Juristat Bulletin—Quick Fact
Trafficking in persons in Canada, 2021

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Trafficking in persons—often referred to as human trafficking—is a complex crime that is often difficult to detect. It involves the recruiting, transporting, transferring, receiving, holding, concealing or harbouring of a person—or the exercise of control, direction or influence over the movements of a person—in order to exploit or facilitate the exploitation of that person (Public Safety Canada, 2022a; Public Safety Canada, 2022b; UNODC, 2021).^Note  Whether it is sexual exploitation, forced labour or another type of exploitation,^Note  victims of this type of crime often come from vulnerable groups in society (Casassa et al., 2021; CCTEHT, 2021b; Public Safety Canada, 2022a; Public Safety Canada, 2022b).

Accurately measuring this type of crime to obtain a clear understanding of its prevalence is challenging; instead, research is often qualitative in nature, focusing on a victim-centred and trauma-informed approach (see, for example, Dell et al., 2019, Hemmings et al., 2016 and Knight et al., 2022). Further, when research and efforts target a specific type of human trafficking, it is typically related to sexual exploitation rather than forced labour (Matte Guilmain & Hanley, 2020; Tien, 2013; Zimmerman & Schenker, 2014). As such, the victimization of women and girls—who are most often the target of sexual exploitation—is discussed more often than that of men and boys (Cole, 2018; Dennis, 2008; Jones, 2010).

Human trafficking, whether domestic or international in nature, is prohibited by law in Canada and criminal offences are outlined in the Criminal Code, as are related offences under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) (see Text box 1). The Government of Canada is committed to preventing and addressing human trafficking, as outlined in the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (Public Safety Canada, 2022b). Using a whole-of-government approach, the National Strategy consolidates the efforts of relevant federal departments to deal with this crime and support victims from multiple angles.

Following the Juristat release, “Trafficking in persons in Canada, 2020” (Conroy & Sutton, 2022), this Juristat Bulletin—Quick Fact provides updated data for 2021. Data are based on the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey and the Integrated Criminal Court Survey. It should be noted that police-reported data are an underestimation of the true scope of this issue in Canada. Regardless, administrative data sources like those from the police are an important starting point to monitor this type of crime.

This article was produced with funding support from Public Safety Canada.

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Section 1: Police-reported human trafficking

This section presents police-reported data from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey. Data from 2011 to 2021 are discussed in terms of high-level trends by geographic location, and characteristics of incidents, victims and accused persons are examined.

Number of police-reported incidents of human trafficking remained stable in 2021

There were 3,541 police-reported incidents of human trafficking in Canada between 2011 and 2021.^Note  During this time, human trafficking accounted for 0.01% of all police-reported crime, and the average annual rate was 0.9 incidents per 100,000 population.

The number of human trafficking incidents remained stable in 2021, with 552 incidents reported to police compared to 553 the year before (Chart 1). There was, however, a slight decrease in rate (1.4 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 versus 1.5 in 2020). More broadly, the number of incidents of human trafficking increased year over year between 2011 and 2017, there was a notable increase between 2018 and 2019, and then it remained relatively unchanged between 2019 and 2021.

Police-reported human trafficking includes offences under the Criminal Code and offences under IRPA. The overall stability in the number of human trafficking incidents between 2020 and 2021 was due to opposing trends: while there were 33 fewer Criminal Code incidents in 2021, there were 32 more IRPA incidents.

Of the human trafficking incidents that were reported to police between 2011 and 2021, seven in ten (69%) were related to the Criminal Code while three in ten (31%) were related to IRPA. While these proportions have remained somewhat consistent over the years, human trafficking IRPA offences increased every year since 2011. In contrast, human trafficking Criminal Code offences increased in general during the same period; however, they peaked in 2019 (387 incidents), remained relatively stable in 2020 (385) and declined in 2021 (352).

Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan have a rate of human trafficking above the national average

Nova Scotia had the highest average annual rate of police-reported human trafficking between 2011 and 2021 (2.7 incidents per 100,000 population) (Table 1). In 2021 specifically, some provinces had rates of human trafficking that were higher than the national rate (1.4 incidents): Nova Scotia (5.3), Ontario (2.3) and Saskatchewan (1.8). Proportionally, 62% of all human trafficking incidents were reported in Ontario and 10% were reported in Nova Scotia, despite the respective populations for these provinces accounting for 39% and 3% of the Canadian population in 2021 (Statistics Canada, 2021).^Note 

The relatively high number of incidents in Ontario may be attributed to the concentration of urban areas in the province. Such population centres may form part of human trafficking corridors, used by traffickers to increase profits, avoid detection and isolate victims through psychological control (CCTEHT, 2021a).^Note  Further, with the high volume of land border crossings in Ontario, 36% of human trafficking incidents reported in the province between 2011 and 2021 were IRPA-related. In Nova Scotia, its coastal location is likely an important factor in the relatively high proportion of human trafficking in incidents in the province. Since 2011, 42% of human trafficking incidents in Nova Scotia were related to IRPA offences, the highest of any province or territory.

