What is the age of sexual consent?
Agreeing to have sex requires a certain level of maturity and a reasonable age gap between you and your partner. Find out everything you need to know about ages of consent.
There's no law against being in love, but there is a law against sexual activity. It's the law of sexual consent. Sexual activities include kissing, foreplay, touching and intercourse. In Canada, the legal age of consent for sexual activity with someone over the age of 18 is 16, but there are exceptions for young people who have consensual sex.
At 12 or 13
If the youngest partner is 12 or 13 years old, there can be no more than two years’ difference between the partners. It would therefore be illegal for a 15 year old to have sex with a 12 year old.
At 14 or 15
If the youngest partner is 14 or 15 years old, the maximum allowed age difference between the two partners is 5 years. In addition, the older partner cannot be in a position of authority, trust, or exploitation towards the younger partner, and the younger partner cannot be in a position of dependence towards the older partner.
Legal proceedings
In order for there to be a prosecution, a complaint must be filed first. Often, it's the parents of one or both of the participants who do this because they feel that the relationship is inappropriate.
