Five Canadian provinces have introduced different laws to combat human trafficking. What needs to be done to standardize responses across the country?
In 2001, Canada signed the United Nations Palermo Protocol of 2000. The Protocol is part of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which aims to combat organized crime, including human trafficking. Human trafficking is considered one of the most grievous crimes and human rights violations of our time, with an estimated 27 million people being trafficked annually. According to various reports, including Statistics Canada, human trafficking affects hundreds of people each year in the form of sexual exploitation and forced labour, and to a lesser extent, forced marriages and organ trafficking.
As noted in our February 2026 article, the Palermo Protocol began with three pillars (protection, prosecution, and prevention), with a fourth (partnership) added to the Protocol in 2010 as part of the UN’s Global Action Plan.
The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking (an independent non-profit organization and registered charity) was established in 2016 to standardize responses to human trafficking. In 2019, the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking launched a national human trafficking hotline (1-833-900-1010). This hotline operates 24/7, ensures confidentiality for callers and offers support in over 200 languages.
In 2002, Canada enacted Section 118 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) as part of a national strategy to combat human trafficking. In addition to the four aims of the Palermo Protocol, the national strategy includes a fifth goal: empowering victims of human trafficking through services that help them regain control and independence.
Despite attempts to standardize the country’s effort to combat human trafficking and support its victims and survivors, a handful of provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan) have introduced their own laws to combat trafficking and/or protect trafficked persons.
This article offers an overview of the different provincial Acts, which vary in their scope, how they are enforced, and how they are relevant to prosecutors (and law enforcement). The article concludes with recommendations for the legal community.
The five provincial responses to human trafficking
In December 2002, the Manitoba government was the first Canadian jurisdiction to launch an initiative to combat human trafficking in the form of the Manitoba Strategy Responding to Children and Youth at Risk of, or Survivors of, Sexual Exploitation. In 2008, the strategy was renamed the Tracia’s Trust in honour of a young Indigenous girl named Tracia Owen, who was sexually exploited and died by suicide in 2005. Then in 2012, Manitoba introduced its Child Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking Act – the province’s first law to allow victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation to get protection orders and sue their abusers in civil court.
Meanwhile, in 2007, British Columbia established its Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons (OCTIP). It also introduced its Action Plan for 2013-2016, which prioritized awareness, training, community-led responses, service coordination, and research. Next, in 2020, Alberta passed its own law – the Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking Act (Bill 8). Then in 2021, Ontario joined the fold by passing its own law – the Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021 (Bill 251). The most recent province to introduce a specific human trafficking law was Saskatchewan in 2022, with its Protection from Human Trafficking Act (2020). In 2023, the province introduced an amendment, and the new Act is known as the Protection for Human Trafficking (Coerced Debts) Amendment Act (2023).
A brief comparison
Trafficking in persons is not unique to any one province or territory, let alone any local, regional, national, or international jurisdiction. Yet many provinces have taken very different approaches to address human trafficking through the law, while most other provinces and territories lack any standalone provisions. The following is a summary of the provinces with dedicated human trafficking laws.
In Alberta, the Act emphasizes community safety by allowing the removal of traffickers from establishments. It includes protection orders for victims and allows victims to sue traffickers for damages. British Columbia has no specific trafficking law, but addresses trafficking in the Community Safety Act (2013) and the Employment Standards Act. Although the law focuses more on labour exploitation, it does include provisions for closing properties where sexual exploitation takes place. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan’s Act allows for the protection of victims. Their Act also includes provisions allowing survivors to sue traffickers in civil court. Except for the third-party applications provisions, the Act is similar to Alberta’s. Manitoba’s law is strongly child-focused with provisions for child recovery and safety plans. However, their law also allows for protection orders for victims, mechanisms to seize profits from exploitation, and the ability to sue traffickers. Arguably, the most comprehensive approach is in Ontario. It is the only province that includes cooperation across different ministries. They have provisions that make it mandatory to report suspected/known child trafficking, victims can sue traffickers, and they have robust laws that allow civil restraining orders against traffickers, but offer no clear provisions to protect victims.
Broadly speaking, those provinces with specific laws include provisions with varying criteria for civil protection orders, civil lawsuits against traffickers, and property disruption. Only Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario have specific child-focused provisions, even though children and young people are at the greatest risk of being sexually exploited.
A call for uniformity
Canada’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking (2019-2024) provides a specific legal framework in the Criminal Code of Canada (e.g., sections 279.01-279.04) and under the IRPA. Since introducing this strategy, the federal government and several provinces have invested considerable resources to support our efforts to eradicate human trafficking. This includes adapting to and addressing emerging trends such as the rapidly evolving use of digital technology in trafficking and labour exploitation.
Although beyond the scope of this article, we noted that the Territories and several of the provinces do not have specific laws to combat human trafficking or to protect its victims. Of those provinces that do have related laws, while there is some overlap in the types of interventions and preventive measures these laws provide, there are several notable gaps in fully ensuring the rights and protection of thousands, mostly women and girls. Some of the key limitations and gaps include:
- No standardized set of financial provisions for victims between the provinces, let alone any national provisions.
- No specific laws or tools for taking down images of victims from the internet.
- No clear limitation period for civil lawsuits.
- No standardization of rules for appointing lawyers for underage victims in civil cases.
- Despite their overrepresentation, there are virtually no dedicated Indigenous safe process provisions.
- Except for Manitoba, there is very little focus on purchasers/demand-side of trafficking cases.
Canada continues to make notable strides towards combating the complex phenomenon of human trafficking. However, as this article reflects, gaps still exist at the provincial and territorial levels. These gaps should be addressed legally to ensure an effective, uniform, and cohesive response that aligns with the national strategy and reflects the spirit of the Palermo Protocol.
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DISCLAIMER The information in this article was correct at time of publishing. The law may have changed since then. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of LawNow or the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta.
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