More than four in five incidents of human trafficking reported to police in census metropolitan areas

Between 2011 and 2021, the large majority (83%) of human trafficking incidents were reported to police in census metropolitan areas (CMAs),^Note  and this was consistent in 2021 specifically (82%) (Table 2). Meanwhile, since 2011, a relatively smaller proportion of violent incidents (human trafficking or not) were reported in CMAs (57%).

Since 2011, more than four in ten (45%) incidents of human trafficking were reported to police in four CMAs: Toronto (776 incidents, 22% of all incidents in Canada), Ottawa^Note  (345, 10% of all incidents), Montréal (245, 7% of all incidents) and Halifax (216, 6% of all incidents). Four other CMAs also had a relatively high number of such incidents: Hamilton (140 incidents), St. Catharines–Niagara (120), Vancouver (118) and London (111). In all, these eight CMAs accounted for more than half (58%) of police-reported incidents of human trafficking in Canada.

CMA-level differences are likely impacted by regional differences, such as awareness campaigns, specialized training and local expertise about human trafficking. Because human trafficking is difficult to successfully prosecute (Farrell et al., 2014; Matte Guilmain & Hanley, 2020), other types of charges may be reported by police and pursued by the Crown instead. Further, certain CMAs are located along the route of human trafficking corridors and may act as hubs for such criminal activity (CCTEHT, 2021a).

During the same time period (2011 to 2021), the average annual rate of human trafficking was highest in Thunder Bay and Halifax (5.5 and 4.5 incidents per 100,000 population, respectively). This was followed by Peterborough (3.6), Ottawa (3.0), Windsor (2.4), Barrie (2.4) and St. Catharines–Niagara (2.3).

While the rate of human trafficking in Canada was 1.4 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021, and the overall rate for the CMAs was 1.7, several CMAs had a rate of human trafficking that was notably higher. The largest differences were observed in Thunder Bay^Note  (28.1 incidents per 100,000 population), Peterborough (10.9), Halifax (7.8), St. Catharines–Niagara (6.0), Belleville (5.2), Saskatoon (4.6) and Barrie (4.2).

About four in ten incidents of human trafficking have another type of violation, most often related to the sex trade

Between 2011 and 2021, 95% of police-reported human trafficking incidents had a Criminal Code or IRPA-related human trafficking offence listed as the most serious violation.^Note  Six in ten (59%) human trafficking incidents involved human trafficking offences only, while four in ten (41%) had another type of violation.^Note  Most often, associated offences were related to the sex trade (57%).^Note  Just over one in three (35%) incidents with another type of violation had an offence related to physical assault, while one in four (25%) had a sexual offence and one in eight (12%) had a deprivation of freedom offence.^Note 

Women and girls account for nearly all detected victims of human trafficking, number of victims declined in 2021

There were 2,688 detected victims of police-reported human trafficking in Canada between 2011 and 2021.^Note  The vast majority (96%) of these victims were women and girls, while a small proportion (4%) were men and boys.^Note  Between 2019 and 2021, there were 1,203 victims of human trafficking. In 2019—prior to the COVID-19 pandemic—there were 411 victims of this type of crime, and the number remained stable in 2020 (410 victims). In 2021, the number of victims declined to 382, marking a 7% decrease from 2020 and 2019.^Note  In comparison, the number of victims of violent crime in 2021 was 4% higher than 2019 and 6% higher than 2020.

As mentioned, sexual exploitation is often the focus of human trafficking research, as are the experiences of female victims specifically. As such, male victims of sexual exploitation and victims of other types of trafficking might be overlooked (Cole, 2018; Dennis, 2008; Jones, 2010; Matte Guilmain & Hanley, 2020; Zimmerman & Schenker, 2014). Tien (2013) writes that, in many countries, human trafficking definitions have only recently included forced labour, the police and the public may associate human trafficking with sexual exploitation only, and forced labour is more likely to be hidden from public view (i.e., in factories, homes or fields) while sexual exploitation often occurs in public spaces in urban areas.^Note 

Since 2011, victims were most often aged 18 to 24 (45%), while another quarter (24%) of victims were aged 17 and younger (Chart 2).^Note  The remaining victims were aged 25 to 34 (21%), 35 to 44 (7%) and 45 and older (3%). While seven in ten (71%) female victims were aged 24 and younger, male victims were not concentrated in the youngest age groups. Of the relatively small number (117) of men and boys who were identified as victims of human trafficking, they were most often aged 25 to 34 (29%) and the remaining victims were evenly distributed across other age groups: 17 and younger (19%), 18 to 24 (17%), 35 to 44 (17%) and 45 and older (18%). Overall, two-thirds (67%) of detected victims of human trafficking were women and girls aged 24 and younger.

