Key Facts

In 2021, police laid about 78,480 total charges and short-term suspensions4,5

  • 9 charges per hour for alcohol or drug-impaired driving.
  • An average of 215 charges and short-term suspensions were laid daily.4,5
  • 206 charges and short-term suspensions were laid for every 100,000 Canadians.4,5

Overview

Every hour in Canada, an average of 9 federal criminal charges and provincial short-term licence suspensions are laid for alcohol- or drug-impaired driving. This amounts to an average of 215 impaired-driving sanctions per day.

Although progress has been made, impaired driving remains a serious public safety issue, killing hundreds and injuring thousands more every year. Despite ongoing efforts to address this issue, the lack of current, comprehensive data hinders the ability to fully understand and address the scope of the problem. For over two decades, Canada has faced ongoing challenges in accessing timely statistics on impairment-related crash deaths and injuries.

MADD Canada is calling on the federal government to address this data issue. The timely collection and publication of impaired driving statistics is among the key policy recommendations in MADD Canada’s Top Ten Report – Federal Measures to Minimize Impaired Driving and Support Victims.

While the data below may seem dated, they are the most current statistics available on impaired driving in Canada.

Alcohol

In 2022:

  • 521 Canadians died within 12 months of a crash involving a drinking driver, which is a 14% increase over 2021.
  • Roughly 1 in 4 crash deaths involved a drinking driver.

Drugs

A growing problem on Canadian roads.

In 2023:

  • 571 Canadians were killed in crashes on public roadways involving at least one driver who was positive for drugs, a decrease from 613 drug-related fatalities in 2022.3

Youth

In 2016 :

  • 16 to 25 year-olds represented nearly 27% of the alcohol-related crash deaths that occurred within 30 days of a crash on a public roadway involving at least one highway vehicle, where alcohol use was known.6

In 2017:

  • Nearly 25% of 16 to 19-year-olds and
  • Almost 45% of 20 to 25-year-olds who died within 30 days of a crash on a public roadway involving at least one highway vehicle where alcohol use was known were killed in an alcohol-related crash.7

Between 2017-2021:

  • Almost 45% of 16 to 19-year-olds fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs in crashes where drug use was known.8
  • This percentage was even higher among drivers aged 20 to 34, with almost two-thirds of fatally injured drivers in this age bracket testing positive for drugs during this time period.9

In 2022, road and other crash deaths were among the top causes of death for youth 15 to 24 years.

  • We estimate that over 50% involved alcohol and/or drugs.

Sources

  1. M. Delavary, et al, Road Safety Monitor 2024 Drinking & Driving in Canada (Ottawa: Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), 2024) at 2
  2. Ibid at 3.
  3. These statistics do not include British Columbia and only include deaths in crashes on public roadways involving at least one driver who was positive for drugs where drug use was known. S. Brown, et al, Drug Use in Fatal Collisions in Canada: 2000-2023 (Ottawa: TIRF, 2026) at 2-3 [Drug Use].
  4. The report on short-term alcohol and drug-related provincial licence suspensions did not include data from the territories.
  5. E. Dumschat, Provincial Short-Term Alcohol and Drug-Related Suspensions and Federal Impaired Driving Charges – Suspensions and Charges Per Year, Per 100,000 Residents and Average Per Day, By Jurisdiction, Canada 2010-2021 (Oakville: MADD Canada, 2023) at 7.
  6. R. Solomon, Alcohol-Related Crash Deaths, By Age and Jurisdiction: Canada, 2016 (Oakville: MADD Canada, 2022) at 5.
  7. E. Dumschat, Provincial Short-Term Alcohol and Drug-Related Suspensions and Federal Impaired Driving Charges – Suspensions and Charges Per Year, Per 100,000 Residents and Average Per Day, By Jurisdiction, Canada 2010-2021 (Oakville: MADD Canada, 2023)
  8. TIRF, The Alcohol and Drug Crash Problem in Canada: 2017 Report (Ottawa: Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, 2021) at 15.
  9. Drug Use, supra note 3 at 1.
  10. Ibid.

For more information about MADD Canada’s Public Policy Initiatives, click here.

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