Executive Summary

The focus of this report is on the underlying causes of overrepresentation of Black people in the Canadian criminal justice system. Overrepresentation of Black people is not a new problem and has received attention from Commissions of Inquiry, governments, non-governmental organizations, communities and individuals for many years. In recognition of these issues, the Department of Justice appointed an external Steering Group of nine experts and leaders from Black communities across Canada. Their first task was to review all existing reports and studies to guide community consultations to inform the development of Canada’s Black Justice Strategy. The Steering Group’s final report – A Roadmap for Transformative Change – with 114 recommendations was published in June, 2024. The Implementation Plan – Toward Transformative Change: An Implementation Plan for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy – designed to identify the Government of Canada actions and commitments to reduce the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system was released in 2025.

This report addresses the major challenges facing Black people that can lead to involvement with the criminal justice system. Long standing anti-Black racism and discrimination, whether conscious or unconscious, in government systems and society generally is a fundamental contributor to injustice. The subsequent exposure to the discriminatory pressures built into the criminal justice system itself can further exacerbate the problems facing Black people, especially youth.

In 2021 (the year of the most recent national Census), Black people numbered over 1.5 million individuals, representing 4.3 percent of the total Canadian population. The Black population is currently the third largest racialized group, after South Asians and Chinese, and is settled in all parts of Canada, particularly in urban areas. The age distribution of Canada’s Black population is an important factor in terms of overrepresentation. Children and youth (aged 0 to 25 years) made up 41.9 percent of Black populations in 2021. Seventy-two percent of the total Black population was younger than forty-five, compared to 54.9 percent of the total Canadian population.

Black people in Canada are overrepresented in the criminal justice system as accused and convicted, victims and survivors. Overrepresentation occurs at all stages of the system – policing, courts and corrections – in significant numbers relative to the rest of the Canadian population. For example, in 2022-23 Black individuals accounted for 9 percent of the total federal corrections population, while representing 4 percent of the total population.

It is essential to recognize that Black people are not more predisposed to criminal activity than any other group of people, racialized or non-racialized. Experts maintain there are certain broadly defined factors that in some combination over many years have affected the involvement of Black people in the criminal justice system. Colonialism and the practice of slavery have had significant impacts that continue to be felt today. While the face of colonialism has changed over time from the blatant policies of slavery to other forms of discrimination and segregation, the fact is that Black people continue to experience marginalization and disproportionate involvement with the justice system. These realities flow from the normalization and legitimation of advantages for White people that were historically built into government systems and that are currently still in use.

Anti-Black racism, discrimination and segregation have existed in Canada since the 1600s when slavery was prevalent and Black people had no human or legal rights. Experts have demonstrated that these factors continue to result in negative “social determinants of justice” leading to greater justice system involvement than for other populations. Negative determinants include socio-economic marginalization, poverty, inadequate housing, limited employment and educational opportunities, and inadequate and culturally inappropriate child protection and mental health services. Young people are especially affected by the stresses that accompany anti-Black racism and discrimination. Those stresses have been shown to result in physical and mental health problems for Black youth.

Black communities such as Africville in Halifax and Regent Park in Toronto have experienced both unfair treatment and displacement. Housing for Black people, whether purchased or rented, is typically substandard and difficult to afford.

Employment opportunities are fewer than for Canada’s White population and, when employment is found, salaries are generally lower for Black employees regardless of education level, skill and experience. Similarly, educational opportunities continue to be less available for Black people. In some parts of the country, youth continue to be directed to non-academic programs or, indirectly, encouraged to leave school altogether. In light of the socio-economic conditions in which many Black youth live and the stresses they endure, individual youth can be caught up in the “school to prison pipeline.” Those with a higher level of education are often more likely to experience overqualification, underemployment and earnings gaps not explained by factors other than anti-Black racism and discrimination.

Poverty, which also refers to the social and spiritual well-being of individuals, often results from socio-economic marginalization. As a result of systemic discrimination, Black individuals and families often lack the resources, means, choices and power to enable a living standard above government-defined poverty. According to government data, 12.4 percent of Black people live in poverty, compared to 8.1 percent of the total Canadian population.

The daily experience of anti-Black racism and discrimination often leads to both physical and mental health problems. However, accessible, effective and culturally appropriate health and mental health services are generally lacking for the Black population. Again, while this lack can affect all Black people, it is most serious for youth.