The UCR does not capture information about the mental and emotional impacts of human trafficking victimization. Other research, however, has shown that victims may experience a range of such issues, such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation (Casassa et al., 2021; Dell et al., 2019; Hemmings et al., 2016). Data from the UCR capture information about physical injury at the time of the incident or determined through investigation. It should be noted that—given the prolonged period of exploitation some victims of human trafficking experience—all physical injuries might not be captured by police. Regardless, police-reported data show that just over one-quarter (27%) of victims of human trafficking sustained an injury.^Note  Of these victims, the large majority (88%) had minor injuries, while about one in eight (12%) had major injuries.^Note 

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More than six in ten accused persons are men aged 18 to 34, girls outnumber boys among youth accused

Between 2011 and 2021, there were 2,349 persons accused of police-reported human trafficking, the large majority (81%) of whom were men and boys.^Note  Overall, accused persons were most often aged 18 to 24 (41%) and 25 to 34 (36%), while those aged 35 to 44 (12%) and 45 and older (7%) were less common (Chart 3). One in twenty (5%) accused persons were youth aged 12 to 17.

More than six in ten (64%) accused persons were men aged 18 to 34. In each adult age group, men outnumbered women among accused persons, accounting for about eight in ten accused or more. Among the relatively small number (110) of youth accused, however, girls outnumbered boys (56% versus 44%).

Miccio-Fonseca (2017) discusses youth victims of sex trafficking who observe and learn from those who trafficked them—individuals who are older and more experienced in “the trade”—and then behave in the same way toward other victims. These youth generally occupy the lower levels of the organization, but they sustain trafficking through targeting and recruiting others with the goal of manipulating and controlling them. In addition, Kienast et al. (2014) reports that, compared to male recruiters, societal perceptions of women may make female recruiters seem more trustworthy to potential victims of trafficking.

Nine in ten victims trafficked by someone they know, most often an intimate partner

Nine in ten (91%) victims of police-reported human trafficking between 2011 and 2021 knew their accused trafficker, while a relatively small proportion (9%) of victims were trafficked by a stranger. In all, one-third (33%) of victims were trafficked by an intimate partner.^Note  It has been documented that traffickers often pose as potential romantic partners to recruit or lure individuals, with the end goal of trafficking them (Fedina et al., 2019; UNODC, 2021).

Nearly one-quarter (23%) of victims were trafficked by a casual acquaintance, followed by someone with whom they had a criminal relationship^Note  (13%) or a business relationship (11%). A relatively small proportion of victims were trafficked by a friend (6%) or a non-spousal family member^Note  (3%).

Less than half of detected incidents of human trafficking result in the laying or recommendation of charges

Between 2011 and 2021, four in ten (42%) incidents of police-reported human trafficking were cleared by the laying or recommendation of charges, similar to the proportion of violent incidents overall (43%). Meanwhile, over half (54%) of human trafficking incidents were not cleared, meaning police have not identified an accused person. This was much less common among violent incidents generally (35%). The remaining incidents (4%) of human trafficking were cleared another way—an accused was identified by police but, most often, the victim requested that no further action be taken, the incident was cleared by another agency^Note  or police used departmental discretion—compared to a larger proportion (22%) of violent incidents.^Note 

When an accused person was identified, charges were laid or recommended against nine in ten (91%) of those accused of human trafficking, and this was similar for female and male accused (92% and 91%, respectively). Compared to adults accused of this type of crime (91%), a slightly smaller proportion (88%) of youth accused had charges laid or recommended against them.

The Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics at Statistics Canada previously conducted a record linkage which analyzed prior contact with the police among those accused of human trafficking. Between 2009 and 2020, it was found that three-quarters (75%) had been accused of a crime prior to being accused of human trafficking. Following an initial contact with police for human trafficking, one in nine (11%) had been accused of human trafficking again during the reference period. For more information, see Conroy and Sutton (2022).

