The age of consent is a legal term. It means that a person can’t legally consent to send nudes, sext, have sex, and do other sexual things until they’re a certain age. It’s illegal for people to have sex with someone who’s under the age of consent. These laws are there to protect young people from getting hurt.
In Canada, the age of consent is 16. So someone who is 16 can give their consent to have sex with anyone, with some exceptions. People who are younger than 16 can consent with people around the same age as them.
Age of consent
The age of consent in Canada is 16 years old. That means anyone 16 years old or older can have sex with someone of any age, as long as they can also legally consent.
People who are 16 to 18 years old still can’t consent to sexual things with someone who has power over them. This could be someone like a teacher, boss, or coach. People under the age of 18 also can’t consent to doing sex work or being in porn. Only people 18 years old and older can consent to sex with someone who has power over them. Someone also has to be 18 or older to consent to doing sex work, and to making pornography.
People who are under 16 can consent to sexual things with people who are close in age to them. The Canadian government has rules about what’s close in age:
| Age of Younger Partner | Age Difference Allowed |
| Under 12 years old | Can’t consent to any sexual activities |
| 12-13 years old | Less than 2 years |
| 14-15 years old | Less than 5 years |
If you want to have sex with someone above the allowed age difference, it’s still considered a crime. As a result, your partners could get into trouble.
People who aren’t okay with a sexual experience they had with someone older should know that they’re not alone. If you feel like you need to talk to someone about this, you can call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868. They can provide a safe space to talk about it, and help you find legal and mental health resources near you.
Sexting, sending nudes, and the law
Sexting is sending nudes or sexy pictures of yourself. It usually falls under the same laws as any other sexual activity.
People who are under 16 can consensually make and send nudes, sexy pictures, or sexy videos with people who are close to their age. This follows the same rules for consenting to other sexual things! Those who are 16 to 18 can send nudes to someone who doesn’t have power over them. People who are 18 can send nudes to anyone who can consent. It is important that you only send nudes to someone who consents to receive them and is legally able to consent!
If you’re under 18, the rules about what you can do with your nudes are different from an adult’s. You can send it to someone who consents to seeing it, and is close in age to you. But you can’t post it online for many people to see. And the person who receives it can’t post it or share it, even if you give them permission. Sexual pictures of someone under 18 can be considered child pornography. That means that unless someone can consent, and they want you to have the pictures, having sexy photos of them is illegal.
As of 2024, people haven’t had legal issues from consensually exchanging nudes. But people have been punished for sharing naked pictures of someone without their consent. It’s serious, and people can get in trouble with the law for doing it.
If your naked pictures are being shared without your consent, you can talk to the police or go to needhelpnow.ca.
