Program directory · Department of Justice Canada
Legal Policies, Laws and Governance
- Department
- Department of Justice Canada
- Program code
- BNY01 (JUS)
- Core responsibility
- Justice System Support
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
Abbreviated version: The Department monitors developments in law, policy and procedure; develops and implements options for legal enforcement and policy reforms through legislation; develops and provides information and services to implement new and existing policies and laws; and provides advice to other federal departments and agencies in matters related to justice-related laws and policies. This includes the areas of judicial affairs, criminal justice, victims of crime, youth justice, family justice, official languages, contraventions, bijuralism, Indigenous justice, human rights, privacy, access to information, security, and terrorism as well as legislative and regulatory processes. As the administration of justice is an area of shared jurisdiction, the Department works closely with the provinces and territories. The Department supports the Minister of Justice throughout the Cabinet and Parliamentary processes with respect to both justice reforms and Parliamentary business involving justice matters such as private members’ bills and Parliamentary reviews. The Department supports the government's international priorities through provision of policy advice in the development of Canada's international justice policies, the negotiation within bilateral or multilateral fora of international norms, treaties and conventions, the development of legal cooperation programs and the provision of legal technical assistance to foreign countries seeking to reform their justice system.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Policies, Laws and Governance | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $344M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators added: Percentage of Canadians who think that the criminal justice system is a) fair, and b) accessible | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of public that perceive that the criminal justice system is fair, equitable and accessible. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators added: Percentage of Canadians who have confidence that the Canadian criminal justice system is accessible to all people; Percentage of Canadians who have confidence that the Canadian criminal justice system is fair to all people | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of Canadians who think that the criminal justice system is a) fair, and b) accessible | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $48.7M, against $65.1M in 2024-25 (−25%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Number of constitutional challenges in the provincial and territorial courts of appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≤ 10% | 2019 | 7.1% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≤ 10% | 2020 | 7% The target for this indicator is top 10%. The actual result is 7.0% (9th/128). Please see: World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2020, https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/WJP-ROLI-2020-Online_0.pdf. | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≤ 10% | 2021 | — The 2021 result is expected to be made available in the World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index 2021, which is anticipated to be published in 2022. | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | ≤ 10% | 2022 | — This is an annual ranking score. The ranking score for 2022 will be published in 2023. | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | ≤ 10% | 2023 | — The World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2023 is expected to be published in late 2023. | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | ≤ 10% | 2024 | — The World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2024 is expected to be published in late 2024. | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | ≤ 10% | 2025 | — The World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2025 is expected to be published in late 2025. | No result reported |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | ≥ 70% | 2025 | 59% The 2025 National Justice Survey was conducted from February 10 to March 23, 2025. The survey asks a sample of Canadians about their perceptions of the justice system, which could be influenced by several complex factors, that have directly or indirectly impacted on respondents and fall within and outside the Department’s mandate such as community events and media coverage. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | ≥ 70% | 2025 | 51% The 2025 National Justice Survey was conducted from February 10 to March 23, 2025. The survey asks a sample of Canadians about their perceptions of the justice system, which could be influenced by several complex factors, that have directly or indirectly impacted on respondents and fall within and outside the Department’s mandate such as community events and media coverage. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | — | 2019 | 61 Provincial/territorial courts of appeal: 56 Supreme Court of Canada appeals: 5 | No result reported |