Charges more common for human trafficking incidents involving Criminal Code offences than Immigration and Refugee Protection Act offences

A much larger proportion of incidents of police-reported human trafficking that involved Criminal Code offences resulted in the laying or recommendation of charges compared to those that involved IRPA offences (55% versus 19%).^Note  Meanwhile, four in ten (41%) incidents with Criminal Code offences were not cleared by police, three-quarters (76%) of IRPA-related incidents did not have an accused person identified. A similar proportion of incidents were cleared another way (4% of Criminal Code incidents and 5% of IRPA incidents).^Note 

Among those accused of human trafficking, a larger proportion of persons accused of Criminal Code offences had charges laid or recommended against them compared to those accused of IRPA offences (93% versus 81%).^Note 

Given the inherent cross-border nature of IRPA offences, victims of this type of crime may face additional hurdles in seeking justice. Matte Guilmain and Hanley (2020) describe victims of trafficking with a precarious immigration status. The combination of social coercion (loss of a work permit, fear of deportation) and administrative and financial control (withholding identity documents or wages) faced by these victims contributes to the rare result of a conviction, particularly when the abuse is psychological in nature and there is a lack of physical or sexual evidence. Instead, such victims may turn to human rights and labour law.

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Section 2: Human trafficking in adult criminal court

The Integrated Criminal Court Survey (ICCS) is the administrative data source for information on human trafficking cases that reach adult criminal and youth courts in Canada. The ICCS includes information about charges laid, court processing times, charge and case decisions, and sentencing outcomes. This section presents data on human trafficking cases completed in adult criminal court between 2010/2011 and 2020/2021 (for information specific to youth court, see Text box 4).

It should be noted that court data may not align with police data as not all incidents of human trafficking that are reported to police reach the court stage, and not all incidents identified by police as human trafficking are processed as such in court. Further, the time periods for the two data sources often differ as court cases are only counted in the ICCS database once all the charges in the case are complete or deemed complete.^Note 

The number of completed human trafficking charges and cases declines from previous year

Between 2010/2011 and 2020/2021, there were 948 cases involving 2,992 human trafficking charges completed in adult criminal court in Canada.^Note  During this time, the number of human trafficking charges and cases increased in general (Chart 4). In 2010/2011, there were 30 completed cases that involved at least one human trafficking charge, and these cases involved a total of 81 charges of human trafficking. In 2020/2021, there were 119 completed human trafficking cases and 401 human trafficking charges, meaning there were four times as many cases and five times as many charges completed compared to 2010/2011.

Compared to the previous year, there was a decline in the number of completed human trafficking charges and cases: there was a 13% decline in the number of cases in 2020/2021 compared to 2019/2020 (119 versus 136), while there was a 9% decline in the number of charges (401 versus 439). The number of completed cases and charges—human trafficking or not—is likely impacted by the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected court proceedings and created case backlogs in Canada (Department of Justice Canada, 2022a).

Human trafficking cases take more than twice as long to complete in court than cases involving sex trade or other violent offence charges

Between 2010/2011 and 2020/2021, the median length of time to complete a human trafficking case in adult criminal court was 382 days. This was more than twice as long as sex trade cases and other violent offence cases (147 and 181 days, respectively).

Completed adult criminal court cases that included at least one charge of human trafficking had an average of 17 charges per case—related to human trafficking or otherwise—between 2010/2011 and 2020/2021. In contrast, other types of court cases had notably fewer charges. For instance, over the same period, cases involving at least one charge related to the sex trade averaged five charges each, while cases with at least one other violent offence charge averaged four charges each.^Note 

Of the 930 multi-charge human trafficking cases completed since 2010/2011, just over three-quarters (77%) included a sex trade offence. Three in ten (30%) multi-charge human trafficking cases included a charge of kidnapping or forcible confinement, while just under three in ten (28%) included a charge related to a sexual offence.^Note  In general, multi-charge cases are often more complex and may take longer to complete in court than single-charge cases.

Around one in eight completed human trafficking cases result in a guilty decision for a human trafficking charge

For the large majority (81%) of completed adult criminal court cases involving at least one human trafficking charge between 2010/2011 and 2020/2021, the most serious decision^Note  rendered for a human trafficking charge was a stay, a withdrawal, a dismissal or a discharge (Chart 5).^Note  Meanwhile, a relatively small proportion of such cases resulted in a guilty decision^Note  (12%), an acquittal (6%) or another type of decision (1%)—such as being found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible—for the human trafficking charge. In comparison, a guilty decision for a sex trade or other violent offence charge was more common for cases with a sex trade charge (31%) and cases with a violent offence charge (47%), respectively. For sex trade cases, however, a stay, a withdrawal, a dismissal or a discharge was still the most common decision type (66%).

