Government and public statistics
Criminal Code (Canada) section 184: Interception
Parliament of Canada, Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada, n.d.
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- The federal Criminal Code section that makes wilful interception of a private communication an offence. It exempts a person who has the consent of the originator or the intended recipient.
- How much weight it carries
- Official Government of Canada consolidated text. Provincial privacy laws and the Canadian Charter can also apply, which this section does not cover.
Facts taken from this source
- Under the Criminal Code of Canada, wilful interception of a private communication is an indictable offence with a maximum of five years in prison.
“imprisonment for a term of not more than five years” (184(1))
- Canada's Criminal Code exempts a person who has the express or implied consent of the originator of a private communication, or of the intended recipient.
“a person who has the consent to intercept, express or implied, of the originator of the private communication or of the person intended by the originator thereof to receive it” (184(2)(a))