Inequities and overrepresentation are experienced by Black people at all stages of the criminal justice system: policing, courts and corrections. It has been convincingly argued – by Commissions of Inquiry, the courts, and experts in the field – that it is the justice system itself that is criminogenic by virtue of its anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination, resulting in overrepresentation.

Over policing continues to be a serious problem for Black people in Canada. Issues include unwarranted stop and search procedures resulting, for example, in excessive issuance of contact cards (“carding”), excessive use of force, and racial profiling. Racial profiling has been shown to exist in many Canadian police services and is often described as a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” The more it occurs, the more likely the chance of an individual being found guilty of a crime, typically a minor one. Disproportionate surveillance of Black people, especially youth, in their own neighbourhoods is therefore more likely to result in the apprehension and charging of more Black people than White people for the same types of offence. Under policing is a problem, as well. Under policing occurs when the rights of black individuals and communities are not fully recognized by police and when legitimate calls for assistance are not answered.

Criminal court outcomes are also seen to be racially biased, as a number of courts themselves have acknowledged. For example, Black people are held in pre-trial detention more often and for longer than White people accused of similar crimes. Similarly, research indicates that Black accused tend to be subject to different and disproportionately negative outcomes (e.g., incarceration) in comparison with White individuals. However, there have been some recent initiatives that may hold potential. The use of Impact of Race and Culture Assessments (IRCAs), primarily in Nova Scotia and Ontario, has provided a tool whereby sentencing judges can request a report concerning the background of a specific individual. While buy-in by judges and the actual impact and usefulness of IRCAs has yet to be determined through evaluation research, the initiative does represent a judicial acknowledgement of the existence of systemic racism that affects how an individual may come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Corrections is another area wherein Black people experience anti-Black racism, discrimination and segregation. Black offenders are more likely to be sentenced to incarceration than White offenders. Further, Black people are 36 percent more likely to receive a long-term custodial sentence of two years or more (federal penitentiary time). Black adults and youth are also overrepresented in provincial correctional facilities, in both custody and community supervision programs.

Once confined in a penitentiary, Black offenders are overrepresented with regard to use of force by prison officials. They are also disproportionally assigned to maximum security facilities over medium security facilities compared to White offenders. The Office of the Correctional Investigator in its annual report consistently identifies racial bias and negative stereotyping with regard to Black prisoners. Bias is often based on assumptions that Black people are more inclined to exhibit higher risk behaviour, low motivation, and low potential for reintegration into society. Yet Black offenders have lower rates of reoffending on release and lower rates of returning to custody than their White counterparts. The fear of anti-Black racism and the subsequent stress can easily affect life chances and choices and exacerbate mental health problems among Black prisoners. Again, this is especially pronounced for younger offenders.

The effects of anti-Black racism, discrimination and segregation in Canada have been traumatic and intergenerational since the 1600s. The practice of slavery and the subsequent laws, policies and treatment of Black people in historical contexts such as Africville, were based on doctrines which held that Black people were of lesser worth. These attitudes continue to be part of an unconscious bias through socialization, where they exist in many ways unexamined, some subtle and some overt. Anti-Black racism flowing from this unconscious bias held by the majority population continues to create and perpetuate socio-economic marginalization and exclusionary impacts on Black communities, families and individuals, including children. Employment, education, housing, child protection services, and mental health services have all been designed for the experience of the majority and so are inadequate for marginalized people, including Black people. The social determinants of justice compare negatively with other racial groups, especially with White Canadians. Black communities and individuals continue to experience relative poverty and lack of equal opportunity.

Black people are not more naturally inclined to commit crimes than any other racial group, including White people. However, Canadian society, through long-standing discriminatory policies and practices, has engendered an environment wherein the negative determinants of justice increase the risk of involvement with the criminal justice system. The system, as part of society, has then been empowered to treat Black people unfairly. The cumulative effects of anti-Black racism and discrimination in Canadian society and many of its institutions has led to the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system. While there have been recent initiatives ideally leading to improvements in the system, much remains to be done. This includes efforts to ensure the availability of race-based and disaggregated data to accurately measure the extent of and address the overrepresentation of Black people at each stage of the criminal justice process.

A 2017 report of the United Nations Working Group representing the Human Rights Council of the United Nations General Assembly highlighted the continuing challenges for Black people in Canada. The Working Group said that the historical entrenchment of anti-Black racism in Canadian institutions and policies, makes it “functionally normalized or rendered invisible, especially to the dominant group.”