During the same period (2010/2011 to 2020/2021), when human trafficking cases resulted in a guilty outcome for a human trafficking charge, more than three-quarters (78%) resulted in a custodial sentence. A further 11% of these guilty cases resulted in probation as the most serious sentence and 11% received another type of sentence, such as an absolute or conditional discharge, or a community service order. Compared to human trafficking cases with a guilty finding for a human trafficking charge, a custody sentence was less common for cases involving a sex trade charge (43%) or a violent offence charge (41%) where there was a guilty finding for such charges. Instead, probation was more common for sex trade cases (28%) and other violent cases (43%) with a guilty finding than those with a human trafficking charge.

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Summary

There were 3,541 police-reported incidents of human trafficking in Canada between 2011 and 2021, including offences under the Criminal Code and those related to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. During this time, human trafficking accounted for 0.01% of all police-reported crime, and the average annual rate was 0.9 incidents per 100,000 population. The rate of human trafficking decreased slightly, from 1.5 in 2020 to 1.4 in 2021, while the number of incidents remained stable.

Of the 2,688 detected victims of human trafficking between 2011 and 2021, the vast majority (96%) were women and girls. In 2021, the number of victims declined to 382, marking a 7% decrease from the previous couple of years. While seven in ten (71%) female victims were aged 24 and younger, male victims were not concentrated in the youngest age groups—rather, they were dispersed across different age groups. Nine in ten (91%) victims of police-reported human trafficking knew their trafficker and one-third (33%) of victims were trafficked by an intimate partner.

The large majority (81%) of persons accused of human trafficking were men and boys. Among youth accused specifically, however, girls outnumbered boys (56% versus 44%).

Between 2011 and 2021, the majority (54%) of police-reported human trafficking incidents were not cleared, meaning police had not identified an accused person, compared with just over one-third (35%) of violent incidents generally. When an accused was identified, charges were laid or recommended for nine in ten (91%) persons accused of human trafficking.

Between 2010/2011 and 2020/2021, there were 948 cases involving 2,992 human trafficking charges completed in adult criminal court in Canada. The median length of time to complete a human trafficking case was 382 days, more than twice as long as sex trade cases and violent offence cases (147 and 181 days, respectively). Compared to cases with at least one charge related to the sex trade (31%) and cases with a violent offence charge (47%), a relatively small proportion of human trafficking cases resulted in a guilty decision for the human trafficking charge (12%).

Survey description

Uniform Crime Reporting Survey

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey collects detailed information on criminal incidents that have come to the attention of police services in Canada. Information includes characteristics of victims, accused persons and incidents. In 2021, data from police services covered 99% of the population of Canada. The count for a particular year represents incidents reported during that year, regardless of when the incident actually occurred.

One incident can involve multiple offences. In order to ensure comparability, aggregate counts are presented based on the most serious offence in the incident as determined by a standard classification rule used by all police services. For human trafficking, Criminal Code offences reflect the most serious violation against the victim and Immigration and Refugee Protection Act offences reflect the most serious violation in the incident. Where further detail is provided—such as characteristics of incidents, victims and accused persons—microdata from the Incident-based UCR are used, for which police services can report up to four violations for each incident. As such, the human trafficking-related offence may or may not be the most serious violation reported by police for the incident.

Given that small counts of victims and accused persons identified as “gender diverse” may exist, the UCR data available to the public has been recoded to assign these counts to either “female” or “male” in order to ensure the protection of confidentiality and privacy. Victims and accused persons identified as gender diverse have been assigned to either female or male based on the regional distribution of victims’ and accused persons’ gender.

Integrated Criminal Court Survey

The Integrated Criminal Court Survey collects statistical information on adult and youth court cases involving Criminal Code and other federal statute offences.

All adult courts have reported to the adult component of the survey since the 2005/2006 fiscal year, with the exception of superior courts in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as well as municipal courts in Quebec. These data were not available for extraction from the provinces' electronic reporting systems and therefore, were not reported to the survey. Superior court data for Prince Edward Island was included as of 2018/2019.

The primary unit of analysis is a case. A case is defined as one or more charges against an accused person or company that were processed by the courts at the same time and received a final decision. A case combines all charges against the same person having one or more key overlapping dates (date of offence, date of initiation, date of first appearance, date of decision or date of sentencing) into a single case.

Detailed data tables

Table 1 Police-reported incidents of human trafficking, by statute and province or territory, 2011 to 2021

Table 2 Police-reported incidents of human trafficking, by statute and census metropolitan area, 2011 to 2021

References

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United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2021). Global report on trafficking in persons.

Zimmerman, C., & Schenker, M. B. (2014). Human trafficking for forced labour and occupational health. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 71(12).