. Stopping vehicles or impeding traffic to offer, provide or obtain sexual services is an offence for sellers and buyers alike. Buyers commit the s. 286.1 offence wherever they communicate, with higher minimum fines near parks, schools and places where minors are expected.[1][3][16][18][19] |
| Registration, licensing and health checks | Varies | There is no national registration or health-check regime for sex workers. Municipalities license related businesses under their own by-laws, without making the sale of sex lawful. Toronto, for example, licenses body-rub parlour owners, operators and body-rubbers and requires a medical certificate from licensed body-rubbers.[20] |
| Tax and social security | Legal | There is no tax rule specific to sex work. Income from selling sexual services is taxable like other business income, and business expenses are deductible. The Ontario Superior Court noted in 2023 that sex workers must report income from all sources, legal or illegal, and can make Canada Pension Plan contributions as self-employed people.[6] |
| Migrant sex workers | Restricted Breach: administrative offence | Immigration regulations bar every temporary resident who is authorised to work from taking or extending a job with an employer who regularly offers striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massage. Work permits are refused for such employers. Temporary residents without work authorisation may not work at all.[16][21][22][23][24] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling one's own sexual services is not an offence, and s. 286.5 bars prosecuting a seller as a party to the buyer's offence. Two narrow summary offences in s. 213 still apply to sellers: stopping or impeding traffic in a public place, and communicating to offer sexual services in a public place next to a school ground, playground or daycare centre.[2][3][6][7]
Section 286.5(2) provides that no person shall be prosecuted for aiding, abetting, conspiring, attempting, being an accessory after the fact or counselling an offence under ss. 286.1 to 286.4 "if the offence relates to the offering or provision of their own sexual services". The immunity does not make the transaction lawful: the Ontario Superior Court wrote in 2023 that "sex work is no longer legal, but sellers of their own sexual services are immune from prosecution" (2023 ONSC 5197, para. 3), and the Court of Appeal for Ontario said in R. v. Gallone (2019 ONCA 663) that the immunity provisions do not legalise advertising one's own services. Section 213(1) (stopping a vehicle or impeding traffic or access to premises, for the purpose of offering, providing or obtaining sexual services) and s. 213(1.1) (communicating to offer or provide sexual services in or next to a school ground, playground or daycare centre) are summary-conviction offences. The general communicating offence that Bedford struck down (former s. 213(1)(c)) was repealed in 2014. Both s. 213 offences carry the general summary-conviction penalty: a fine of up to CAD 5,000, up to two years less a day, or both (s. 787(1)).
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Obtaining, or communicating in any place to obtain, the sexual services of a person for consideration is a hybrid offence: up to 5 years on indictment, or up to two years less a day and a fine of up to CAD 5,000 on summary conviction. Mandatory minimum fines start at CAD 500 and double near parks, schools, religious institutions or places where minors are expected to be. From under-18s: up to 14 years, minimum 6 months.[1][6][8]
Section 286.1(1) minimum fines: on indictment CAD 1,000 for a first offence and CAD 2,000 for each subsequent one (CAD 2,000 and 4,000 where the offence is committed in a public place, or a place open to public view, that is or is next to a park, the grounds of a school or religious institution, or another place where persons under 18 can reasonably be expected to be present); on summary conviction CAD 500 and 1,000 (CAD 1,000 and 2,000 in those places). Section 286.1(2) (obtaining sexual services of a person under 18) carries minimum imprisonment of 6 months for a first offence and 1 year for a subsequent one. Its maximum was raised from 10 to 14 years by s. 36 of the Protecting Victims Act (S.C. 2026, c. 19), in force 18 July 2026. The same Act added s. 718.4, which requires a court to impose less than a minimum term of imprisonment where the minimum would be cruel and unusual for that offender; it does not apply to the minimum fines. The purchase offence was among those challenged in the Canadian Alliance case and was upheld at first instance (see pending).
