Canadian police recorded 67,399 impaired driving incidents in 2025, a rate of 161.8 per 100,000 people, down about 2% from 2024 and about 20% below 2015, according to Statistics Canada. Alcohol was involved in most cases: 49,409 incidents of operation while impaired by alcohol, plus 4,637 involving both alcohol and drugs. Drug-only impaired driving (5,937 incidents) has roughly doubled since 2015.
Data: Statistics Canada, incident-based crime statistics by detailed violation, Table 35-10-0177-01 (2025 data released 22 July 2026), checked 19 October 2026. Rates are police-reported incidents per 100,000 people. Rankings, shares and percentage changes not in the release are our own calculation from Statistics Canada data. Updated 19 October 2026.
Key facts
- Police in Canada reported 67,399 impaired driving incidents in 2025 (161.8 per 100,000), compared with 68,457 in 2024 (165.9 per 100,000), according to Statistics Canada.
- The impaired driving rate peaked at 228.1 per 100,000 in 2019 and has fallen every year since; the 2025 rate is about 29% below that peak (our calculation).
- Alcohol-impaired operation fell to 118.6 per 100,000 in 2025, about 35% below its 2015 rate of 181.4 (our calculation).
- Drug-impaired operation was 14.3 per 100,000 in 2025 (5,937 incidents), almost double the 2015 rate of 7.6.
- Impaired driving causing death was recorded in 76 incidents in 2025, and impaired driving causing bodily harm in 459 (Statistics Canada counts, summed by us).
- Among large metro areas, the Calgary CMA had the lowest rate in 2025 (36.0 per 100,000) and Abbotsford–Mission the highest (315.5).
How many impaired driving incidents are there in Canada?
Canadian police reported 67,399 impaired driving incidents in 2025, or about 185 a day, according to Statistics Canada (daily figure: our calculation). Impaired driving is the offence of operating a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment while the ability to do so is impaired by alcohol or a drug, or with a blood alcohol or drug concentration above the legal limit. It is a Criminal Code traffic offence, so it is not included in Statistics Canada’s headline crime rate, which excludes traffic violations.
| Impaired driving offence (Canada, 2025) | Incidents | Rate per 100,000 (2025) | Rate per 100,000 (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total impaired driving | 67,399 | 161.8 | 165.9 |
| Operation while impaired (alcohol) | 49,409 | 118.6 | 122.3 |
| Operation while impaired (drugs) | 5,937 | 14.3 | 14.5 |
| Operation while impaired (alcohol and drugs) | 4,637 | 11.1 | 11.2 |
| Operation while impaired (unspecified) | 2,251 | 5.4 | 5.5 |
| Impaired operation causing bodily harm (all types) | 459 | 1.1 | — |
| Impaired operation causing death (all types) | 76 | 0.18 | — |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0177-01. Bodily harm and death rows add the alcohol, drug, alcohol-and-drug and unspecified categories (our calculation). The rows do not add up to the total because the total also includes other impaired driving violations.
Alcohol remains the main factor: incidents involving alcohol alone made up about 73% of all impaired driving incidents in 2025, and about 80% when cases involving both alcohol and drugs are included (our calculation).
Is impaired driving going down in Canada?
Impaired driving in Canada is going down: the police-reported rate fell from 201.3 per 100,000 in 2015 to 161.8 in 2025, a drop of about 20%, after a one-year spike to 228.1 in 2019 (Statistics Canada; percentage our calculation). The rate has declined every year since 2019.
| Year | Total impaired driving incidents | Rate per 100,000 | Alcohol-impaired rate | Drug-impaired rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 71,870 | 201.3 | 181.4 | 7.6 |
| 2017 | 69,108 | 189.1 | 168.9 | 9.4 |
| 2019 | 85,804 | 228.1 | 183.0 | 16.7 |
| 2021 | 71,810 | 187.8 | 136.9 | 19.6 |
| 2023 | 71,803 | 179.3 | 134.2 | 15.3 |
| 2024 | 68,457 | 165.9 | 122.3 | 14.5 |
| 2025 | 67,399 | 161.8 | 118.6 | 14.3 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0177-01.
Two cautions apply when reading the trend. First, police-reported impaired driving depends heavily on enforcement: more roadside checks find more impaired drivers, so a rising or falling rate can reflect police activity as well as driver behaviour. Second, the Criminal Code’s impaired driving provisions were rewritten in December 2018, and Statistics Canada’s categories changed with them; separate categories for combined alcohol-and-drug and unspecified impairment only appear from 2018. Comparisons across 2018 should be read with that in mind.
Is drug-impaired driving increasing?
Drug-impaired driving in Canada rose sharply between 2015 and 2021 and has eased since: police reported 2,698 drug-impaired operation incidents in 2015 (7.6 per 100,000), 7,498 at the 2021 peak (19.6 per 100,000) and 5,937 in 2025 (14.3 per 100,000), according to Statistics Canada. The 2025 rate is about 27% below the 2021 peak but still almost double the 2015 rate (our calculations).
Cases involving both alcohol and drugs add another 4,637 incidents (11.1 per 100,000) in 2025, a figure that has been fairly stable at 11 to 12 per 100,000 since 2022. Drug-impaired driving causing bodily harm was recorded 37 times in 2025 and drug-impaired driving causing death 10 times.
Which province has the highest impaired driving rate?
