Bail denials rising sharply in Ontario amid national clampdown

Open this photo in gallery:New data from the Ontario Court of Justice show that bail denial is a long-established trend across the country, one that Ontario has led in recent years.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian PressShareSave for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story.Log InCreate Free AccountThe number of people denied bail in Ontario last year spiked to its highest level in data going back to 2018, and has more than doubled over the past two years.The new data from the Ontario Court of Justice are the latest indication of how the justice system applies the law of bail on a day-to-day basis. The 2025 numbers are more evidence that courts across the country are denying bail to an increasing number of people. It is a long-established trend, one that Ontario has led in recent years.Other evidence also shows that people accused of crimes in Ontario are being denied bail in record numbers. As of last September, according to Statistics Canada, more people in the province’s jails were there on remand after being denied bail than at any point since the late 1970s, when those records began.Opinion: Ottawa should lift the shroud on bail hearingsThis is happening under federal bail laws that are about to become stricter. Last fall, the federal government introduced Bill C-14 to make it more difficult for people accused of serious crimes to get bail. People denied bail must remain in custody. They have been charged with crimes but have not yet had trials and are presumed innocent.Provinces from conservative-led Ontario to NDP-led British Columbia have for several years urged Ottawa for tougher bail rules. Polling of Canadians last year also indicated strong and widespread support for denying bail to more people accused of serious crimes.While rates of violent crime reached a statistical peak in the early 1990s and have fallen since then, they have risen again in the past decade. This reversal is widely understood to be driving public concern and increasing political pressure.In mid-February, the House of Commons passed Bill C-14. The governing Liberals still had a minority of seats at that time and there weren’t any recorded votes. The bill is poised to pass the Senate soon. Royal assent is expected in May and the law comes into force 30 days after.According to the new bail data from the Ontario Court of Justice, the bench that handles most of the bail hearings in the province, judges and justices of the peace denied bail to 4,897 people in 2025. That was 4.7 per cent of all cases completed last year. In 2024, courts denied bail to 3,987 people, or 4 per cent of all cases. In 2023, it was 2,322 people, or 3.4 per cent of all cases. Bail-reform bill clears key House committee after co-operation deal with ConservativesThe Statscan figures from last September showed a record 8,024 people in jail on remand in Ontario in 2023-24 because they were denied bail. (The Statscan data are not directly comparable with the Ontario court figures because they don’t distinguish between people who were denied bail in a particular year and those who remained in jail after being denied it in a previous year.)“This data underscores that we do not have an overly lenient bail system,” said Shakir Rahim, a director at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which has opposed a range of the changes set to become law in Bill C-14. The Ontario government said it supports federal changes to the bail law and wants the rules toughened further.“Dangerous criminals…

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