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
The bawdy-house offences were repealed in 2019, so there is no brothel offence as such. Running a venue that sells other people's sexual services is still caught by the material-benefit offence, whose exceptions do not cover a "commercial enterprise that offers sexual services for consideration", and by procuring. A landlord who only rents premises to an independent sex worker commits neither offence.[5][7][9][10][11]
Bedford declared s. 210 (keeping a common bawdy-house), as it related to prostitution, unconstitutional. PCEPA removed prostitution from the bawdy-house definition in 2014, and ss. 210 and 211 were repealed by S.C. 2019, c. 25, s. 73 (the consolidated text of s. 210 ends on 20 June 2019). Under s. 286.2(5)(e), the exceptions in s. 286.2(4) do not apply to a benefit received "in the context of a commercial enterprise that offers sexual services for consideration", and s. 286.2(6) makes that context an aggravating factor. In R. v. Kloubakov (2025 SCC 25) the Supreme Court held that the key question is whether a third party shares in the profits of another person's sex work. No factual exploitation or excessive profit is required. The Court said a "commercial agency that recruits persons to sell sexual services, provides premises for transactions, advertises to potential purchasers, makes appointments, and collects agency fees" engages liability for procuring. Excluded from "commercial enterprise" are: sellers working independently or cooperatively; third parties who provide security services to them under a cooperative arrangement; not-for-profit safe houses; and anyone who merely rents premises to an independent sex worker.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Procuring a person to offer or provide sexual services for consideration, or recruiting, holding, concealing or harbouring them or controlling their movements in order to facilitate a purchase, carries up to 14 years. Knowingly receiving a material benefit derived from a purchase carries up to 10 years, subject to exceptions for non-exploitative relationships.[2][5][9][10][13]
Procuring (s. 286.3). Indictable, up to 14 years; for a person under 18, a minimum of 5 years. Kloubakov requires a specific intent to induce a person to offer sexual services for purchase. Advising a sex worker on safe practices, or merely renting a room, is not procuring without more.
Material benefit (s. 286.2). Hybrid; up to 10 years on indictment, or up to 14 years with a 2-year minimum where the services come from a person under 18. Living with or being habitually in the company of a seller is presumed, unless there is evidence to the contrary, to mean receiving a benefit (s. 286.2(3)). Under s. 286.2(4) the offence does not apply to a benefit received in a legitimate living arrangement, under a legal or moral obligation, for goods or services offered to the general public on the same terms, or for proportionate goods or services not offered to the public, provided the recipient did not counsel or encourage the sale. These exceptions fall away for anyone who used violence, intimidation or coercion, abused a position of trust, power or authority, supplied intoxicating substances, procured, or acted within a commercial enterprise (s. 286.2(5)). Sellers cannot be prosecuted for benefits from their own services (s. 286.5(1)(a)).
Courts. R. v. N.S., 2021 ONSC 2920 struck down ss. 286.2, 286.3 and 286.4; the Court of Appeal for Ontario reversed it (2022 ONCA 160) and the Supreme Court refused leave on 13 January 2023. The Supreme Court upheld ss. 286.2 and 286.3 against a s. 7 Charter challenge in Kloubakov (2025 SCC 25, 24 July 2025).
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Knowingly advertising an offer to provide sexual services for consideration is a hybrid offence, punishable by up to 5 years on indictment. A person cannot be prosecuted for advertising their own sexual services, but anyone who advertises someone else's, or helps place such an ad, can be. Courts have found that the offence limits freedom of expression but is justified under s. 1 of the Charter.[2][6][13][14][15][16]
Section 286.4 was the first advertising offence of its kind in Canadian law (Kloubakov, para. 33). Immunity applies to "the advertisement of their own sexual services" (s. 286.5(1)(b)), and s. 286.5(2) extends it to aiding, abetting or conspiring in relation to one's own services. In N.S. (2022 ONCA 160, paras. 147–157) the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that any impairment of security of the person from the ban was trivial: sex workers continue to advertise in vaguer language and can communicate frankly with clients afterwards. The Crown conceded that s. 286.4 engages s. 2(b) of the Charter, and the court held it justified under s. 1. The Ontario Superior Court followed N.S. in 2023, calling it "binding and dispositive". In 2022 the House of Commons Justice Committee recommended repealing ss. 213 and 286.4 (Recommendation 3). The law has not been changed. Under s. 164 a judge may order the seizure and forfeiture of material "used to advertise sexual services contrary to section 286.4" (since 2026 part of the defined term "illicit material").
Checked 30 October 2026
Online platforms and ad sites
A website or publisher that knowingly carries ads for other people's sexual services can be liable as a party to the s. 286.4 offence; the seller's own immunity does not cover them. A judge can also order the custodian of a computer system in Canada to delete such ads and identify who posted them. Evidence before the courts and Parliament is that advertising moved to sites hosted outside Canada.[5][6][12][13][14][16][17][18]
The Department of Justice's Technical Paper says the advertising offence targets people who place ads in print media or on websites, and that "publishers or website administrators could be held criminally liable as parties if they know of the existence of the advertisement and that the advertisement is in fact for the sale of sexual services". The Ontario Superior Court (2023 ONSC 5197, para. 90) likewise said s. 286.4 "catches, potentially, publishers and website administrators". An agency that advertises the sexual services of the people it recruits can also be liable for procuring (Kloubakov).
