What consent is

The short version

Consent means agreeing to sexual activity freely, clearly and in the moment. Canada's Criminal Code defines it as the voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question. The complainant is the person who says they were assaulted.

That short definition carries a lot. A yes has to be real, not pressured. It covers the specific activity that's happening, with the specific person. And it has to be there the whole time, not just at the start.

Consent isn't a legal technicality. It's how people who respect each other make sure they both want what's happening.

The six parts of consent

Consent has six parts, and all six have to be true at the same time. They describe the consent that respectful partners look for. Whether something counts as consent in a criminal case depends on the facts, so see how the law works too.

• Freely given

  A yes has to be a real choice. A yes that comes from pressure, threats, guilt-tripping, repeated begging or someone using their power over you isn't consent. Neither is going along with it because you're afraid of what will happen if you say no.

• Clear

  Look for a clear yes, in words or in actions that plainly mean yes. Silence, going still, not resisting or not saying no is not a yes. If you're not sure, ask.

• Specific

  Agreeing to one thing isn't agreeing to everything. A yes to kissing isn't a yes to more. A yes to sex with a condom isn't a yes to sex without one.

• Ongoing

  Consent has to be there the whole time. Anyone can change their mind at any point, even partway through, and even after saying yes. When someone wants to stop, you stop.

• Conscious and capable

  A person who is asleep, unconscious, or too drunk or high to understand what's happening can't consent. No one can agree in advance to sexual activity that happens while they're unconscious.

• Of legal age

  In Canada the age of consent is 16, with narrow exceptions for young people close in age. It rises to 18 when the older person is in a position of trust or authority, when the young person depends on them, or when the relationship is exploitative. How the age rules work.

What asking sounds like

Asking doesn't have to be awkward or formal. It's how you check that you both want what's happening, at the start and whenever things change.

• Is this okay?
• Do you want to keep going?
• How does this feel?
• Do you want to slow down?
• What would you like?
• Should I stop?

What a yes sounds like

A clear and willing yes: Yes. I want to. Keep going. Someone who is actively taking part and shows they want to be there. If someone seems unsure, that isn't a yes yet.

What a no can sound like

A no isn't always the word no. Treat any of these as a no, or at the very least as a reason to stop and check in:

• I don't know. Maybe. Not right now. I'm tired.
• going quiet or still, or not responding
• pulling away, turning away, or moving a hand away
• crying, freezing, or looking scared or uncomfortable
• changing the subject or making an excuse

When there is no consent

The Criminal Code lists situations where there is no consent, whatever words were said. There is no consent when:

• someone other than the person says yes on their behalf
• the person is unconscious
• the person is incapable of consenting for any other reason, for example because they're too intoxicated to understand what's happening
• the yes was obtained by abusing a position of trust, power or authority
• the person says or shows, by words or conduct, that they don't agree
• the person agreed at first, then says or shows that they don't want to continue

There's also no consent when someone goes along with it, or doesn't resist, because of force, threats or fear of force, fraud, or someone exercising authority over them.

How consent works in Canadian law

Changing your mind

You can say no at any time, including after saying yes, and including partway through. You don't owe anyone an explanation.

If someone changes their mind

• Stop right away.
• Check in: Are you okay? Do you need anything?
• Don't argue, sulk, guilt them, or keep asking until they give in.
• Thank them for telling you. That's what trust looks like.

In relationships and marriage

Being in a relationship, living together or being married doesn't make consent automatic. Since 1983, Canadian law has allowed a person to be charged with sexually assaulting their spouse.

Past consent isn't future consent. What someone wanted last week, or last night, doesn't tell you what they want now. The law says consent must be present at the time the sexual activity takes place, so check in every time.

Alcohol and drugs

Having a drink doesn't automatically mean someone can't consent. But alcohol and drugs can take away a person's ability to consent, and it's often hard to tell from the outside. The Supreme Court of Canada has said that to be capable of consenting, a person has to understand the physical act, that it's sexual, who they're with, and that they can say no.

Stop if someone is slurring, stumbling, vomiting, confused, drifting in and out of sleep, or can't follow a conversation. Help them get somewhere safe instead.

Consent online

Consent applies to images and messages too.

• Don't send sexual images or messages to someone who hasn't asked for them. Unwanted sexual content ignores their consent.
• Sharing someone's intimate image without their consent is a crime, even if they sent it to you themselves. So is threatening to share it.
• Fake and AI-generated images count. Since July 2026, the law has covered made-up sexual images of a real person that are likely to be mistaken for a real photo or video.
• Pressure isn't consent. Threatening to share someone's images to get more images, money or sex is called sextortion, and it's a crime.
• Sharing a sexual image of someone under 18 is a serious crime, even if the teen in it took the picture. If your own image was shared, or someone is pressuring you, you're the one being harmed: NeedHelpNow.ca helps get images taken down, and Cybertip.ca takes reports.

What the law says about intimate images

Is this consent? Six situations

Read each one, decide, then open it to see the answer.