Prince Edward Island had the highest impaired driving rate among the provinces in 2025, at 489.4 per 100,000, followed by Saskatchewan (428.8) and Newfoundland and Labrador (364.4), according to Statistics Canada. Ontario had the lowest rate of any province, at 94.7 per 100,000. Rates in the three territories were far higher than in any province.
| Province or territory | Impaired driving incidents (2025) | Rate per 100,000 (2025) | Rate per 100,000 (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Edward Island | 894 | 489.4 | 485.2 |
| Saskatchewan | 5,433 | 428.8 | 391.0 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,004 | 364.4 | 375.2 |
| Nova Scotia | 2,958 | 270.6 | 271.7 |
| New Brunswick | 2,100 | 241.5 | 250.6 |
| Manitoba | 3,615 | 239.5 | 267.4 |
| British Columbia | 12,085 | 212.1 | 225.5 |
| Alberta | 7,708 | 153.3 | 156.6 |
| Quebec | 12,790 | 141.2 | 145.2 |
| Ontario | 15,391 | 94.7 | 95.9 |
| Yukon | 596 | 1,234.5 | 1,237.5 |
| Northwest Territories | 994 | 2,163.2 | 2,556.5 |
| Nunavut | 758 | 1,812.1 | 1,774.9 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0177-01. Canada: 161.8 per 100,000.
The rate rose in 2025 in Saskatchewan (about +10%) and Prince Edward Island (about +1%) and fell in most other provinces (our calculation). For the bigger picture of crime in each province, see our crime rate by province ranking and our explainers on crime in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and crime in the territories.
Which Canadian cities have the most impaired driving?
Abbotsford–Mission had the highest police-reported impaired driving rate of Canada’s 41 metropolitan areas in 2025, at 315.5 per 100,000, followed by Moncton (301.9), Red Deer (298.1) and Nanaimo (289.8), according to Statistics Canada. The Calgary metro area had the lowest rate, at 36.0 per 100,000, less than a quarter of the national rate (our calculation).
| Highest rates, metro area (CMA) | Rate per 100,000 (2025) | Lowest rates, metro area (CMA) | Rate per 100,000 (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbotsford–Mission | 315.5 | Calgary | 36.0 |
| Moncton | 301.9 | Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo | 56.2 |
| Red Deer | 298.1 | Ottawa (Ont. part) | 62.0 |
| Nanaimo | 289.8 | Toronto | 69.5 |
| Lethbridge | 233.9 | Kingston | 73.9 |
| Fredericton | 230.8 | Hamilton | 75.6 |
| Drummondville | 228.2 | Winnipeg | 78.3 |
| Kamloops | 227.4 | Windsor | 80.0 |
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0177-01; ranking among 41 census metropolitan areas is our calculation.
The city ranking for impaired driving looks quite different from the ranking for overall crime. Winnipeg, for example, has one of the highest Crime Severity Index values in Canada but one of the lowest impaired driving rates, while Victoria (224.0) and Belleville–Quinte West (205.1) rank above the national average for impaired driving despite middling overall crime. This is one reason metro-wide figures should be read offence by offence; our crime rate in Canada by city table covers the headline numbers for all 41 metros.
How many impaired drivers are charged?
Most police-reported impaired driving incidents in Canada are solved: 49,911 of the 67,399 incidents recorded in 2025 were cleared, about 74%, and 36,882 people were charged, according to Statistics Canada (share our calculation). That is a much higher solve rate than for most crimes, because an impaired driving incident is usually detected when the driver is stopped. For comparison, police cleared about 36.6% of all crime in 2025 on Statistics Canada’s severity-weighted measure; our guide how many crimes are solved in Canada explains the clearance rate.
What should you do if you see an impaired driver?
If you see a driver who appears impaired and there is an immediate danger, call 911. Police services across Canada ask callers to give the location, direction of travel, vehicle description and licence plate if it can be read safely, and never to follow or confront the driver.
- Pull over or stop safely before making the call, or ask a passenger to call.
- Describe the vehicle and location: make, colour, plate, road and direction.
- Describe what you saw: swerving, very slow or fast driving, driving without lights.
- Keep your distance and let police intercept the vehicle.
For non-urgent reports, see how to report a crime in Canada.
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Impaired driving in Canada FAQ
How many impaired driving cases were there in Canada in 2025?
Police reported 67,399 impaired driving incidents in Canada in 2025, a rate of 161.8 per 100,000 people, according to Statistics Canada.
Is impaired driving counted in Canada’s crime rate?
No. Impaired driving is a Criminal Code traffic violation, and Statistics Canada’s headline crime rate excludes traffic offences. It is reported separately.
How many people were killed by impaired drivers in Canada in 2025?
Statistics Canada counts incidents, not deaths: police recorded 76 incidents of impaired driving causing death in 2025. One incident can involve more than one victim.
Which city has the most drunk driving in Canada?
Among the 41 metropolitan areas, Abbotsford–Mission had the highest police-reported impaired driving rate in 2025 (315.5 per 100,000), and Calgary had the lowest (36.0).
Is drug-impaired driving more common than before cannabis legalization?
Police-reported drug-impaired driving rose from 7.6 per 100,000 in 2015 to a peak of 19.6 in 2021 and was 14.3 in 2025. The data shows the trend but does not say which drugs were involved.
Related: crime rate in Canada · crime rate by province · Crime Severity Index explained · car theft in Canada · Canada crime map. In an emergency call 911.