Takedown. Under s. 164.1 a judge who is satisfied that material advertising sexual services contrary to s. 286.4 is stored on and made available through a computer system within the court's jurisdiction may order its custodian to hand over a copy, stop making it available, and identify the poster. After a hearing the judge may order its deletion. The order works regardless of who posted the ad. It reaches only systems within the court's jurisdiction, and we found no other statutory notice-and-takedown duty for these ads.
Practice. In N.S. the defence expert's evidence was that after PCEPA advertising "migrated to off-shore locations" and ads on third-party sites used coded language to avoid being taken down by site administrators. The Justice Committee heard in 2022 that Canadian sites had closed or raised their fees, and that sex workers were using foreign sites at higher cost. Police recorded 37 advertising incidents in 2025 and charged 3 people (see stats).
Confidence: medium. Party liability for platforms rests on the Justice Department's reading of the statute and on remarks in court rulings, not on a judgment about a website. We could not search CanLII (it blocks automated access) and found no reported conviction of an ad-site operator under s. 286.4. Statistics Canada does not break advertising charges down by type of accused.
Checked 30 October 2026
Street-based sex work and soliciting
Communicating in public to sell sexual services is lawful except in or next to school grounds, playgrounds and daycare centres. Stopping vehicles or impeding traffic to offer, provide or obtain sexual services is an offence for sellers and buyers alike. Buyers commit the s. 286.1 offence wherever they communicate, with higher minimum fines near parks, schools and places where minors are expected.[1][3][16][18][19]
Both s. 213 offences are summary-conviction offences. For s. 213, "public place" includes any place the public can access as of right or by invitation, and a motor vehicle in a public place or in public view. Statistics Canada found that between 2010 and 2019 police-reported stopping or communicating incidents fell by 95%, most of the fall coming before PCEPA. Fewer women were tried for these offences in the five years after PCEPA than in the five years before (−97%). The Justice Committee recommended repealing s. 213 in 2022. In 2025 police recorded 21 incidents of public communication to sell sexual services and 11 of impeding traffic (6 and 2 persons charged).
Checked 30 October 2026
Registration, licensing and health checks
There is no national registration or health-check regime for sex workers. Municipalities license related businesses under their own by-laws, without making the sale of sex lawful. Toronto, for example, licenses body-rub parlour owners, operators and body-rubbers and requires a medical certificate from licensed body-rubbers.[20]
Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 545 (Licensing) requires a licence from every person who owns or operates a body-rub parlour and from every other person who performs, offers or solicits a body-rub there (§ 545-2A(7), (8)). Applicants who will perform body-rubs must give the Medical Officer of Health a doctor's certificate that they are "free from communicable diseases", usually no more than once every three years (§ 545-333). A municipal licence does not displace the Criminal Code: purchasing, material-benefit and procuring offences still apply to sexual services provided in licensed premises.
Confidence: medium. Only Toronto's by-law was checked. Other cities' licensing regimes (body-rub, holistic, escort or adult-entertainment licences) differ and were not reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Tax and social security
There is no tax rule specific to sex work. Income from selling sexual services is taxable like other business income, and business expenses are deductible. The Ontario Superior Court noted in 2023 that sex workers must report income from all sources, legal or illegal, and can make Canada Pension Plan contributions as self-employed people.[6]
In 2023 ONSC 5197 (para. 316) the court relied on R. v. Brown, 2012 TCC 251 (reporting income from all sources) and Minister of National Revenue v. Eldridge (Exch. Ct., 1964) (deducting expenses of an illegal business). It noted that s. 241 of the Income Tax Act restricts the Canada Revenue Agency's disclosure of taxpayer information to police. The court treated sex workers' lack of access to labour standards and workplace protections as a consequence of their working outside the formal economy, and held that this did not breach the Charter (paras. 313–316).
Confidence: medium. Stated from the court's summary of the tax position. The Income Tax Act and CRA guidance were not checked directly for this entry.
Checked 30 October 2026
Migrant sex workers
Immigration regulations bar every temporary resident who is authorised to work from taking or extending a job with an employer who regularly offers striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massage. Work permits are refused for such employers. Temporary residents without work authorisation may not work at all.[16][21][22][23][24]
Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227): s. 183(1)(b) (temporary residents must not work unless authorised) and s. 183(1)(b.1) (no employment agreement with such an employer); s. 196.1(a) (the same rule for every foreign national); s. 200(3)(g.1) (no work permit if the person intends to work for such an employer); s. 203(2)(a) (no labour market impact assessment for such employers). Breaching a condition of stay can lead to removal proceedings. In 2022 the Justice Committee recommended repealing ss. 183(1)(b.1), 196.1(a), 200(3)(g.1) and 203(2)(a). In its view these rules "unfairly put migrant sex workers at elevated risk of violence and danger by making them unable to report these incidents without fear of deportation" (Recommendation 10). The regulations, current to 30 September 2026, still contain them.
Note. That a breach of these conditions can lead to removal follows from the general Immigration and Refugee Protection Act scheme, which was not reviewed in detail for this entry.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46) Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46) s. 213 · ss. 286.1–286.5 · ss. 164, 164.1 | Part VIII 'Commodification of Sexual Activity' holds the purchase (286.1), material-benefit (286.2), procuring (286.3) and advertising (286.4) offences and the seller immunity (286.5). Section 213 holds the residual public-place offences, and ss. 164 and 164.1 the seizure and deletion orders for advertising material.[25] | |
| Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (S.C. 2014, c. 25) Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (S.C. 2014, c. 25) s. 20 (ss. 286.1–286.5 Criminal Code) · s. 45.1 (review) | Parliament's response to Bedford. It created ss. 286.1–286.5, repealed the living-on-the-avails offence (s. 212), replaced the general communicating offence with s. 213(1.1), and took prostitution out of the bawdy-house definition. Section 45.1 required a parliamentary review within five years.[4] | 6 December 2014 |
| Protecting Victims Act (S.C. 2026, c. 19) Protecting Victims Act (S.C. 2026, c. 19) s. 18 (s. 164(8) Criminal Code) · s. 36 (s. 286.1(2) Criminal Code) · s. 63 (s. 718.4 Criminal Code) | Raised the maximum for obtaining the sexual services of a person under 18 (s. 286.1(2)) from 10 to 14 years. It also rewrote the s. 164 seizure provisions around a single defined term, 'illicit material', which covers ads contrary to s. 286.4, and added s. 718.4 on minimum terms of imprisonment.[8] | 18 July 2026 |
| Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), s. 183 Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227) s. 183(1)(b.1) · s. 196.1(a) · s. 200(3)(g.1) · s. 203(2)(a) | Bars temporary residents and other foreign nationals from working for employers who regularly offer striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massage, and bars work permits and labour market assessments for such employers.[21] | |
| Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 545, Licensing Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 545 (Licensing) § 545-2A(7)–(8) · § 545-333 | Example of municipal licensing: licences for body-rub parlour owners, operators and body-rubbers, with a medical certificate requirement.[20] |
Pending and under review
Under review · updated 10 November 2025
Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v. Attorney General: appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario
A Charter challenge to ss. 213(1), 213(1.1), 286.1(1), 286.2(1), 286.3(1) and 286.4 under ss. 7, 2(b), 2(d) and 15. The Ontario Superior Court dismissed it on 18 September 2023 (2023 ONSC 5197): the purchase, communication, stopping-traffic and advertising offences limit expression but are justified under s. 1, and no provision breaches ss. 7, 2(d) or 15. On 24 July 2025 the Supreme Court in Kloubakov noted that the appeal, including the challenge to the purchase and advertising offences, was pending before the Court of Appeal for Ontario. It left the life and liberty arguments and the evidence on commercial third parties to that appeal. We found no appeal decision or hearing date as of 30 October 2026.[5][6][26]
In numbers
Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, table 35-10-0177-01 (released 22 July 2026). 2024: 495 incidents, 268 charged; 2020: 286 incidents, 120 charged. Police-reported counts reflect enforcement activity and reporting practices, not the size of the market.
Same table. 2021: 44 incidents and 5 charged; 2024: 15 incidents and 2 charged. Advertising by sellers of their own services cannot be prosecuted, so these counts concern third parties.
Same table. Receiving a material benefit from an adult's services (s. 286.2(1)): 23 incidents, 7 charged. All offences in relation to sexual services: 1,200 incidents, 496 charged.
