Federal penalties for impaired driving

Federal limits

In all Canadian provinces, the maximum legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for fully licensed drivers is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood or 0.08. Driving with a BAC of 0.08 or more is a criminal (federal) offence and the penalties are severe.

Provincial limits

In Alberta, and in most other Canadian jurisdictions, if your BAC is between 0.05 and 0.079, you will also face provincial impaired driving penalties.

Mandatory alcohol screening

Federal legislation for mandatory alcohol screening authorizes police officers to request a breath test for BAC from any driver they lawfully stop.

Police officers can demand a preliminary breath sample to test for alcohol without reasonable suspicion the driver has alcohol in their body.

Sober or not, a driver who refuses to provide a breath sample can be criminally charged with refusal to provide a sample. Failure to comply is considered a criminal offence and could result in a criminal charge as well as any applicable provincial penalties.

For more information on the new legislation and mandatory alcohol screening, visit Justice Canada’s Question and Answers page.

If police determine you are driving while impaired by any drug, including illegal drugs, cannabis, prescription and over-the-counter medications, you will face severe consequences, including federal criminal charges and penalties and provincial sanctions.

Penalties for criminal-level impaired driving offences can be found in Part VIII.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada.