Annual detention statistics: 2012 to 2022

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.

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
Fiscal year	Entries by foreign nationals to Canada	Persons detained (total)	Persons in detention / daily average)		Detention days	Average length of detention (days)	Median length of detention (days)	Detentions in IHCs (number and percentage)	Detentions in provincial facilities (number and percentage)	Detentions in other facilities (number and percentage)
2012 to 2013	27,412,327	8,742	539	0.031%	194,249	22.2	3	6,128 / 61%	3,070 / 31%	781 / 8%
2013 to 2014	28,371,259	7,720	538	0.027%	194,017	25.1	3	5,369 / 61%	2,738 / 31%	725 / 8%
2014 to 2015	29,938,646	6,786	497	0.022%	178,498	26.3	4	4,486 / 57%	2,510 / 32%	828 / 11%
2015 to 2016	31,940,610	6,602	451	0.020%	164,449	24.9	3	4,385 / 57%	2,361 / 31%	955 / 12%
2016 to 2017	33,873,180	6,268	364	0.018%	130,538	20.8	3	4,248 / 59%	2,041 / 28%	971 / 13%
2017 to 2018	35,668,185	8,355	333	0.023%	119,712	14.3	2	6,609 / 71%	1,831 / 20%	831 / 9%
2018 to 2019	36,145,370	8,781	342	0.024%	121,709	13.8	1	7,212 / 69%	1,679 / 16%	1,622 / 15%
2019 to 2020	33,083,807	8,825	326	0.027%	115,559	13.9	1	7,064 / 68%	1,932 / 19%	1,359 / 13%
2020 to 2021	2,980,459	1,605	133	0.054%	47,789	29.8	8	901 / 47%	783 / 40%	245 / 13%
2021 to 2022	7,438,684	3,056	187	0.041%	67,072	21.9	4	2,256 / 65%	818 / 23%	414 / 12%
Source: CIC DWS - Business Reporting IHDA Datamart

Notes:

All statistics related to number of persons detained or the number of detentions include the total number of persons in detention at any time during the reporting period. The number may include individuals whose detention began before the reporting period and/or who were released during (or after) the reporting period.
The numbers presented in each quarter cannot be added together to equal an annual sum. This is because the quarterly numbers reflect the number of people in detention at a given time, and could include a person who is detained over 2 quarters and carried over. Similarly, changes can take place over the time a person is detained that can lead to double counting in the total number of people in detention by facility type. Individuals can be transferred between facility types, and could therefore be counted in both. Detention days are the number of cumulative days spent in detention for all detainees over the reporting period under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Median length of detention represents the middle value (or the average of two middle values) in days when the numbers are listed in numerical order from smallest to largest.
Detentions in other facilities includes other law enforcement agencies (i.e., RCMP detachments, local and provincial police cells), CBSA ports of entry (POE) and inland enforcement (IE) cells. Note that POE and IE cells as well as other law enforcement agencies’ cells are only used for very short periods of time.

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	143	412	422	260	162
2021 to 2022	1,083	334	605	665	313	195

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
Alberta	259	292	270	234	160	170	187	226	111	161
British Columbia	1,663	1,399	1,282	1,482	1,801	2,215	1,818	1,470	310	680
Manitoba	133	127	165	62	70	104	61	72	23	23
New Brunswick	14	11	11	19	18	10	15	28	10	18
Newfoundland and Labrador	10	4	5	2	1	10	5	10	13	6
Northwest Territories	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Nova Scotia	11	14	10	9	14	12	10	14	14	10
Ontario	5,380	4,578	3,881	3,533	3,159	4,040	4,755	5,265	872	1,478
Prince Edward Island	0	0	2	2	1	4	0	2	1	1
Quebec	1,270	1,287	1,161	1,246	1,034	1,803	1,949	1,755	251	681
Saskatchewan	50	41	35	38	30	14	15	26	18	17
Yukon	7	5	3	4	3	2	2	0	0	2
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
Danger to the public	45	31	36	47	47	67	70	65	36	29
Examination	240	287	214	276	194	777	394	266	31	65
Identity	488	354	302	334	290	392	439	564	46	116
Security certificate	1	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
Suspected Inadmissibility on grounds of security	10	6	5	5	2	1	8	7	2	2
Suspected inadmissibility on grounds of serious criminality/ criminality/organized criminality	61	238	187	167	139	122	47	50	13	56
Unlikely to appear/danger to the public	831	831	512	394	318	368	493	525	250	322
Unlikely to appear	7,287	6,187	5,668	5,514	5,402	6,737	7,476	7,509	1,286	2,517

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.

Note: In fiscal year 2019 to 2020, CBSA started counting minors housed in detention separately from those detained. For this reason, the 2019 to 2020 data appears different than previous years.

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	20.7	10
2019 to 2020	136	16.9	12
2020 to 2021	4	6.25	5
2021 to 2022	4	3.5	4
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
Fiscal year	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
2020 to 2021	3	1	1	3	2	0	2

Table 2.3: Housed minors by length of housing and facility type
Fiscal year	Length of housing						Facility type
Fiscal year	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	0	0	0
2021 to 2022	1	3	0	0	0	0	4	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
Year	Region	Parent/guardian grounds				Total
Year	Region	Exam	Suspected of serious criminality, criminality, organized crime	Unlikely to appear	Identity	Total
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	0
	GTA	0	0	0	0	0
	Pacific	0	0	3	0	0
	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

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	3.9	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	3.3	1
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
Fiscal year	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

Table 2.7: Detained minors by length of detention and facility type
Fiscal year	Length of detention						Facility type
Fiscal year	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
Note: *Other includes CBSA inland or POE offices, hospital, etc. The total by facility type may be higher than the total number of minors detained due to facility transfers.

Table 2.8: Detained minors by detention grounds
Year	Region	Parent/guardian grounds				Total
Year	Region	Exam	Suspected of serious criminality, criminality, organized crime	Unlikely to appear	Identity	Total
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

Annual and previous quarterly statistics

Date modified:: 2022-10-25

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