Table 8
Police-reported crime for selected drug offences, by province or territory, 2021


Table 8
Police-reported crime for selected drug offences, by province or territory, 2021
Table summary
This table displays the results of Police-reported crime for selected drug offences. The information is grouped by Province or territory (appearing as row headers), Total Cannabis, Cocaine, Methamphetamine and Ecstasy, calculated using number, rate and percent change in rate 2020 to 2021 units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Province or territory Total CannabisTable 8 Note 1 Table 8 Note 2 CocaineTable 8 Note 3 MethamphetamineTable 8 Note 3 EcstasyTable 8 Note 3
number rate percent change in rate 2020 to 2021Table 8 Note 4 number rate percent change in rate 2020 to 2021Table 8 Note 4 number rate percent change in rate 2020 to 2021Table 8 Note 4 number rate percent change in rate 2020 to 2021Table 8 Note 4
Newfoundland and
Labrador		 67 13 -29 527 101 -7 11 2 Note ...: not applicable 4 1 Note ...: not applicable
Prince Edward Island 12 7 96 37 23 -34 42 26 -18 3 2 Note ...: not applicable
Nova Scotia 129 13 -30 462 47 -8 33 3 -43 2 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded Note ...: not applicable
New Brunswick 137 17 -25 287 36 -23 435 55 -14 13 2 -28
QuebecTable 8 Note 5 4,736 55 27 1,980 23 -14 2,348 27 -13 292 3 -18
Ontario 2,283 15 -16 3,991 27 -8 2,466 17 -13 52 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded -33
Manitoba 120 9 -13 1,071 77 -15 562 41 -19 4 Note 0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded Note ...: not applicable
Saskatchewan 137 12 -10 786 67 -3 940 80 -14 5 0 -62
Alberta 260 6 -2 1,434 32 -22 2,118 48 -31 17 0 -37
British ColumbiaTable 8 Note 5 5,609 108 5 2,195 42 -27 2,383 46 -27 79 2 -28
Yukon 15 35 64 215 500 -3 2 5 Note ...: not applicable 1 2 Note ...: not applicable
Northwest Territories 21 46 -22 234 514 -24 0 0 Note ...: not applicable 1 2 Note ...: not applicable
Nunavut 27 69 -29 19 48 89 5 13 Note ...: not applicable 0 0 Note ...: not applicable
Canada 13,560 35 5 13,249 35 -15 11,347 30 -20 473 1 -25
Province or territory OpioidsTable 8 Note 3 HeroinTable 8 Note 3 Other drugsTable 8 Note 3 Table 8 Note 6 Total drugsTable 8 Note 3
number rate percent change in rate 2020 to 2021Table 8 Note 4 number rate percent change in rate 2020 to 2021Table 8 Note 4 number rate percent change in rate 2020 to 2021Table 8 Note 4 number rate percent change in rate 2020 to 2021Table 8 Note 4
Newfoundland and Labrador 36 7 72 3 1 Note ...: not applicable 244 47 7 892 171 -3
Prince Edward Island 2 1 Note ...: not applicable 1 1 Note ...: not applicable 28 17 -56 125 76 -34
Nova Scotia 27 3 -24 5 1 -38 297 30 -8 955 96 -15
New Brunswick 38 5 -20 5 1 -62 331 42 -19 1,246 158 -20
Quebec 162 2 145 169 2 11 4,722 55 5 14,409 167 5
Ontario 1,977 13 29 679 5 -25 3,054 21 -4 14,502 98 -7
Manitoba 64 5 45 42 3 5 319 23 7 2,182 158 -12
Saskatchewan 124 11 36 12 1 -29 430 36 -1 2,434 206 -7
Alberta 586 13 9 317 7 -20 1,774 40 -7 6,506 146 -19
British Columbia 2,970 57 2 690 13 -47 3,954 76 -20 17,880 343 -14
Yukon 7 16 -14 7 16 -47 25 58 -32 272 633 -8
Northwest Territories 2 4 Note ...: not applicable 4 9 Note ...: not applicable 35 77 9 297 653 -21
Nunavut 1 3 Note ...: not applicable 0 0 Note ...: not applicable 9 23 -11 61 155 -2
Canada 5,996 16 13 1,934 5 -32 15,239 40 -7 61,798 162 -9
... not applicable
0s value rounded to 0 (zero) where there is a meaningful distinction between true zero and the value that was rounded
Note 1

Includes all possession, trafficking, production or import/export cannabis-related offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) legislation prior to the coming into force of the Cannabis Act on October 17, 2018, as well as all cannabis-related offences under the Cannabis Act.

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Note 2

Includes possession, trafficking, production or import/export. As a result of the coming into force of the Cannabis Act on October 17, 2018, all prior cannabis-related legislation under the CDSA has been replaced with the Cannabis Act.

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Note 3

Includes possession, trafficking, production and importation/exportation.

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Note 4

Due to the variability in small numbers, percent changes have not been calculated when the number of offences is below five in any given year.

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Note 5

In 2021, the rate of offences related to importation or exportation accounted for the vast majority of the increase among Cannabis Act offences, rising 17% from 20 incidents per 100,000 to 23 incidents per 100,000. This follows a 30% decrease in 2020. Together, the Montréal, Quebec and Vancouver, British Columbia census metropolitan areas (CMAs) accounted for the majority of the national increase in importation or exportation offences reported under the Cannabis Act. Overall, these two CMAs accounted for 81% (7,251 of 8,940 incidents) of the reported incidents. The high proportion of offences was due in part to operational conditions and reporting of seizure cases, conducted by the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canada Post Mail Centre. These cases are forwarded for processing and investigation, and as a result of this exchange, the year in which occurrences were reported by police may not always correspond to the year in which they occurred. Therefore, year-over-year changes in these offences should be considered with caution.

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Note 6

Includes all other drugs listed under the CDSA, such as prescription drugs, barbiturates, LSD and "drugs used to facilitate sexual assault." Trafficking and production of other drugs includes the possession, production, sale or importation of anything (such as precursors) with the knowledge that it will be used in the production or trafficking of a controlled substance (as defined in section 2(1) of the CDSA).

Return to note 6 referrer

Note: Under the authority of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM), the Canadian Forces Military Police Group (CF MP Gp) is now reporting incidents to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey. They have provided incidents going back to January 2020. Data from the Office of the CFPM are aggregated at the national level to account for small counts and to protect confidentiality. Therefore, provincial and territorial totals will not equal Canada-level totals. Currently, the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics (CCJCSS) is developing the methodology for determining the population counts for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Therefore, Crime Severity Index data and rates are not available for the 2021/2020r release. Police-reported statistics may be affected by differences in the way police services deal with offences. In some instances, police or municipalities might choose to deal with some offences using municipal bylaws or provincial provisions rather than Criminal Code provisions. Counts are based on the most serious violation in the incident. One incident may involve multiple violations. Data for specific types of crime are available, in most cases, from 1977. Rates are calculated on the basis of 100,000 population. Percent changes are based on unrounded rates. Populations are based upon July 1st estimates from Statistics Canada, Centre for Demography.
Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.
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