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← Back to Law ExplorerLast verified: June 2026 · Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca
Homicide & RelatedIndictable
§236

Punishment for Manslaughter

Manslaughter

Homicide
Maximum Sentence

Life imprisonment (minimum 4 years if firearm)

Classification: Indictable
🍁 Immigration Impact

Carries life imprisonment. Serious criminality under IRPA s.36(1). The mandatory minimum of 4 years when a firearm is used ensures the sentenced person also meets the 6-month actual sentence threshold that bars IAD appeals under IRPA s.64.

🍁 In Simple Terms

The sentencing rule for manslaughter, with life as the ceiling and a mandatory 4 years where a firearm was used. That minimum matters twice over, because a sentence of 6 months or more also removes the right to appeal a removal order. Every version is serious criminality.

Legal Text, Criminal Code s. 236

Every person who commits manslaughter is guilty of an indictable offence and liable (a) where a firearm is used in the commission of the offence, to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of four years; and (b) in any other case, to imprisonment for life.

Amendment History (2)
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 236
1995, c. 39, s. 142
Related Sections
Official Source: Justice Canada: Criminal Code s. 236 (authoritative, may differ from this display)
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