The age of consent is a legal term. It means that says a person can’t legally consent to send nudes, sext, have sex, and 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. Therefore, someone who is 16 can give their consent to have sex with anyone except people who have power over them. 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.
People who are 16 still can’t consent to sexual things with someone who has power over them, like a teacher, boss, guardian, or coach. Only people 18 years old and older can consent to sex with someone who has power over them.
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 than them can call SACOMSS at (514) 398-8500. They can help give you more information or space to talk about it in private.
Sexting, sending nudes, and the law
Sexting is sending nudes or sexy pictures of yourself. It has different laws around ages.
People who are under 18 can consensually make and send nudes, sexy pictures, or sexy videos with people who are close to their age. Due to this, as of 2020, people haven’t had legal issues from consensually exchanging nudes.
People have been punished for sharing naked pictures of someone without their consent. It’s serious and it can have legal punishments.
If someone’s naked pictures are being shared without their consent, they can talk to the police or needhelpnow.ca.
