The waiting period for a record suspension does not run from the date of the offence or the date of the conviction. It runs from the day the entire sentence expires: the last day of any jail term, the last day of probation, and the day the last part of any fine is paid. Only after the full waiting period has passed from that date can an application go to the Parole Board of Canada.
Two details catch people out. The first is that the latest part of the sentence sets the start date, not the main part. The second is that the length of the wait depends on when the first offence was committed, because the Board no longer applies the 2010 and 2012 changes to older offences. Both are explained below, with two worked examples, followed by what a record suspension does for a person's admissibility to Canada.
What counts as the end of a sentence?
Section 4(1) of the Criminal Records Act makes a person ineligible to apply until the waiting period has elapsed after the expiration according to law of any sentence, "including a sentence of imprisonment, a period of probation and the payment of any fine". In practice the start date is found in four steps:
- List every part of every sentence imposed: custody, any period on parole or statutory release, probation, and each fine.
- Find the date each part ended. For custody that is the warrant expiry date, not the release date. For probation it is the last day of the order. For a fine it is the day the balance reached zero.
- Take the latest of those dates. That is the day the sentence expired according to law.
- Add the waiting period that applies to the offence. The first day after that period ends is the earliest date an application can be made.
A fine paid in instalments is a common reason for a later start date than people expect. So is a probation order that began only after a custodial term ended.
Which waiting period applies to an older offence?
The Criminal Records Act was amended in 2010 and again in 2012. For years the Parole Board applied the new, longer waiting periods to everyone, including people whose offences pre-dated the changes. The Parole Board's eligibility page explains that since March 19, 2020 those changes "are no longer being applied retroactively". Applications are assessed under the criteria in place at the time of the applicant's first offence.
| Date of the first offence | Offence prosecuted by indictment | Summary conviction offence |
|---|---|---|
| Before June 29, 2010 | 5 years | 3 years |
| June 29, 2010 to March 12, 2012 | 10 years for a serious personal injury offence (including manslaughter) with a sentence of two years or more, or a Schedule 1 offence; 5 years for any other indictable offence | 5 years for a Schedule 1 offence; 3 years for any other summary offence |
| March 13, 2012 or later | 10 years | 5 years |
For offences in the current period, two groups cannot apply at all: people convicted of an offence listed in Schedule 1 of the Act (sexual offences involving children, subject to a narrow exception in section 4(3)), and people convicted of more than three offences prosecuted by indictment for each of which they were sentenced to two years or more.
Two worked examples
A fine and probation for an offence in 2016
A person is convicted of a summary offence committed in 2016. At sentencing on March 10, 2017, the court imposes a fine and twelve months of probation. The fine is paid in full on June 2, 2017. Probation ends on March 9, 2018.
- Latest part of the sentence to end: probation, on March 9, 2018.
- Rule set: first offence after March 13, 2012, summary offence, so five years.
- Earliest application: March 2023, not June 2022 as the fine alone would suggest.
A single offence in 2009
A person commits one summary offence in May 2009, is convicted in 2010 and pays the fine in full in November 2010. No other sentence was imposed.
- Sentence expired: November 2010.
- Rule set: first offence before June 29, 2010, summary offence, so three years.
- Earliest application: November 2013. Before March 2020 the Board would have required five years under the current rules, which would have meant November 2015.
Both examples involve one conviction. Several convictions spread over different years need each sentence traced separately, and a new conviction during the waiting period changes the answer, because the Board must be satisfied that the applicant has not been convicted of another offence in that time.
What the Parole Board weighs once the wait is over
Reaching the end of the waiting period makes a person eligible to apply. It does not decide the application. Under section 4.1(1) the Board may order a record suspension if it is satisfied that the applicant was of good conduct during the waiting period and has not been convicted of a further offence. For an offence prosecuted by indictment the Board must also be satisfied that the suspension would provide a measurable benefit to the applicant and would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute. Section 4.1(3) lets it consider the nature, gravity and duration of the offence, the circumstances around it, and the applicant's criminal history.
Before the Board refuses, section 4.2(2) requires it to notify the applicant in writing of the proposed refusal. The applicant then has an opportunity to make representations. That written notice is a step in the process, not the decision itself.
What a record suspension changes, and what it leaves in place
| Changes | Stays the same |
|---|---|
| The judicial record of the conviction is kept separate and apart from other criminal records (s. 2.3) | The conviction itself is not erased |
| The record is removed from the Canadian Police Information Centre database, so a CPIC search shows no record | Entry to another country is still decided by that country |
| Disclosure of the record needs the Minister's approval (s. 6) | A sexual offence conviction is still flagged for vulnerable sector checks |
| Most provincial and municipal agencies restrict access once told of the suspension | Provincial and municipal records fall outside the federal Act |
Does a record suspension help with admissibility to Canada?
For a conviction in Canada, it does, and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act says so directly. Section 36(3)(b) provides that:
"inadmissibility under subsections (1) to (2.1) may not be based on a conviction in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered and has not been revoked"
Three limits sit around that rule. A record suspension that is later revoked, or that ceases to have effect, no longer protects the conviction. A conviction outside Canada is not touched by a Canadian record suspension; for those, the Act provides a separate route through rehabilitation, explained in our article on deemed rehabilitation and criminal rehabilitation. And timing matters: the waiting period runs for years, while an officer can write an inadmissibility report about a permanent resident at any point after the conviction. A record suspension that has not yet been ordered offers no protection at an admissibility hearing that is already scheduled. How a past conviction bears on status is the subject of our criminal inadmissibility page.
When a record suspension stops protecting the record
Under section 7 the Board may revoke a record suspension, for example where the person is no longer of good conduct, or where the application contained a knowingly false or deceptive statement or concealed a material fact. Under section 7.2 a suspension ceases to have effect if the person is later convicted of certain offences, or if new information shows the person was not eligible when it was ordered. In either case the record returns to CPIC, and the protection in section 36(3)(b) falls away with it.
Angelina Shuster is a licensed paralegal with Karb Law. Karb Law's legal team reviews how a past conviction, and any record suspension, affects a client's immigration file and admissibility hearings. Court documents and a sentence summary can be reviewed through a free assessment.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a paralegal-client relationship. Eligibility for a record suspension is decided by the Parole Board of Canada on the facts of each application.