Statistics Canada, Juristat (21 June 2021). About one in seven completed court cases for this offence ended in a guilty finding. For the advertising offence, 15 of 17 men and 12 of 16 women tried between 2014/2015 and 2018/2019 were found guilty.
Statistics Canada Homicide Survey, as reported in the 2021 Juristat. The fall came while total homicides in Canada rose. The numbers are small and depend on police recording the victim's occupation.
Timeline
- 20 December 2013Supreme Court of Canada, Canada (AG) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72: declares the bawdy-house offence (s. 210, as it relates to prostitution), living on the avails (s. 212(1)(j)) and public communication (s. 213(1)(c)) unconstitutional under s. 7 of the Charter, suspended for one year.[7]
- 6 November 2014Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (S.C. 2014, c. 25) receives royal assent.[4]
- 6 December 2014PCEPA comes into force 30 days after assent: buying, material benefit, procuring and third-party advertising become offences; sellers are immune for their own services.[4][19]
- 21 June 2019The common bawdy-house offences (ss. 210 and 211) are repealed by S.C. 2019, c. 25.[11]
- 21 June 2021Statistics Canada's Juristat compares sex-trade-related crime in the five years before and after PCEPA.[19]
- 24 February 2022Court of Appeal for Ontario, R. v. N.S., 2022 ONCA 160: reverses a 2021 ruling that had struck down the material-benefit, procuring and advertising offences, and upholds them.[13]
- June 2022House of Commons Justice Committee reports on its statutory review of PCEPA ('Preventing Harm in the Canadian Sex Industry'), recommending repeal of ss. 213 and 286.4 and of the immigration rules barring sex-industry work.[16]
- 13 January 2023Supreme Court of Canada refuses leave to appeal in R. v. N.S.[5]
- 18 September 2023Ontario Superior Court dismisses the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform's Charter challenge to PCEPA (2023 ONSC 5197); the applicants appeal.[5][6]
- 24 July 2025Supreme Court of Canada, R. v. Kloubakov, 2025 SCC 25: unanimously upholds the material-benefit and procuring offences, interpreting them to allow cooperative work and hired security.[5]
- 18 July 2026Protecting Victims Act (S.C. 2026, c. 19) in force: maximum for buying sexual services from a person under 18 raised to 14 years.[1][8]
Sources
- Criminal Code, s. 286.1: Obtaining sexual services for consideration. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 286.5: Immunity — material benefit and advertising. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 213: Offences in relation to offering, providing or obtaining sexual services for consideration. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (S.C. 2014, c. 25). Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website, 6 November 2014. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- R. v. Kloubakov, 2025 SCC 25. Supreme Court of Canada, 24 July 2025. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v. Attorney General, 2023 ONSC 5197 (Reasons for Judgment, CV-21-659594). Ontario Superior Court of Justice (signed reasons, copy hosted by POWER Ottawa), 18 September 2023. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2013 SCC 72, [2013] 3 S.C.R. 1101. Supreme Court of Canada, 20 December 2013. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Protecting Victims Act (S.C. 2026, c. 19). Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website, 18 June 2026. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 286.2: Material benefit from sexual services. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 286.3: Procuring. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 210 (keeping common bawdy-house), version from 2003-01-01 to 2019-06-20. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Technical Paper: Bill C-36, Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act. Department of Justice Canada. government · accessed 30 October 2026
- R. v. N.S., 2022 ONCA 160. Court of Appeal for Ontario, 24 February 2022. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 286.4: Advertising sexual services. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 164: Warrant of seizure. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Preventing Harm in the Canadian Sex Industry: A Review of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, 44th Parl., 1st Sess., Report 4). House of Commons of Canada, June 2022. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 164.1: Warrant of seizure — material on computer system. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Table 35-10-0177-01: Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, Canada, provinces, territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Canadian Forces Military Police. Statistics Canada, 22 July 2026. statistics · accessed 30 October 2026
- Crimes related to the sex trade: Before and after legislative changes in Canada (Juristat, 85-002-X). Statistics Canada, 21 June 2021. statistics · accessed 30 October 2026
- Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 545, Licensing. City of Toronto. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), s. 183. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), s. 196.1. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), s. 200. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227), s. 203. Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46) (Criminal Code (consolidated, current to 2026-09-30, last amended 2026-07-18)). Department of Justice Canada, Justice Laws Website. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex work on trial: What the recently dismissed constitutional challenge means. The Conversation, 10 November 2025. news · accessed 30 October 2026