Current Numbers

On the average day in 2017–2018, 38,786 people were locked up in Canadian prisons.

  • Federal (sentences of two years or longer): 14,128.5
  • Provincial/Territorial: 24,657.5
    • 9,542.6 are in sentenced custody
    • 14,812.3 are on remand (i.e. awaiting bail or trial)
    • 302.6 are held on “other” statuses (immigration detention for CBSA, parole revocation)
Pie chart showing the proportions of federal and provincial lock-up.
Share of average lock-up counts between statuses and institutions.

Notes:

  • Remand continues to outpace federal or provincial/territorial sentenced custody.
  • Fully 60% of people locked up in provincial/territorial institutions are awaiting trial and have not yet been convicted.

The Federal prisoner breakdown by Correctional Services Canada region was:

2017–2018 by CSC Region
  • Atlantic: 1,323.7
  • Québec: 3,059.8
  • Ontario: 3,541.0
  • Prairie: 4,028.3
  • Pacific: 2,175.8