| 2020-21 | — | 2021 | 42 Provincial/ territorial courts of appeal: 27 Federal Court of Appeal: 5 Supreme Court of Canada appeals: 10 The indicator related to the number of constitutional challenges is not appropriate for establishing a target and is better suited to demonstrate trends. As such, the indicator enables the Department to identify issues of interest (e.g. immigration and refugee law matters such as the Safe T… | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | — | — | Provincial/ territorial courts of appeal: 17 Federal Court of Appeal: 1 Supreme Court of Canada appeals: 4 The indicator related to the number of constitutional challenges is not appropriate for establishing a target and is better suited to demonstrating trends. As such, the indicator enables the Department to identify issues of interest (e.g. immigration and refugee law matters such as the Safe Third Country Agreement; criminal law matters relating to firearms, sentencing reforms, defence of self-ind… | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | Measure not appropriate for establishing a target. Indicator is better suited to demonstrating trends. | — | Provincial / territorial courts of appeal: 35 Federal Court of Appeal: 4 Supreme Court of Canada: 3 Measure not appropriate for establishing a target. Indicator is better suited to demonstrating trends. | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | — | — | Provincial / territorial courts of appeal: 35 Federal Court of Appeal: 0 Supreme Court of Canada: 5 Measure not appropriate for establishing a target. Indicator is better suited to demonstrating trends. | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | Measure not appropriate for establishing a target. Indicator is better suited to demonstrating trends. | 2025 | Provincial/territorial courts of appeal: 30 Federal Court of Appeal: 3 Supreme Court of Canada: 5 Measure not appropriate for establishing a target. Indicator is better suited to demonstrating trends. | No result reported |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | — | — | 51% of Canadians have moderate to high confidence that the criminal justice system is fair 52% of Canadians have moderate to high confidence that the criminal justice system is accessible 2020-21 Results: 51% of Canadians have moderate to high confidence that the criminal justice system is fair. 52% of Canadians have moderate to high confidence that the criminal justice system is accessible. Target establishment under review. The 2021 National Justice Survey asked respondents to rate their confidence “today” (on the day surveyed), but also “before the pandemic”. The percentages re… | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | — | — | 50% of Canadians have moderate to high confidence that the criminal justice system is fair. 58% of Canadians have moderate to high confidence that the criminal justice system is accessible. Confidence that the criminal justice system is fair to all people was relatively stable compared to the previous year, while confidence that the criminal justice system is accessible to all people increased. The 2022 NJS was in field from February 15 to March 10, 2022. (National Justice Survey 2022, Final Report, https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/njs-snj.html). | No result reported |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | — | 2019 | — 57% of Canadians have moderate to high confidence that the criminal justice system is fair 62% of Canadians have moderate to high confidence the criminal justice system is accessible | No result reported |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≤ 10% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 70% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 70% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $38.9M | $41.1M |
| 2019-20 | $39.5M | $38M |
| 2020-21 | $41.1M | $41.8M |
| 2021-22 | $41.4M | $44.5M |
| 2022-23 | $51.7M | $53M |
| 2023-24 | $53.6M | $60.6M |
| 2024-25 | $52.4M | $65.1M |
| 2025-26 | $48.7M | — |
| 2026-27 | $44.5M | — |
| 2027-28 | $39.3M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $39.3M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 238 | 238 |
| 2019-20 | 241 | 224 |
| 2020-21 | 234 | 247 |
| 2021-22 | 252 | 268 |
| 2022-23 | 276 | 304 |
| 2023-24 | 305 | 328 |
| 2024-25 | 332 | 311 |
| 2025-26 | 261 | — |
| 2026-27 | 213 | — |
| 2027-28 | 209* | — |
| 2028-29 | 209* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $38,905,828 | $38,797,338 | $38,393,919 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $39,535,428 | $39,131,921 | $39,131,921 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $41,133,395 | $41,081,477 | $41,029,365 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $41,444,893 | $40,990,870 | $40,800,157 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $51,675,803 | $48,505,031 | $44,943,309 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $53,550,466 | $49,784,139 | $49,033,112 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $52,370,061 | $49,981,573 | $47,612,459 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $48,723,444 | $46,399,680 | $43,002,843 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $44,543,503 | $39,343,147 | $39,310,938 | ||||||||
| Actual | $41,149,021 | $37,967,188 | $41,811,131 | $44,514,914 | $52,968,978 | $60,581,699 | $65,070,384 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
