Criminal law deals with conduct treated as a wrong against society. The state prosecutes, and the penalties are fines, probation and imprisonment.

Civil law resolves disputes between private parties. One person or company sues another, and the remedy is money or a court order.

The same incident can produce both, running at the same time, in different courts, decided on different standards.

The differences that matter

	Criminal law	Civil law
Who brings the case	The Crown, on behalf of the state	The injured party (the plaintiff)
Case name	R. v. Smith	Jones v. Smith
Standard of proof	Beyond a reasonable doubt	Balance of probabilities
Purpose	Punish, deter, denounce, rehabilitate	Compensate the injured party
Outcome	Fine, probation, imprisonment, criminal record	Damages, injunction, specific performance
Who is paid	The state	The plaintiff
Right to counsel if you cannot afford one	Yes, in serious cases	No
Can the complainant end it?	No – only the Crown can withdraw	Yes – the plaintiff can discontinue
Right to a jury	Yes, for most serious offences	Rare in most civil matters
Consequence of losing	A criminal record	A judgment debt

The five differences worth remembering

1. Who starts it. In criminal law the Crown prosecutes on behalf of society, which is why a complainant cannot drop the charges. In civil law the plaintiff controls the case entirely and can settle or discontinue at will.

2. The standard of proof. Beyond a reasonable doubt is a demanding standard, because a conviction can remove someone’s liberty. The balance of probabilities means simply more likely than not.

3. The purpose. Criminal law punishes. Civil law compensates. That difference drives everything else about how the two systems are built.

4. The consequences. A criminal conviction produces a record that affects employment, travel, immigration and professional licensing. A civil judgment is a debt.

5. The protections. An accused has the presumption of innocence, the right to silence, the right to counsel, and Charter protections against unreasonable search and arbitrary detention. A civil defendant has none of these – and can be compelled to answer questions under oath at discovery.

Why the same event can go both ways

An acquittal is not a finding that nothing happened. It means the Crown could not prove its case to the criminal standard.

Because the civil standard is so much lower, a person acquitted of a criminal charge can be found liable in a civil claim arising from the same facts. It happens routinely in assault and fraud matters. The reverse is also true: losing a civil case does not mean a conviction would follow.

Can a civil case lead to criminal charges?

Yes. Evidence surfacing in a lawsuit – fraudulent documents produced at discovery, admissions made under oath – can prompt a complaint to police and a criminal investigation.

This is a genuine trap. In a civil case you can be compelled to answer questions. In a criminal case you cannot be compelled to say anything. Answers given in civil discovery generally cannot be used directly against you in a later prosecution, but they can point investigators toward evidence that can.

If parallel proceedings are possible, get criminal advice before your discovery. People damage their own defence by answering civil questions freely while a criminal matter is looming.

Summary and indictable offences

Within criminal law, offences fall into two categories:

Summary conviction offences are the less serious group. Since June 2019 the default maximum is a $5,000 fine or two years less a day in jail – raised from the previous six-month maximum. These are tried in provincial court by a judge alone.

Indictable offences are the serious ones, with maximums up to life imprisonment. For most, the accused chooses the mode of trial: provincial court judge, superior court judge alone, or judge and jury.

Hybrid offences are the largest group – the Crown elects which way to proceed after reviewing the file. That election affects the maximum penalty, the available procedure, and the long-term consequences, so it is often the first thing a defence lawyer works on.

Where the two systems overlap

• Assault – prosecution by the Crown, and a civil claim by the injured person
• Fraud – a criminal charge, and a lawsuit to recover the money
• Impaired driving causing bodily harm – a prosecution, and a negligence claim
• Breach of trust by an employee – theft charges, and a civil action by the employer

A criminal conviction can be used as evidence in the subsequent civil case. That is one reason to defend the criminal charge properly even where the financial exposure sits on the civil side.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between criminal law and civil law in Canada? Criminal law is the state prosecuting a wrong against society, proved beyond a reasonable doubt, punished with fines, probation or imprisonment. Civil law resolves disputes between private parties, decided on the balance of probabilities, remedied with money or a court order.

Can a case be both criminal and civil? Yes. An assault can be prosecuted by the Crown and sued on by the victim at the same time. The two proceed independently, and a criminal conviction can be used as evidence in the civil case.

Can a civil case lead to criminal charges? It can. The practical danger is sequencing: a civil examination usually happens long before a criminal matter concludes, and you cannot refuse to answer there the way you can refuse to speak to police. Coordinate the two before you are examined.

Which is better, criminal law or civil law? Neither is better; they do different jobs. Criminal law punishes and denounces. Civil law compensates. Lawyers generally specialise in one, because the procedures, standards and skills differ substantially.

What crimes are summary conviction offences? Causing a disturbance and trespassing at night are true summary offences. Far more common are hybrid offences on which the Crown has elected to proceed summarily – which is why the same charge can carry very different consequences for two different people.

What are hybrid offences? The largest group in the Criminal Code. The Crown elects to proceed summarily or by indictment, and that single decision affects the maximum penalty, your right to a jury, and how long the record follows you.

Can you go to jail in a civil case? Not for losing. You can be jailed for contempt of court for defying a court order.

At what stage do most civil cases settle? Most settle before trial, commonly after discovery or at mediation, once both sides have seen the evidence and the cost of continuing.

Facing a criminal charge in Toronto?

If the same events have generated both a charge and a lawsuit, coordinate the two. What you say in one proceeding has consequences in the other.

Jeffrey I. Reisman has practised criminal law in Toronto since 2001, including three years as a prosecutor.

Call 647-351-4357 · Free consultation · Available 24/7

General information about Canadian law as of August 2026. Not legal advice.